Otar Korkia

Otar Korkia
	Otar Korkia, during a basketball game
Personal information
Born	10 May 1923; Kutaisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union
Died	15 March 2005 (aged 81); Tbilisi, Georgia
Nationality	Soviet / Georgian
Listed height	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Listed weight	93 kg (205 lb)
Career information
Playing career	1940–1958
Position	Center
Number	7, 10
Coaching career	1958–1970
Career history
As player:
1940–1947	Dinamo Kutaisi
1947–1958	Dinamo Tbilisi
As coach:
1958–1959	Soviet Union Under-20
1959–1968	Dinamo Tbilisi
1968–1970	Cambodia
Career highlights and awards
	As player: FIBA's 50 Greatest Players (1991); 3× Soviet League champion (1950, 1953, 1954); 2× Soviet Cup winner (1949, 1950); Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (1950); Order of Lenin (1957); Order of Honor (Georgia); Best Georgian Basketball Player of the 20th Century; Best Georgian Sportsman of the 20th Century; As head coach: EuroLeague champion (1962); Honored Coach of the USSR (1967);
Representing Soviet Union
Men's Basketball
Summer Olympic Games
FIBA EuroBasket

Otar Korkia (Georgian: ოთარ ქორქია, Russian: Отар Михайлович Коркия; 10 May 1923 – 15 March 2005) was a Georgian professional basketball player and coach. He was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players, in 1991. He was also named the Best Georgian Basketball Player of the 20th Century, and the Best Georgian Sportsman of the 20th Century.^[1] He was born in Kutaisi.

Club career

During his club career, Korkia played with Dinamo Kutaisi, from 1940 to 1947, and with Dinamo Tbilisi, from 1947 to 1958.^[2] He won three USSR League championships (1950, 1953, and 1954) and two USSR Cups, (1949 and 1950).

National team career

Korkia was a member of the senior Soviet Union national basketball team, which won the silver medal at the 1952 Summer Olympic Games. He played in seven games during that tournament.^[3] He later became the captain of the senior Soviet national team.

He also won gold medals at the 1947 EuroBasket, the 1951 EuroBasket, and the 1953 EuroBasket. Additionally, he won the bronze medal at the 1955 EuroBasket.

Coaching career

Korkia was the head coach of Dinamo Tbilisi, when the club won the FIBA European Champions Cup (later called EuroLeague) championship, in the 1961–62 season. He was named an Honored Coach of the USSR, in 1967.

Titles won

Player

USSR League (3): 1950, 1953, 1954
USSR Cup (2): 1949, 1950
EuroBasket (3): 1947, 1951, 1953

Head coach

EuroLeague (1): 1962

Personal life

Korkia died in Tbilisi, aged 81. His nephew, Mikheil, was also a well-known senior Soviet national basketball team player.

References

^ GEORGIA LOSES LEGEND KORKIA.
^ Boris Khavin (1979). All about Olympic Games (in Russian) (2nd ed.). Moscow: Fizkultura i sport. p. 306.
^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Otar Korkia Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2018.