Jaka Lakovic names things he learned from Zeljko Obradovic / News - Basketnews.com

Lakovic said Obradovic's view of being a coach highly influenced him to become the specialist he is today. Xavi Pasqual was instrumental during the last years of his playing days, Lakovic said.

Credit: IMAGO/Nordphoto - Scanpix, Partizan Mozzart Bet/Dragana Stjepanovic Credit IMAGO/Nordphoto - Scanpix, Partizan Mozzart Bet/Dragana Stjepanovic

Jaka Lakovic was a high-level player in Europe. He's now a high-level coach who draws inspiration from the legendary names that guided him earlier in his career.

Lakovic got to play for a multitude of famous head coaches. The biggest of them, of course, is Zeljko Obradovic. The legendary Serbian instilled his philosophy in Lakovic throughout their five seasons together in Panathinaikos Athens.

The Slovenian specialist admits - his life now is more difficult now that he's a head coach.

"In general, the life of a coach is much more difficult and stressful than that of a player. I lived those words from Zeljko as a player. He told me, 'The authority of the coach and the respect of the players is not earned by shouting, even though I shout a lot. He wins by knowing how to answer everything the players ask you. Because sometimes they don't ask to find out but to test you.' That's why there are many very short nights in this profession," Lakovic said in an interview with Gigantes del Basket.

Obradovic has said that the success of a coach is dependent on how much his players believe in the system and in what the coach can do. Lakovic couldn't agree more.

"Success is that they believe in you and that they believe in everything you propose. When Aito [Garcia Reneses] coached ALBA, I asked him, 'How do you get your style to be seen as soon as you join the team?' And he told me, 'The style and the idea can be wonderful, but it only works if the team believes in it. If they don't, nothing will work out.' The relationship between the coach and the players is fundamental," Lakovic said.

"Let them understand your way of being, let them know why you say things, and don't take it the wrong way. Let them understand where the orders come from," Lakovic explained. "You always want to implement your philosophy, but you have to adapt to its characteristics."

While Obradovic laid the foundation for Lakovic's coaching philosophy, Xavi Pasqual was the most influential during the last years of his professional player career.

"I worked with top coaches in Europe - Obradovic, Maljkovic, Ivanovic, Xavi Pascual, Spahija, Kokoskov. And I learned things from each one. The ideal coach would have characteristics of each of them. Xavi Pascual influenced me a lot in my last stage as a player because of his obsession with having every last detail of the game plan under control," Lakovic explained.

Thank you for reading us! We have even more content for you.