Otar Korkia | |
Height M: | 1.95 |
Weight Kg: | 93 |
Birth Date: | 10 May 1923 |
Birth Place: | Kutaisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union |
Nationality: | Soviet / Georgian |
Death Place: | Tbilisi, Georgia |
Career Position: | Center |
Career Number: | 7, 10 |
Career Start: | 1940 |
Career End: | 1958 |
Coach Start: | 1958 |
Coach End: | 1970 |
Years1: | 1940–1947 |
Team1: | Dinamo Kutaisi |
Years2: | 1947–1958 |
Team2: | Dinamo Tbilisi |
Cyears1: | 1958–1959 |
Cteam1: | Soviet Union Under-20 |
Cyears2: | 1959–1968 |
Cteam2: | Dinamo Tbilisi |
Cyears3: | 1968–1970 |
Cteam3: | Cambodia |
Highlights: | As player:
As head coach:
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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.
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).
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.
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.
Korkia died in Tbilisi, aged 81. His nephew, Mikheil, was also a well-known senior Soviet national basketball team player.