KK FMP (1991–2011)

FMP
Nickname	Panteri (Panthers)
Founded	1975; 47 years ago (1975)
Dissolved	2015; 7 years ago (2015)
History	KK ILR 1975–1986 Dissolved: 1986–1991 KK FMP 1991–2003 KK Reflex 2003–2005 KK FMP 2005–2011 KK Crvena zvezda 2011–2015 KK ILR Železnik 2015
Arena	Železnik Hall
Capacity	3,000
Location	Belgrade, Serbia
Team colors	Red and White
Championships	2 ABA League 4 National Cups
Retired numbers	7 (4, 4, 5, 10, 12, 14, 20)

Košarkaški klub FMP (Serbian Cyrillic: Кошаркашки клуб ФMП), commonly referred to as KK FMP, was a men's professional basketball club based in Belgrade, Serbia. The club played its home games at the 3,000 capacity Železnik Hall and have won the regional ABA League twice, in the 2003–04 and 2005–06 seasons.

In 2011, the club started cooperating with KK Crvena zvezda and competed under their name until 2015. In 2015, the club disbanded its senior team and changed the name to KK ILR Železnik.^[1][2] In 2013, KK Radnički Basket adopted the name and the logo of KK FMP, and renamed to KK FMP.

History[]

Foundation, early years and financial problems[]

The club was established under the name KK ILR Železnik in 1975 on the joint initiative of the Ivo Lola Ribar Machine Factory and the Železnik local community administrative board.^[3] Initially, the club was part of the Ivo Lola Ribar Sports Society, which, in addition to basketball, also fielded teams in football, handball, volleyball, boxing, bowling, archery, and chess.

During its beginnings, the club competed in the Belgrade municipal league (Belgrade zone), playing its home games on the outdoor concrete court belonging to Braća Jerković primary school.^[3] Since the municipal league ran in the spring-summer period, ILR Železnik also entered the Belgrade municipal winter league in order to maintain the fitness level until the start of the next season. The new club was well-received by Železnik residents who often packed the small home court. Over time, as interest in basketball grew throughout the community, the club started developing a youth system by adding various age categories.

In the 1980s, the Železnik's senior squad starting posting notable results as the club progressed from the lower leagues. By the mid-1980s, they made it to Serbian provincial league. However, with promotion to a higher level of competition, the operating costs also started rising. Unable to cover the costs of renting a basketball hall in which to compete, ILR Železnik effectively folded in 1986 as basketball activities ceased.

Reestablishment and top division[]

The club was inactive until 1991 when it got reestablished under the name KK FMP Železnik on the initiative of the Fabrika metalnih proizvoda (metal products factory), which became the club's owner. Almost immediately, the reestablished club continued where it had left-off in 1986. Following a season in the Second Serbian Provincial League, the club gained promotion to the First Provincial League. For the 1994–95 season, FMP Železnik made it to the Second Federal League in FR Yugoslavia, the 2nd-tier league in the country. In a memorable season, they won a top spot with only four league losses, winning promotion to the top Yugoslav league. On club's 20th anniversary in the 1995–96 season, FMP Železnik competed in the country's highest division. The club finished the regular season in third place, gaining entry into the Yugoslav League where they managed to avoid relegation, finishing in ninth place. The club won its first major trophy in 1997 when they won the Yugoslav Cup. In 1997, 1998, and 2003, the club finished as the runners-up in the country's top-tier league.

Regional league successes[]

In the 2003–04 season, the team, competing under the name KK Reflex, won the regional ABA League, defeating Croatian side Cibona in the final.^[4] They won another ABA title two years later by defeating KK Partizan in the final.^[5]

FMP played in the final of the 2011 Radivoj Korać Cup against Partizan, where they lost 77–73.

Agreement with Crvena zvezda[]

In August 2011, the club has reached a five-year agreement with KK Crvena zvezda after which the club used Crvena zvezda's name, emblem, and colors in that period.^[6] The agreement stipulates that all the club's results within the specified period (including trophies) will be attributed to the Crvena zvezda. After this period, the contract stipulated that Crvena zvezda will continue where the FMP has left off.

In July 2015, Crvena zvezda became financially consolidate, and the agreement between the clubs ended a year before it was originally planned.^[1] In the meantime, the KK Radnički Basket changed its name to KK FMP with headquarters at the address where the "original" FMP was based. The club used the same team colors and partially modified logo, while "the original" FMP has changed its name to KK ILR Železnik and started competing with junior selections only.^[2]

Honours[]

Players[]

Retired numbers[]

KK FMP retired numbers
No	Nat.	Player	Position	Tenure	Ref.
4		Miloš Teodosić	PG	2004–2007
		Bojan Popović	PG	2001–2005
5		Reggie Freeman	SG	2002–2003, 2003–2005
10		Goran Bošković	SG/SF	1996–1998
12		Goran Nikolić	PF/C	1997–2003
14		Ognjen Aškrabić	PF/C	1998–2004
20		Duško Savanović	PF	2003–2004; 2005–2006

Players in the NBA Draft[]

Position	Player	Year	Round	Pick	Drafted by
PF	Vladimir Radmanović	2001	1st round	12th	Seattle SuperSonics
SG	Mladen Šekularac#	2002	2nd round	55th	Dallas Mavericks
C	Mile Ilić	2005	2nd round	43rd	New Jersey Nets

Coaching history[]

Vlada Vukoičić led the club to its biggest success, winning the Adriatic League in 2006.

• Momir Milatović (1996–1998)
• Boško Đokić (1998)
• Aleksandar Petrović (1998–2001)
• Miodrag Baletić (2001 – 2002)
• Vlade Đurović (2002–2004)
• Boško Đokić (2004–2005)
• Vlada Vukoičić (2005 – January 14, 2008)
• Slobodan Klipa (January 14 – December 10, 2008)
• Milovan Stepandić (December 10, 2008 – May 10, 2009)
• Slobodan Klipa (July – October 28, 2009)
• Vlade Đurović (October 28, 2009 – March 17, 2010)
• Boško Đokić (March 19, 2010 – February 22, 2011)
• Aleksandar Petrović (February 22 – June 10, 2011)

Notable players[]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website (in Serbian)