101 Greats of European Basketball

Vladimir Stankovic
• Was the Czechoslovakian League’s scoring champion
10 times and averaged around 30 points.
• His single-best scoring game was 68 points
against Olomouc.
That Slavia squad boasted a powerful team able to
beat anyone. For instance, Zidek Sr. scored 35 points
against Real Madrid in the 1965-66 season, 36 against
Simmenthal Milano and did even better against Belgian
side Racing – 40 points in Belgium and 48 at home! He
tallied 54 points in another game against Madrid. That
season, Zidek led Slavia to the first-ever Final Four, host
by FIBA in Bologna, Italy. Slavia suffered a 77-72 loss
to Simmenthal in the final despite 20 points by Zidek.
At the end of the season, Zidek was named a member
of the European continental team for 1966. In another
Final Four played in Madrid, Spain, in 1967, Slavia once
again lost against Simmenthal Milano, 103-97, in the
semifinals. Slavia managed to beat Olimpija Ljubljana
88-83 in the third-place game.
An atypical center
At 2.06 meters tall and based on today’s standards,
Zidek Sr. was more a forward than a center, but he
played in the “five” position and successfully fought
against taller opponents. His best weapons were the
fundamentals. He was a talented player who could hit
both his outside jumper and a hard-to-guard hook shot.
Zidek was also a great rebounder and had the spirit of
a natural fighter.
Zidek Sr. told me that back in 1968, the Boston Celtics
showed interest in him, but it was impossible and
unthinkable for him to get out of Czechoslovakia. “I had
many offers from the biggest clubs in Europe, but we
lived in the communist era, without personal freedom.
Getting out of the country in a legal way was almost
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