Aleksandar Nikolic

Called the "Father of Yugoslavian Basketball," Aleksandar Nikolic was born in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (now Bosnia and Herzegovina) on October 28, 1924. A graduate from the University of Belgrade in 1946, where he studied medicine and law. But, Nikolic had a real passion for basketball.

As a player, he spent time with Obilic, Partizan Belgrade, Red Star Belgrade and BASK. Nikolic was a member of the Yugoslav national basketball team in the late 1940's.

After his playing career was over, he became involved with coaching. Both with Serbian based clubs and those in Italy. Nikolic was head coach of the Yugoslavian national squad (1951–65 & 1976–78). During this time, he coached two future Hall of Famers in Borislav Stankovic and Kresimir Cosic.

Aleksandar Nikolic has many medals, both from domestic and international competition, to his credit. He passed away on March 12th, 2000 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now Serbia and Montenegro).

Was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998.