Zeljko Obradovic shares how NBA influenced his coaching style / News - Basketnews.com

Obradovic said he had an encounter with Rick Carlisle years ago, who explained that 80% of coaching in the NBA is relationships with the players. Obradovic has adjusted his training methods, implementing a system where only one practice is held.

Credit: ABA League j.t.d./Dragana Stjepanovic Credit ABA League j.t.d./Dragana Stjepanovic

Zeljko Obradovic is often regarded as the greatest basketball coach in European history. As such, fans have always wondered how he would fare in the NBA, where the coaching style is much different.

In an interview with Arena Sport, the 63-year-old said that there was some interest from the other side of the Atlantic, but it wasn't close to materializing.

"To be honest, I never had a concrete offer from the NBA. In all honesty, I [once] spent 40 days as part of the Detroit Pistons organization. It's the best league in the world. They take [some coaching details] from us, and we take from them. I had the opportunity to be part of the team, I even received daily wages. When I arrived, [general manager] Joe Dumars told me he wanted me to talk about all the details I was seeing. We talked about a possible arrangement, but those are some things between us," Obradovic said.

Being arguably the most famous coach in Europe, Obradovic is not used to the process of how NBA coaches get hired. When he stayed in the US, he got confused, he admits.

"That stay there was fantastic for me," the coach said. "At one point, I had a call from a manager inviting me for an interview. I didn't understand that. I asked what an interview was, 'Isn't it given to journalists?'"

Despite Obradovic not holding a position in the NBA, another Serbian coach - Darko Rajakovic - has taken over as head coach of the Toronto Raptors. Sergio Scariolo was also named as one of the finalists, but he was not chosen to lead the team.

"This summer, I also attended a seminar held by Sergio Scariolo together with Dumars. Before that, he was in the Toronto Raptors, and I was interested in why Darko Rajakovic came to the head coach position. I have a fantastic relationship with him, we talk a lot," Obradovic said about Rajakovic.

"They think that it will be much easier to develop young players with a young coach. They believe it will be much easier than with Scariolo, who strives for results," Zeljko explained. "Do you think it is possible in the EuroLeague and that the result is not the primary thing? I think not. Everyone wants at least a place in the top eight."

More than two decades ago, Obradovic got a taste of how much scouting is done in the NBA, not only about the players but about the coaches as well. Nevertheless, the coaching philosophy is more about human relationships rather than X's and O's.

"Rick Carlisle insisted on sitting down with me and Dusko Ivanovic. I coached Real Madrid back then. He knew everything about us. He knew my reactions, Dusko's reactions," Obradovic said.

"And one of the things he said was that in the NBA, 80% of the coaching job is based on the relationship with the players, and 20% is basketball details," he shared. "[Carlisle said,] 'I know how you work, I know the details of your attack, I know the details of your defense.' That was 25 years ago."

With multiple decades of high-level coaching experience, Obradovic's players often tell that he's tremendous off the court despite his presumed antics during the games. The NBA influence runs even deeper, Obradovic says.

"From the moment I came back from Detroit, which was 2012, I was thinking, 'Why are these people doing training in the morning?'" he recalled.

"Of course, it's a perfect system. From 11 AM to 1 PM, there is team training, then it ends. They have an incredible number of coaches, somebody works individually, they work on shooting, [go to] the gym. After that, I started working in the same way. I do one training session, and the players like it. Even we like it," he shared.

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