MIES (Switzerland) - The name Ivo Daneu is legendary. Across the Balkans, and particularly in his native Slovenia, generations of basketball fans know the stories of his exploits on the international stage. Among his greatest achievements were being named MVP of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 1967 in Uruguay while representing Yugoslavia, and leading his country to the world title three years later, in 1970, in Ljubljana.
The FIBA Hall of Famer features prominently in "The History of the FIBA Basketball World Cup" documentary, which had interviews of many of the protagonists in the international game from the early years.
The Patrick Baumann House of Basketball in Mies, Switzerland, is loaded with memorabilia and information about Daneu and other greats in international hoops history.
At 89, Daneu is one of the many pioneers who helped lay the foundations for international basketball, sparking interest in the game across Europe and beyond. Earlier this month, he travelled to Switzerland alongside representatives of the Slovenian Basketball Federation, and he had plenty to say about the sport that shaped his life.
"It was beautiful," he said.
"We played basketball simply because we loved it. We were amateurs. Things are different now. Players are much taller, faster and stronger. We played our own kind of basketball, which the fans absolutely loved."
"Tivoli and all the arenas across the former Yugoslavia were packed for games of national importance. But we had a wonderful time. I have fond memories, although when I look back on those years, my childhood is what I remember most."
BASKETBALL ISN'T JUST ABOUT PRACTICING AND PLAYING GAMES. IT'S ALSO ABOUT THE CONNECTION BETWEEN PEOPLE WITHIN A TEAM
Daneu was the heart and soul of his national team.
At the World Cup 1963, Daneu was a linchpin in the first Yugoslavia team to reach the podium. They finished runners-up to Brazil. Daneu was the third leading scorer in the team after Radivoje Korac and Nemanja Djuric.
Four years later at the World Cup 1967 in Uruguay, Daneu was Yugoslavia's most impactful player, with the highest efficiency, and was the second leader scorer after Korac. Daneu was the MVP of the event after Yugoslavia again finished runners-up, but this time to the Soviet Union.
In 1970 in Ljubljana, though Daneu was injured and still played, which he talks about in the documentary, celebrated as Yugoslavia captured the crown for the first time.
A difficult childhood
Basketball was actually lucky to get Daneu, who was inducted to the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007, because probably would have played tennis had circumstances been different.
"Life was difficult," he said of his childhood.
"We struggled to get by. My father died in 1949. My mother was left alone with four children. We had practically nothing back then. Basketball courts were free, and so was the ball," he said. "I used to go play tennis, but because I couldn't afford a racket, I would just collect the balls. If I had had the money, perhaps I would have played tennis. Instead, I stayed with basketball."
Daneu says basketball grew in importance in his life when he moved to Ljubljana as a youngster to join the Academic Sports Club Olimpija.
"Then the serious training started," he said.
He also began to appreciate the good that comes with sport.
"One thing that is particularly important, even in team sports today, is the sense of togetherness and camaraderie within a team," he said. "We went skiing together, went on family holidays together, travelled all over Yugoslavia, as far as island Korcula. We were like one big family. There were no divisions or arguments."
Daneu says one of the keys of success for the teams that he played for at both club and national team level was the chemistry off the court.
"You had to be careful, though, because we joked around quite a lot at each other's expense," he said. "You had to know how to take a joke and give one back. I believe that this connection, both on and off the court, helped us achieve such success. We went to the cinema and theatre as a team. I'm talking about club basketball here."
"It was the same later in the national team. As you know, we had players from five, six republics and two autonomous provinces. I can say that, as captain, I managed to bring them all together. We also attended official receptions hosted by heads of state."
Discovering the World through Basketball
Daneu remembers taking a tour of the Far East with the national team in 1957.
"Sport has always served, also, political purposes," he said. "At the time, China was warming up its relations with Yugoslavia and invited both the men's and women's national teams on a tour. We lost four games against the Chinese national team by more than 20 points each. The Chinese already had players who were over two meters tall back then, from the northern part of the country. However, we beat the provincial teams, so the overall record of the tour was 5-4 in our favour. We had a wonderful time. The memories are fantastic."
While Slovenia played as part of Yugoslavia, Daneu says there was a respect within the team for all the republics.
"For example, whenever we celebrated medals with the national team, we would always sing," he said. "I had a little song for each republic, and I would sing them all – Bosnian, Serbian, Slovenian, Macedonian, Dal' da pijam mila majko (a Macedonian folk song) …"
Again, the key to Yugoslavia's success was that the players bonded.
"Basketball isn't just about practicing and playing games," Daneu said. "It's also about the connection between people within a team. Both at my club and later in the Yugoslav national team, we were one big family."
"Unfortunately, only five of us are still alive today: Ljubodrag Simonovic, Nikola Plecas, Vinko Jelovac, Aljosa Zorga and myself. I'm talking about the team from 1970. Many of them have passed away, but I have wonderful memories of my teammates."
Anecdotes with Bill Russell and Bill Walton
Daneu does have wonderful stories, including one about an American team that had Bill Russell and another that had Bill Walton. Russell was on a USA team that traveled to Europe and faced Daneu and Yugoslavia.
"For me, Bill Russell was a magician." Daneu said. "When they came to Ljubljana, we first took them to Bled."
Bled is a famous alpine resort town and glacial lake in the Julian Alps of northwestern Slovenia.
"I still have a photograph from that visit," Daneu said. "We went up to the castle with their players, while Bill Russell rowed out to the middle of the lake and sat there reading a book. But when it came to basketball, they played at half their strength and still beat us. He blocked shots against five different players, and I was the last one."
Daneu had a lot of respect for Russell as a player, but figured he'd at least be able to get a shot off against him.
"I used to shoot my hook shot from about 1.5 to two metres away from the basket," Daneu recalled. "I told myself: 'You're not going to block my shot.' I dribbled towards the sideline and tried a hook shot from about six metres out. Boom! He blocked that one, too.
"But he was a very nice man. We also had dinner together. A wonderful person."
The Bill Walton story is probably funnier.
Walton, who passed away recently, was on the USA team that played at the 1970 World Cup in Ljubljana.
"The Americans actually did us a favor," Daneu said. "Their national team already had an exceptional player at the time, Bill Walton, who was 19 or 20 years old and still a university student." Born in November 1952, Walton was just 17 when he played at the World Cup 1970.
"He heard about a party in Ljubljana and decided to go. He returned to the hotel at around 2:30 in the morning, where the two coaches were waiting for him, playing chess. They subsequently decided not to play him against us. Had he played, I think we would have struggled to beat them."
Daneu remembers that particular American team not being a great one at the 1970 World Cup that was won by his Yugoslavia. In their game, Yugoslavia beat the USA, 70-63.
"Their team was good, but not as strong as the American teams had been before or would be afterward," he said. "For the Olympic Games, the Americans brought their very best players. For the [World Cups], however, they would, as we say back home, put in much less effort, which made their teams beatable."
"However, if Bill Walton had played, I don't know whether we would have won that game. The Russians actually beat us by 15 points later on, yet we still finished first. That's how the system worked - it wasn't decided by a Final, but by a round-robin format in which everyone played everyone else."
Despite winning the World Cup, Daneu thinks Yugoslavia's greater success had been at the Olympics two years before.
"Well, I don't want anyone to take offense, but for me, the greatest achievement was undoubtedly winning the Olympic silver medal in Mexico (1968). The [World Cup] come after that."
"We actually played very well at the previous [World Cups] in South America. Perhaps we didn't play quite as well in Ljubljana, but we still became champions. That's just how sport works. You put everything on the scale, so to speak. Sometimes you're a little higher, sometimes a little lower."
Yugoslavia was a great fit for the first five World Cups that were held in South America, according to Daneu.
The first was in Argentina (1950), then Brazil (1954), Chile (1959), Brazil (1963) and Uruguay (1967).
"I've always said that South America suited us," Daneu said. "Brazil, which was my favorite, as well as Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. We felt incredibly comfortable there. I don't know whether it was the food that kept us going or the South American temperament and the atmosphere created by the fans."
"From 1963 onwards, those were the years when we played our very best basketball."
Sharing the love of the game with Luka
Daneu stressed how much fun it was to play the game.
"We didn't have statistics back then," he said. "We simply played basketball because we loved it. If there's one thing I can take pride in, it's something I told Luka Doncic when I was filming a commercial with him. I said: 'Luka, you know how to do everything. Just enjoy playing basketball. Forget about finances and money – just play, because you're the best.' I consider him my third son."
Daneu says he's extremely proud that Slovenia basketball players are now among the best in the world, and compete everywhere.
"It makes me happy to see how successful they have been this year – not just the boys, but the girls as well," he said.
"The boys finished first at the FIBA U18 and U20 EuroBaskets (in 2026). There are so many talented players among them, including several who also play in our domestic league. I think there are also 23 Slovenian players in the NCAA who could potentially become candidates for the national team, provided they succeed at their respective universities. And the fact that there are 16 girls over there as well really surprised me. That's very positive. I've always supported young players, and I will continue to do so. So, hats off to the younger generation."
Slovenia' most famous player nowadays is Luka.
Daneu's fame was far and wide in his prime, yet he is humble when looking back.
"People call me a legend, but I say that I'm a fossil," he said. "I'm already approaching the end of my journey. I don't know whether today's younger generation even knows how we used to play. There were no technological tools, no television coverage and none of the things we have today. Still, some people remember me, which I appreciate."
There have been three generations of Daneus.
After Ivo, there was his son, Jaka. Now, his grandson, Ziga, plays.
Jaka played for Slovenia at the FIBA EuroBaskets in 1993, 1995, 1997 and 1999.
Ziga, who has traveled to the USA and is a freshman at Bill Russell's alma mater, San Franscisco, has also suited up for Slovenia. He most recently played in four qualifiers for EuroBasket 2025.
Daneu says he's proud to be in the FIBA Hall of Fame, and enjoyed visiting the House of Basketball with his wife, Katja, Basketball Federation of Slovenia President and FIBA Central Board member Matej Erjavec and Basketball Federation of Slovenia Secretary General Ales Kriznar.
It was Kriznar who conducted the interview with Daneu for this story.
"Not everyone gets to be part of something like this," Daneu said of the FIBA Hall of Fame.
"I'd like to congratulate everyone involved for preserving this history. I believe that some Slovenian basketball fans will also decide to come here for a visit. They will be able to see some wonderful things."
FIBA