Euroleague and NBA Champion Zan Tabak speaks to Future Stars ahead of leading the 2024 Future Stars International Clinic this Summer.
Lets start from the very beginning. You were the youngest member of the most successful European basketball team of the modern era, Jugoplastica. Without any imports, naturalised players, or foreign coaches you won 3 consecutive European Cups. Could you tell us how it looked from the inside through the eyes of a teenager?
I grew up in an era when training and playing sport was really accessible in the former state of Yugoslavia. When I was growing up it was simply the way of life. I practiced many different sports before I picked up basketball. I was very lucky to live in the period where in whole of Yugoslavia, but in the Split region in particular we had the best sporting generation ever. We have won these three European titles and from my perspective, I can categorically state that this period has made me as a player and more importantly as a human being.
What gave you all this incredible type of confidence that allowed you not only to dominate other much richer European clubs but also open the doors to the NBA for European players? You and teammates like Toni Kukoc, Dino Radja or Drazen Petrovic have changed the game for ever.
I was never thinking that way, how you put it. I think it was a combination of several things. First one is the genetic factor. We were living in an era which has produced not only wonderful basketball players but a lot of other athletes. We were blessed with a large number of tall, athletic youngsters. Second factor was the amazing structure and organisation of Yugoslavian basketball. Every club was producing a large number of skilful players in a continuous way. I think basketball is like the rest of life. If you treat it seriously, work hard, make investments, and treat it like a business the results eventually will come up. In Yugoslavia, basketball was treated very professionally then.
How difficult was it for you to transition to the NBA? From being a superstar in Europe, you had to find your role at the Houston Rockets, supporting Hakeem Olajuwon.
I had to go through what every player from Europe was experiencing. NBA clubs were very sceptical about foreigners, you weren’t equal, you were not expected to contribute straight away. They just expected you to learn to play their way. On top of that, I had a little bit of bad luck because I came to the club to play at the same position where, then the best player in the world played.
How difficult was this transformation? Was it strange for you to work with the coaches who weren’t as good as your former Yugoslavian coaches?
It is very difficult to say whether they were better or not. This was a very simple situation. You either learn how to play the American way or you are not playing at all. I’m talking about learning not only the game but also the language, culture and everything else. There was no special programmes for the new players like nowadays. Right now they are making the transition for international players much easier.
You are in the very unique position to assess the transformation which the NBA has gone through for the last couple of decades. Since you played with the players from the Golden Generation of the NBA when the game was far more physical what is your view on the current state of the NBA?
I will give you an answer which you won’t like. I will explain why. When I was a young player, I was shaking with anger when older players were saying how great it was before and how everything is bad at the present. It is normal for the human being to look with nostalgia into everything which happened in the past, how everything was better then and now is not so good. So, when I’m listening to some people who I played with or against talking about the state of the basketball now, honestly I don’t want to be a part of this conversation. Guys are changing, basketball is changing, the game is different, everything is different. Doesn’t make any sense to compare what is happening right now with what has happened 25 or 30 years ago. Makes no sense to argue who is better Lebron James or Michael Jordan.
Well is a view….Lets continue with the subject of the NBA and its influence on European basketball. The European scene seems to be very unstable mainly due to the unregulated movement of the players between the NBA and Europe
European basketball is very unstable and will remain unstable until we start to generate proper money. Right now we’re not generating any money. In the US sport is much more stable because they are generating serious money. There are plenty of good things in Europe mainly tactically, technically but we are talking about the things which are happening on the court. All things related to the management are very often unprofessional.
So, what needs to happen to stabilise the European scene? Surely Europe has phenomenal “know how” in sporting management. Look at football, they generate eye-watering money. So why not basketball?
FIBA and Euroleague have hundreds of people, smarter than me and well paid trying to solve this problem. They can’t resolve it, so why do you think I would have an answer to it?
Obviously, they are not smart or charismatic enough, because the problem is deepening. What would be your personal strategy for building a stable European basketball scene?
It is much easier said than done but we have to professionalise every aspect of basketball in Europe. We have to have a proper manager in every club, treating basketball as a business. These people should be properly educated. It is not enough to think that if I have played basketball even on a high level I must know how to run a sporting business. I must be educated and trained for the new role. At the present things are getting worse. Every day we, as European basketball are losing more distance to the USA. More and more young good players go to America from Europe and we are not able to bring enough good quality American players to Europe. Europe was traditionally established as the second-strongest basketball market after the NBA. This is changing rapidly, there are so many other options. There is G-League, obviously colleges pay fantastic money nowadays, there are Japan, Australia, and China. There are so many markets and leagues that are improving financially and Europe is constantly losing this race.
You have mentioned colleges paying huge money to their students. NIL money can create a seismic change within European basketball. If European clubs do not come up with something intelligent pretty soon, all good young players will go to play in States.
100 percent right. This is where we are losing the most important part of the race.
Recently you have won the Polish Championship with Trefl. How do you asses Polish basketball?
I see them as a basketball with a great future. They have a few things going for them which bode very well for the future. Number one is the fact that it is a big country. Number two, they, like most of the Eastern Europeans are genetically built well for basketball. Number three clubs are getting significant support from the local authorities and government organisations. It is important that a lot of Polish clubs are playing in the various European competitions, albeit not in the Euroleague. I think all these factors are very important to the growth of the basketball in Poland
Many thanks and see you in 3 weeks time when you travel to London to be keynote speaker at the Future Stars 2024 International Clinic.
For more information on the Future Stars 2024 International Coaching Clinic please click here.
