Saša Dončić

Saša Dončić (Serbian Cyrillic: Саша Дончић; born June 14, 1974) is a Slovenian professional basketball coach and former player. He last served as head coach of Ilirija in the Slovenian League. He is the father of NBA player Luka Dončić.

Saša Dončić

Dončić, in Helsinki, during the EuroBasket 2017 tournament
Personal information
Born	(1974-06-14) June 14, 1974 (age 51) Šempeter pri Gorici, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia
Nationality	Slovenian
Listed height	6 ft 7.5 in (2.02 m)
Listed weight	234 lb (106 kg)
Career information
Playing career	1993–2010
Position	Shooting guard / small forward
Number	4
Coaching career	2010–present
Career history
As a player:
1993–1994	Ilirija
1994–1995	Postojna
1995–1996	Idrija
1996–1999	Pivovarna Laško
1999–2000	Loka Kava
2000–2001	Krka
2001	Loka Kava
2001–2002	Sloga Telekom Srbija
2002	ALM Évreux
2002–2003	Slovan
2003–2004	Pivovarna Laško
2004–2006	Slovan
2006–2007	Domžale
2007–2008	Olimpija
2008–2009	Slovan
2010	Avantgard Radovljica
As a coach:
2010–2011	Avantgard Radovljica
2012–2013	Škofja Loka
2015	Slovenia B (assistant)
2015–2019	Ilirija
2019	Šentjur
2020–2022	Nutrisport Ilirija
Career highlights
As player: 2× Slovenian League champion (2007, 2008) 3× Slovenian Cup winner (2004, 2007, 2008) Slovenian Supercup winner (2007) 6× Slovenian All-Star Game (2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007) As coach: 2× 2. SKL champion (2017, 2021) 3. SKL champion (2016)

As a player, Dončić started his professional career in Ilirija, Ljubljana in the 1992–1993 season and played in several clubs in Slovenia throughout his career that included international club appearances in Serbia and France. He mainly played at the shooting guard and small forward positions, but could also play at power forward if needed.

Professional career

During his pro club career, Dončić won 2 Slovenian Premier A League championships (2007, 2008), and three Slovenian Cups, (2004, 2007, 2008). He also won the Slovenian Supercup, in 2007. He played in the European-wide top-tier-level league, the EuroLeague, during the 2007–08 season.^[1]

National team career

Dončić was a member of the Yugoslavia national cadet team at the 1991 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship in Greece. Over four tournament games, he averaged 2.0 points per game.^[2]

In 2004, he played in two games for the senior Slovenian national basketball team at the FIBA EuroBasket 2005 qualification.^[3]

Coaching career

After retiring from playing professional basketball, Dončić began his career working as a basketball coach in 2010.

Personal life

Dončić was born in Šempeter pri Gorici, Yugoslavia, now present-day Slovenia. His family is of Serbian descent.^[4][5]

He was married to Slovenian model and beauty salon owner Mirjam Poterbin, until their divorce in 2008. Their son Luka, who is also a professional basketball player, currently plays with the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA.