PAOK mateco Basketball Club announces that Jure Zdovc will take over as head coach of our team for the 2025–26 season.
We welcome to the PAOK family one of the most iconic figures in European basketball, and we wish him every success in the difficult and important task that lies ahead.

Jurij “Jure” Zdovc was born on December 13, 1966, and has enjoyed a distinguished career, highlighted by more than 20 titles as both a player and a coach.

His transition into coaching came almost naturally for an athlete with such a high basketball IQ. Beginning his coaching career in the mid-2000s, Zdovc worked consistently with top-tier clubs and the Slovenian national team, building a reputation as a tough but fair coach, known for his emphasis on defense and discipline.
He began coaching in 2003 as an assistant at Krka, and over the next two decades, he worked with 13 teams in 8 different countries. He also served two different periods as head coach of the Slovenian national team, leading them to a 4th place at EuroBasket 2009, and also coaching at the 2014 FIBA World Cup and EuroBasket 2015.

Jure Zdovc’s coaching career at a glance:

2003–04: Split (Croatian Cup Winner 2004)
2004: Geoplin Slovan
2005–06: Iraklis
2007–08: Bosna (Bosnian League Champion 2008)
2008–11: Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenian League Champion 2009, Slovenian Cup Winner 2009, 2010, 2011, Slovenian Super Cup Winner 2010)
2008–09, 2014–16: Slovenian National Team
2011–13: Spartak St. Petersburg (Eurocup Coach of the Year 2012)
2013–15: Gaziantep
2015–17: AEK
2017–18: Cedevita (Adriatic Super Cup Winner 2017, Croatian League & Cup Champion 2018)
2019–20: Petrol Olimpija
2020–21: Metropolitans 92
2021–22: Žalgiris Kaunas (Lithuanian Cup Winner 2022)
2023–24: Bursaspor

The illustrious playing career of Jure Zdovc
Zdovc’s rich basketball résumé began to take shape in the 1980s, when he started his professional journey with Olimpija Ljubljana, the legendary team of his homeland. His accomplishments became even more impressive in the following decade, as he made a name for himself across Europe.

He became a European Champion in 1993 with Limoges at the Final Four in Athens, and also won two EuroBasket gold medals (1989 in Zagreb and 1991 in Rome) with the national team of Yugoslavia, along with a FIBA World Championship title in 1990 in Argentina. These are among the most notable of the 14 titles he won during a nearly 20-year career, in which he played for the following teams:

1984–91, 1998–00 & 2001–02: Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenian League Champion: 1999, 2002; Slovenian Cup Winner: 1999, 2000, 2002; Adriatic League Champion: 2002)
1991–92: Knorr Bologna
1992–93: Limoges (EuroLeague Champion & French League Champion 1993)
1993–96: Iraklis
1997: Tofas
1997: Racing Paris (French League Champion 1997)
2000–01: Panionios
2002–03: Slovan
2003: Split (Croatian League Champion 2003)
With the national team of Yugoslavia, Zdovc won four gold medals (EuroBasket 1989 & 1991, FIBA World Cup 1990, and U16 EuroBasket 1983), one silver (U18 EuroBasket 1984), and one bronze (1988 Olympic Games). He also represented Slovenia in four EuroBasket tournaments.

In 2020, he was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame.