Milan seemed destined for greatness from its beginnings. Founded in 1936, Milan immediately won four consecutive domestic titles. Thirty years later, the arrival of Bill Bradley helped turn Milan into a continental power as the club conquered the 1966 EuroLeague title in front of its home fans. Milan added three Saporta Cup trophies between 1971 and 1976 led by Art Kenney, Renzo Bariviera, Giorgio Giomo and Coach Cesare Rubini. The team tacked on Korac Cup crowns in 1985 and 1993. Mike D'Antoni, Dino Meneghin and Joe Barry Carroll helped Milan beat Varese in the 1985 Korac Cup final, while Aleksandar Djordjevic, Antonello Riva and Riccardo Pittis led Milan past Roma in the 1993 Korac Cup title series. Milan achieved its best moments with a classic team of stars: Meneghin, Bob McAdoo and D'Antoni. They led Olimpia to back-to-back EuroLeague titles in 1987 and 1988, both times against Maccabi Tel Aviv, under two different head coaches, Dan Peterson and Franco Casalini. Milan won both the Italian League and the Italian Cup in 1996 with Nando Gentile, Dejan Bodiroga and Gregor Fucka. A lengthy rough patch followed, but a new era arrived for Olimpia Milano when fashion mogul Giorgio Armani became the team’s main sponsor. Milan made it to the Italian League finals in 2005 before losing against Climamio Bologna, but earned the right to play again in the EuroLeague. Armani Jeans Milano reached the EuroLeague Top 16 in the 2008-09 season after winning five of its last six regular season games. The team also made it back to the Italian League finals, a feat it repeated in 2010. The club was back in the EuroLeague Top 16 in 2011-12, and the rise continued for the next two seasons. In 2013-14 Milan returned to prominence at the highest levels of European basketball when it clinched home-court advantage for the EuroLeague playoffs, but was ousted by eventual champion Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv. However, it refocused its efforts at home and knocked off Montepaschi Siena to win the Italian League for the first time since 1996. The last three EuroLeague seasons have not been as successful, as injuries often got in the way. But in the 2015-16 campaign, Milan recovered from EuroLeague regular season disappointment by reaching the EuroCup quarterfinals in a rare appearance in that competition, before going on to sweep the domestic titles by beating Sidigas Avellino for the Italian Cup and Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia in the Italian League finals for its first Italian double in 20 years. Last season, Milan defended its Italian Cup crown, but now is ready for a reset, and under a new coach, and poised to compete for the highest goals amongst Europe’s best teams in the EuroLeague.
Trophy Case
Euroleague: 1966, 1987, 1988 |
Cup of Cups: 1971, 1972, 1976 |
Korac Cup: 1985, 1993 |
Intercontinental Cup: 1987 |
Italian National League: 1936, 1936-37, 1937-38, 1938-39, 1949-50, 1050-51, 1951-52, 1952-53, 1953-54, 1956-57, 1957-58, 1958-59, 1959-60, 1961-62, 1962-63, 1964-65, 1965-66, 1966-67, 1971-72, 1981-82, 1984-85, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1988-89, 1995-96, 2013-14, 2015-16 |
Italian National Cup: 1972, 1986, 1987, 1996, 2016, 2017 |
Italian Supercup "Supercoppa": 2016 |