Predrag Danilović

Early life and career

Danilović was born in Sarajevo to a family of Herzegovinian Serbs; his father Milan was from the Orašje Zubci village near Trebinje and his mother Vuka from the Kukričje village near Bileća. He grew up in the Alipašino polje neighbourhood near the RTV Sarajevo main building, spending many childhood summers and winters in his parents' respective villages and in Trebinje. A tall and lanky child, he excelled at football, speed skating, and street basketball.

In 1984, at age fourteen, he began playing organized basketball in KK Bosna's youth setup under youth coach Mladen Ostojić. His talent attracted attention from bigger Yugoslav clubs, including KK Partizan, whose assistant coach Duško Vujošević was alerted to him by point guard Željko Obradović, who had spotted Danilović at a Yugoslav intra-republic youth basketball tournament on Mount Zlatibor in summer 1985. By late 1985, Vujošević began courting the fifteen-year-old.

Getting Danilović and his parents to agree to a move to Belgrade was easy, but obtaining permission from KK Bosna proved difficult. According to Danilović, Bosna's management had not been keen on him and had planned to loan him out, but after Vujošević showed interest they wanted to keep him. The club president Mirza Delibašić and Partizan vice-president Dragan Kićanović were close friends, which created additional awkwardness and delayed the transfer.

Club career

In the summer of 1988, after a two-year ban expired, Danilović joined Partizan. The 18-year-old immediately received significant minutes at shooting guard, registering a promising debut campaign with 5.6 points per game on offense. Partizan finished the regular season in first place with a 16–6 record. The team won both cup competitions that season: the FIBA Korać Cup and the Yugoslav Cup.

In the Korać Cup final, Partizan lost the first leg away to Wiwa Vismara by 13 points, with Danilović starting and scoring 10 points. Three days later, Partizan defeated Jugoplastika 87–74 in the Yugoslav Cup final. In the return leg of the Korać Cup final at Hala sportova, Partizan won by 19 points to take the trophy; Danilović, coming off the bench, contributed 10 points. During his time with Partizan, Danilović was the EuroLeague Final Four MVP in 1992.

He later played for Virtus Bologna, where his scoring averages included 18.7 points per game in 1992–93, 20.0 in 1993–94, and a team-high 22.1 in 1994–95. He returned to Virtus Bologna for the 1997–98 season, averaging 17.5 points per game, and played for the club again in 1998–99, averaging 16.9 points per game.

Administrative career

In October 2000, shortly after retiring as a player, Danilović became co-vice president of KK Partizan alongside Žarko Paspalj, Dražen Dalipagić, and Ivica Divac, under club president Vlade Divac. The appointment was initiated by outgoing club president Ivica Dačić during the political upheaval in Serbia following the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević. He let head coach Darko Russo finish the season before hiring Duško Vujošević in summer 2001. Vujošević won the league title in 2001–02, ending KK Budućnost's three-year championship run, the first of nine consecutive league trophies under his command.

Under Danilović, Divac, and sporting director Dragan Todorić, the club developed a model of promoting domestic young players rather than relying on foreign imports. The club sold its best player each summer and reinvested the money into the youth system or acquiring talented youngsters. In summer 2003 Miloš Vujanić was sold to Fortitudo Bologna, and in summer 2004 Nenad Krstić was sold to the New Jersey Nets. The club continued to win the domestic league year after year, securing a EuroLeague spot essential for its finances.

Personal life

Danilović is married to Svetlana Danilović, an RTS sports reporter. The couple have three children, including Olga, a professional tennis player. He was involved with Group Seven, a charity organization founded by seven Serbian basketball players. On February 11, 2009, Danilović filed a lawsuit against Worldwide Associates, a limited-liability company based in Carmel, Indiana, alleging investment fraud connected to $4 million he gave the company to manage.

He underwent surgery at Belgrade's Urgentni centar. According to press reports, Danilović had been at the Kafanica bar in the Košutnjak neighbourhood with friends including the bar's owner, Branko Filipović, when an altercation broke out. Filipović struck Danilović with an ashtray, and the fight continued with Filipović stabbing Danilović in the abdomen. Danilović drove himself to the hospital.

He underwent emergency surgery and was placed in intensive care in stable condition. Prime minister Ivica Dačić described the circumstances as a traditional Serbian quarrel between friends.

Did You Know?

• Danilović won gold medals at the 1989, 1991, 1995, and 1997 EuroBasket tournaments.
• He was a member of the silver medal-winning FR Yugoslav team at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics.