Milan Tomic
Encyclopedia
Milan Tomić is a retired Serbia
n-Greek
professional basketball player and now an assistant coach. Tomić spend most of his professional career in Greece
after he took Greek
nationality
. During his years in Olympiacos
, he became an idol among the team's fans.
Still a legend there, he took an assistant coach's spot with the team, under the head coach Panagiotis Giannakis
.
as a teenager and made a name as a good young player. Summer 1991 set a fresh start for Olympiacos. New chairman Kokkalis
appointed Giannis Ioannidis
as head coach with a goal to put the team in European basketball's elite.
Ioannidis invited Tomić, amongst other young Serbs for a trial. The coach wasn't so impressed with Tomic's basketball skills or physical attributes but liked the young boy's passion, cleverness and will to win. So he offered him a spot in the team's roster
.
But for the transfer to be concluded Tomić had to take the Greek citizenship since only one non-Greek player was allowed (that player was Žarko Paspalj
). At the time, giving Balkan players the Greek citizenship was a common practice for Greek teams and a lot of players did the same. Some famous examples are Peja Stojaković
, Dragan Tarlać
and Rasho Nesterović
.
Due to some legal problems concerning his citizenship he was not able to play for one season so he made his debut for the Reds in 1992-1993 season. It wasn't long before Tomić showed his value and potential and was named a starter. At the same time the team was growing stronger under Ioannidis guidance and managed to win the Greek League
championship despite the fact they had home disadvantage against Panathinaikos, the team's arch-rivals, going into the playoff
finals.
They also returned to European competitions and reached the Euroleague
quarterfinals with Tomić averaging 32.5 minutes and 8.3 points per game. The following two seasons Tomić established his position as the starting play maker while Olympiacos dominated the Greek League
winning both regular seasons and the playoffs beating PAOK
in 1994 and Panathinaikos in 1995 finals respectively. They also found European recognition by reaching two consecutive Euroleague finals.
They lost both but the fact they won Panathinaikos in both semifinals was a big consolation for their fans. Tomić wasn't a leader in the statistics section but was the mind and soul of the team.
Next season, 1995–96, wasn't a good one for Milan individually.
The arrival of David Rivers
pushed Tomić on the bench reducing his playing time. Still he managed to help the team retain its A1
title. Season 1996-97 is without doubt the best in Olympiacos history.
Dušan Ivković
took over as head coach and gave Tomić more playing time. Especially during the important last part of the season Ivković made him starting point-guard moving Rivers to shooting guard
position. The end of the season found Olympiacos as A1 champions, Euroleague champions, for the first time and Greek Cup
winners making them the first Greek team to hold those titles simultaneously. A few months later Olympiacos participated on 1997 McDonald's Championship
and made it to the final where they faced the reigning NBA champions the Chicago Bulls
. Tomić was guarding Michael Jordan
and several funny incidents happened between them.
. There was no doubt about who was the most suitable player to be the new captain.
Tomić was already acting as captain all those years. From the moment he was declared the new captain he was dreaming of picking trophies for his team in the years to come. Unfortunately for him that didn't happen for 4 years.
Olympiacos remained a top European team but wasn't capable of winning a title. They reached the A1
finals twice but lost and also participated in Euroleague's 1999 Final 4 only to take the third place. On the contrary Tomić evolved as a player. He was playing more, scoring more and was a true captain on and off the court as he became the fans most favorite player.
as head coach for the 2001-02 season. Subotic brought along a young talented point guard Theo Papaloukas. Papaloukas presence reduced Tomić's playing time but on the other hand their rotation and sometimes combination in the lineup made the team better in matters of team-plays organization, better passing and defense.
Olympiacos managed to win the Greek Cup so Tomic's dream of raising a trophy, as a captain, in front of his team's fans became reality. Later that season Olympiacos faced Panathinaikos in the A1 semifinals having home disadvantage and still managed to "sweep" them in two games. During the decisive second match's last minutes PAO seemed to have the momentum.
Suddenly a fight broke up after a hard foul. Moments later all eyes turned to watch Tomić fighting against Panathinaikos' star player Dejan Bodiroga
who also was the most hated rival player for fans of Olympiacos. The image of Tomic punching Bodiroga was an instant favorite for the Red's hardcore fans.
After the fight Tomić, Bodiroga and several other players went off but the momentum had changed and Olympiacos won the game and advanced to the finals against AEK Athens. Olympiacos won the first two games but AEK made a huge comeback and won the series.
Olympiacos failed to win Aris
in the Greek Cup's final. In addition to that the team was fighting for a playoff position. Chairman Kokkalis decided to fire head coach Dragan Šakota
and to everyone's surprise asked Tomić to take the empty spot in the bench. Tomić loves the team so much that he didn't question that decision and took the job. Under his reign as head coach the team improved and played better but was eliminated in the playoffs.
The season ended and Tomic asked for a multi-year contract so he would have the time to built a new winning team. The team's new directors didn't like his demands and gave his position to Milan Minic. The new season started and after some bad results Minic was fired and replaced by Jonas Kazlauskas
.
Tomić was given hardly any playing time while the team was constantly losing. Things got worst when they lost 59-110 to Efes Pilsen. That was the biggest home defeat in team's European history. It was a big embarrassment for the fans who were furious and began swearing at players, coaches and directors. Only one name was chanted in a good way. The name was Milan Tomić. Surprisingly Tomić was asked to leave the team few days later. He did so without complaining while the fans were shocked watching their team without its natural leader.
and brought Tomic, who was a free agent
, to help saving the team from relegation. He played 14 games for the Italian team averaging 9.8 points but the team finished last in the standings. Tomic made another effort to continue his career and signed a contract with Kolossos Rodou
in January 2006. The irony was that his debut match was against Olympiacos. When he entered the court Olympiacos fans once again chanted his name. He only played two games for Kolossos and then decided to retire because he felt he had nothing more to offer.
became the new Olympiacos head coach. Giannakis asked Tomić to be a part of the coaching staff, so he returned to his beloved team as an assistant coach.
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n-Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
professional basketball player and now an assistant coach. Tomić spend most of his professional career in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
after he took Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
nationality
Nationality
Nationality is membership of a nation or sovereign state, usually determined by their citizenship, but sometimes by ethnicity or place of residence, or based on their sense of national identity....
. During his years in Olympiacos
Olympiacos BC
Olympiacos B.C. , also known simply as Olympiacos and Olympiacos Piraeus, is a Greek professional basketball club, part of Olympiacos CFP, based in Piraeus. The basketball club, founded in 1931, is one of the most successful in Greece and a traditional powerhouse in European competitions...
, he became an idol among the team's fans.
Still a legend there, he took an assistant coach's spot with the team, under the head coach Panagiotis Giannakis
Panagiotis Giannakis
Panagiotis Giannakis , nicknamed "The Dragon", is a retired Greek professional basketball player and coach. He is the former head coach of the pro club Olympiacos, and the Greek National Basketball Team. Under Giannakis' guidance, the Greek National team won the gold medal at the 2005 EuroBasket...
.
Early years and the golden era
Tomić started his career playing for RadničkiKK Radnicki
KK Radnički Kragujevac is a professional basketball club from Kragujevac, Serbia. The club currently plays in the Serbian League and the Adriatic League.-History:The club was founded on 4 April 1994 in Vršac as KK Kondivik...
as a teenager and made a name as a good young player. Summer 1991 set a fresh start for Olympiacos. New chairman Kokkalis
Socratis Kokkalis
Sokratis Kokkalis is a Greek businessman who has been a member of the Forbes 500 list of the world's 500 richest people. He is the Chairman, CEO and majority shareholder of Intracom Holdings, one of the largest multinational technology groups in South-Eastern Europe, and the Chairman and majority...
appointed Giannis Ioannidis
Giannis Ioannidis
Giannis Ioannidis is a Greek New Democracy politician and a famous ex basketball coach. Ioannidis was born in Thessaloniki, and studied Agriculture in the Faculty of Geotechnical Sciences at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki...
as head coach with a goal to put the team in European basketball's elite.
Ioannidis invited Tomić, amongst other young Serbs for a trial. The coach wasn't so impressed with Tomic's basketball skills or physical attributes but liked the young boy's passion, cleverness and will to win. So he offered him a spot in the team's roster
Roster
A roster is a list of names of people involved with an organization of some kind.A roster can be a list of people and the times when they are required to work or a list of students in a classroom....
.
But for the transfer to be concluded Tomić had to take the Greek citizenship since only one non-Greek player was allowed (that player was Žarko Paspalj
Žarko Paspalj
Žarko Paspalj is a retired Serbian professional basketball player and current sports administrator...
). At the time, giving Balkan players the Greek citizenship was a common practice for Greek teams and a lot of players did the same. Some famous examples are Peja Stojaković
Predrag Stojakovic
Predrag Stojaković , also known by his nickname Peja , is a Serbian professional basketball player who last played for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association . Standing at 6 ft 10 , Stojaković plays the small forward position...
, Dragan Tarlać
Dragan Tarlac
Dragan Tarlać is a retired Serbian / Greek professional basketball player. He played in the NBA. He is 2.11 m in height.-Europe:...
and Rasho Nesterović
Radoslav Nesterovic
Radoslav "Rašo" Nesterović , usually referred to in English as Rasho Nesterovic , is a retired Slovenian professional basketball player. He holds citizenship in both Slovenia and Greece. In the NBA he played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers, and Toronto Raptors...
.
Due to some legal problems concerning his citizenship he was not able to play for one season so he made his debut for the Reds in 1992-1993 season. It wasn't long before Tomić showed his value and potential and was named a starter. At the same time the team was growing stronger under Ioannidis guidance and managed to win the Greek League
A1 Ethniki
The Greek Basket League , commonly referred to as the Greek Basketball League or Greek Basketball Championship, is the highest professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by HEBA...
championship despite the fact they had home disadvantage against Panathinaikos, the team's arch-rivals, going into the playoff
Playoff
The playoffs, postseason, or finals of a sports league are a game or series of games played after the regular season by the top competitors, usually but not always with a single-elimination system, to determine the league champion or a similar accolade.In the U.S...
finals.
They also returned to European competitions and reached the Euroleague
Euroleague
Euroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...
quarterfinals with Tomić averaging 32.5 minutes and 8.3 points per game. The following two seasons Tomić established his position as the starting play maker while Olympiacos dominated the Greek League
A1 Ethniki
The Greek Basket League , commonly referred to as the Greek Basketball League or Greek Basketball Championship, is the highest professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by HEBA...
winning both regular seasons and the playoffs beating PAOK
PAOK BC
P.A.O.K. Thessaloniki B.C. is the professional basketball department of the Greek multi-sports club P.A.O.K., originally founded in 1926 and is based in Thessaloniki, Greece. The club has established a firm reputation in Greek sports, especially for its success in European leagues...
in 1994 and Panathinaikos in 1995 finals respectively. They also found European recognition by reaching two consecutive Euroleague finals.
They lost both but the fact they won Panathinaikos in both semifinals was a big consolation for their fans. Tomić wasn't a leader in the statistics section but was the mind and soul of the team.
Next season, 1995–96, wasn't a good one for Milan individually.
The arrival of David Rivers
David Rivers
David Lee Rivers is a retired American basketball player. An explosive point guard, he reached star status in the Euroleague, mostly playing for Olympiacos Piraeus under coach Dusan Ivkovic....
pushed Tomić on the bench reducing his playing time. Still he managed to help the team retain its A1
A1 Ethniki
The Greek Basket League , commonly referred to as the Greek Basketball League or Greek Basketball Championship, is the highest professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by HEBA...
title. Season 1996-97 is without doubt the best in Olympiacos history.
Dušan Ivković
Dušan Ivkovic
Dušan "Duda" Ivković is a Serbian former professional basketball player and current coach. In 2008, he was named one of the 10 Greatest Coaches in Euroleague history....
took over as head coach and gave Tomić more playing time. Especially during the important last part of the season Ivković made him starting point-guard moving Rivers to shooting guard
Shooting guard
The shooting guard , also known as the two or off guard, is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. Players of the position are often shorter, leaner, and quicker than forwards. A shooting guard's main objective is to score points for his team...
position. The end of the season found Olympiacos as A1 champions, Euroleague champions, for the first time and Greek Cup
Greek basketball Cup
The Greek Basketball Cup or Hellenic Basketball Cup is an annual pro basketball national cup competition. It is organized by the Hellenic Basketball Federation .-History and format:...
winners making them the first Greek team to hold those titles simultaneously. A few months later Olympiacos participated on 1997 McDonald's Championship
1997 McDonald's Championship
The 1997 McDonald's Championship took place at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris.-Preliminary round:Qualifying games16 October 1997-Final round:-Places 5-6:18 October 1997-Final:*Chicago Bulls...
and made it to the final where they faced the reigning NBA champions the Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
. Tomić was guarding Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
and several funny incidents happened between them.
Captain of the team and downfall
After have won everything the previous year a lot of players left the team. One of them was team's captain Giorgos SigalasGiorgos Sigalas
Giorgos Sigalas , is a retired Greek professional basketball player. During the 1990s, the 6'7" swingman was the regular captain of the senior men's Greek national team, as well as of the Athens-based Olympiacos in the Greek League and the Euroleague...
. There was no doubt about who was the most suitable player to be the new captain.
Tomić was already acting as captain all those years. From the moment he was declared the new captain he was dreaming of picking trophies for his team in the years to come. Unfortunately for him that didn't happen for 4 years.
Olympiacos remained a top European team but wasn't capable of winning a title. They reached the A1
A1 Ethniki
The Greek Basket League , commonly referred to as the Greek Basketball League or Greek Basketball Championship, is the highest professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by HEBA...
finals twice but lost and also participated in Euroleague's 1999 Final 4 only to take the third place. On the contrary Tomić evolved as a player. He was playing more, scoring more and was a true captain on and off the court as he became the fans most favorite player.
Captain's justification
Olympiacos' chairman hired Lefteris SuboticSlobodan Subotic
Slobodan "Piksi" Subotić ) is a retired professional basketball player. A 2.01 m talented swingman, his incredible shooting ability helped Aris Thessaloniki qualify for three Euroleague final fours between 1988 and 1990. Subotić followed a successful career as a coach...
as head coach for the 2001-02 season. Subotic brought along a young talented point guard Theo Papaloukas. Papaloukas presence reduced Tomić's playing time but on the other hand their rotation and sometimes combination in the lineup made the team better in matters of team-plays organization, better passing and defense.
Olympiacos managed to win the Greek Cup so Tomic's dream of raising a trophy, as a captain, in front of his team's fans became reality. Later that season Olympiacos faced Panathinaikos in the A1 semifinals having home disadvantage and still managed to "sweep" them in two games. During the decisive second match's last minutes PAO seemed to have the momentum.
Suddenly a fight broke up after a hard foul. Moments later all eyes turned to watch Tomić fighting against Panathinaikos' star player Dejan Bodiroga
Dejan Bodiroga
Dejan Bodiroga is a retired Serbian professional basketball player.He is offten considered as one of the best players who did not play in the NBA....
who also was the most hated rival player for fans of Olympiacos. The image of Tomic punching Bodiroga was an instant favorite for the Red's hardcore fans.
After the fight Tomić, Bodiroga and several other players went off but the momentum had changed and Olympiacos won the game and advanced to the finals against AEK Athens. Olympiacos won the first two games but AEK made a huge comeback and won the series.
Beginning of the end
After 2001-02 season many important players left the team. Tomic was still giving his best but the quality of the team's roster had deteriorated. Season 2003-04 was even worse. The glory days of the past seemed so far away. Tomic performed way below his standards.Olympiacos failed to win Aris
Aris BC
Aris Basketball Club is the professional basketball team of the Thessaloniki-based Greek sport club Aris Thessaloniki. Aris BC was founded in 1922, eight years after the founding of Aris Thessaloniki....
in the Greek Cup's final. In addition to that the team was fighting for a playoff position. Chairman Kokkalis decided to fire head coach Dragan Šakota
Dragan Šakota
Dragan Šakota ; born June 16, 1952 in Belgrade) is a Serbian former professional basketball player and current coach...
and to everyone's surprise asked Tomić to take the empty spot in the bench. Tomić loves the team so much that he didn't question that decision and took the job. Under his reign as head coach the team improved and played better but was eliminated in the playoffs.
The season ended and Tomic asked for a multi-year contract so he would have the time to built a new winning team. The team's new directors didn't like his demands and gave his position to Milan Minic. The new season started and after some bad results Minic was fired and replaced by Jonas Kazlauskas
Jonas Kazlauskas
Jonas Kazlauskas is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former Soviet professional basketball player. He is not to be confused with the late Lithuanian linguist, also named Jonas Kazlauskas...
.
Tomić was given hardly any playing time while the team was constantly losing. Things got worst when they lost 59-110 to Efes Pilsen. That was the biggest home defeat in team's European history. It was a big embarrassment for the fans who were furious and began swearing at players, coaches and directors. Only one name was chanted in a good way. The name was Milan Tomić. Surprisingly Tomić was asked to leave the team few days later. He did so without complaining while the fans were shocked watching their team without its natural leader.
Career end
In January 2005 Lefteris Subotic took over as head coach of Sicc Cucine JesiAurora Basket Jesi
Aurora Basket Jesi, also known for sponsorship reasons as Fileni Jesi is an Italian professional basketball team from the town of Jesi.-History:...
and brought Tomic, who was a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
, to help saving the team from relegation. He played 14 games for the Italian team averaging 9.8 points but the team finished last in the standings. Tomic made another effort to continue his career and signed a contract with Kolossos Rodou
Kolossos Rodou BC
Kolossos Rodou B.C., or, Colossus Rhodes B.C., is a Greek professional basketball team located in Rhodes, Greece. Kolossos currently plays in the first Greek league of professional basketball the Greek Championship. The club was founded in 1963 and also initially featured sports like volleyball and...
in January 2006. The irony was that his debut match was against Olympiacos. When he entered the court Olympiacos fans once again chanted his name. He only played two games for Kolossos and then decided to retire because he felt he had nothing more to offer.
A new career
Tomić studied and got a 1st grade coaching degree. In February 2008, Panagiotis GiannakisPanagiotis Giannakis
Panagiotis Giannakis , nicknamed "The Dragon", is a retired Greek professional basketball player and coach. He is the former head coach of the pro club Olympiacos, and the Greek National Basketball Team. Under Giannakis' guidance, the Greek National team won the gold medal at the 2005 EuroBasket...
became the new Olympiacos head coach. Giannakis asked Tomić to be a part of the coaching staff, so he returned to his beloved team as an assistant coach.
Career titles
- 1 EuroleagueEuroleagueEuroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...
Championship: (1997) - 1 Triple CrownTriple Crown in BasketballThe Triple Crown is a term in European professional club basketball that refers to a club winning their country's top tier national domestic league, primary national domestic cup, and the top tier European continental level competition in the same season. It is the highest accomplishment that a...
: (1997) - 5 Greek ChampionshipsA1 EthnikiThe Greek Basket League , commonly referred to as the Greek Basketball League or Greek Basketball Championship, is the highest professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by HEBA...
: (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997) - 3 Greek CupsGreek basketball CupThe Greek Basketball Cup or Hellenic Basketball Cup is an annual pro basketball national cup competition. It is organized by the Hellenic Basketball Federation .-History and format:...
: (1994, 1997, 2002)
Achievements with Olympiacos
- 1st in games played for Olympiacos both in Greek LeagueA1 EthnikiThe Greek Basket League , commonly referred to as the Greek Basketball League or Greek Basketball Championship, is the highest professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by HEBA...
(383 games) and EuroleagueEuroleagueEuroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...
(214 games) - Top scorer for Olympiacos both in Greek League (2,911 points) and Euroleague (1,482 points)
- 1st in assists given for Olympiacos both in Greek League (801 assists) and Euroleague (341 assists)
- 1st in steals made for Olympiacos both in Greek League (287 steals) and Euroleague (152 steals)