Dragan Kićanović (Serbian:Драган Кићановић; born 17 August 1953) is a Serbian and Yugoslav retired professionalbasketball player.
A 1.92 m (6 ft3+1⁄2 in) tallshooting guard, Kićanović played in the 1970s and 1980s, and is considered to be one of the best European players and scorers of all time, having won both theMr. Europa and theEuroscar European Player of the Year awards in 1981 and 1982. He was named one ofFIBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1991. On 20 August 2010, Kićanović became aFIBA Hall of Fame player, in recognition of his play in international competitions.[1] He was named theBest athlete of Yugoslavia in 1982, and he was also named the Best Basketball Player of Yugoslavia in the 20th century.[2]
Since September 2013, he's been performing the role ofconsul general at the Serbian consulate inTrieste.[3]
During the 1970s, Kićanović playedclub basketball alongsideDražen Dalipagić, and together they created an accomplished duo as members ofPartizan Belgrade. In international club competition, Kićanović won two consecutiveEuropean-wide 3rd-tier levelFIBA Korać Cup championships, with Partizan Belgrade (1977–78 and1978–79). He scored 33 points in the 1977–78 Finals (behind only Dalipagić's 48 points), and 41 points in the 1978–79 Finals.
Shortly after retiring from playing basketball, Kićanović was named vice-president atPartizan Belgrade, under the club presidency of Tomislav Jeremić. With the division of tasks, Jeremić was mostly involved on the business end, while Kićanović ran the squad, making decisions on everything from player personnel to coaching acquisitions. He immediately brought inZoran Slavnić—his former teammate from theYugoslav national team where the two were part of the famousone-two back-courtguard duo—as the club's newheadcoach.
