Velimir Perasovic · Biography

Velimir Perasović made his professional debut in 1985 with Jugoplastika Split, the club of the city where he was born on 9 February 1965. He played as a shooting guard. He represented both Yugoslavia and Croatia and spent ten seasons in Spain’s Liga ACB. He retired in 2003 and went on to a coaching career that took him to Spain, Croatia, Turkey and Russia, with four spells on the Baskonia bench.

Youth national teams

Before breaking into the senior game, he already stood out with Yugoslavia’s youth teams. He won silver at the 1982 European Junior Championship in Bulgaria and bronze at the 1984 edition in Sweden. He also took silver at the 1983 Summer Universiade in Edmonton.

The Jugoplastika of three European Cups

From 1985 to 1992 he was part of the Split side, which played as Jugoplastika and later as POP 84. It was the most successful period in the club’s history: four consecutive Yugoslav league titles from 1988 to 1991 and three straight European Champions Cups, in 1989, 1990 and 1991. With the same team he also won the Yugoslav Cup and, after the federal league broke up, the 1992 Croatian Cup.

Ten years in the Liga ACB

In 1992 he moved to Spain to join Breogán in Lugo. In his only season in Galicia, 1992-93, he was the Liga ACB’s top scorer with 24.5 points per game. In 1993 he signed for Baskonia, where he stayed until 1997. There he was named MVP of the 1994 Spanish Cup and won the 1995 Spanish Cup and the 1996 European Cup Winners’ Cup. Between 1997 and 2002 he played for Fuenlabrada, with whom he won four straight ACB scoring titles, from 1999 to 2002, averaging more than 22 points per game in each of those seasons. He played in several ACB All-Star Games and finished his career with Lucentum Alicante in 2002-03.

With Yugoslavia and Croatia

With the Yugoslavia senior team he became world champion in 1990 in Argentina and European champion in 1991 in Italy. In 1990 he also won the Goodwill Games in Seattle. After Croatia’s independence he joined the new national team, winning the Olympic silver medal at Barcelona 1992, bronze at EuroBasket 1993 in Germany, bronze at the 1994 World Championship in Canada and bronze at EuroBasket 1995 in Greece. He also played for Croatia at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, where the team finished seventh.

First years as a coach

He began coaching in 2003 at KK Split. In 2004 he moved to Sevilla, and in 2005 he returned to Baskonia, this time as head coach. In his first season he won the 2006 Spanish Cup and led the team to third place in the EuroLeague. The same year he added the Spanish Supercup. He left Vitoria in 2007, coached Estudiantes in 2007-08 and in 2008 took charge of Cibona Zagreb, winning the Croatian league in 2009 and 2010 and the 2009 Croatian Cup. In 2009 he was named the best coach of the Adriatic League. From 2010 to 2011 he coached Efes Pilsen in Istanbul.

Valencia, Efes and back to Vitoria

He arrived at Valencia Basket in 2012. In 2013-14 he won the EuroCup, and the Spanish basketball coaches’ association named him Coach of the Year in 2014. He stayed in Valencia until 2015, the year in which he also coached the Croatia national team. He returned to Baskonia for the 2015-16 season and took the club to the 2016 EuroLeague Final Four. Between 2016 and 2017 he coached Anadolu Efes, who dismissed him in December 2017. His third spell in Vitoria began in 2018 and ended with his dismissal in December 2019.

Kazan and a fourth spell at Baskonia

In 2021 he signed for UNICS Kazan. In 2022-23 he led the team to the VTB United League title, the club’s first in that competition, and in 2024 he was named the league’s Coach of the Year. He coached the Russian side until 2026. In October 2026 he returned to Baskonia as the replacement for Paolo Galbiati, beginning his fourth spell on the Vitoria bench.