Viktor Zubkov (basketball)

This article is about the Soviet basketball player. For the Russian politician, see Viktor Zubkov.

Viktor Zubkov

Personal information
Born	(1937-04-24)24 April 1937 Rostov-on-Don, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died	16 October 2016(2016-10-16) (aged 79) Moscow, Russia
Nationality	Russian
Listed height	6 ft 8.5 in (2.04 m)
Listed weight	195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
Playing career	1955–1967
Position	Center
Number	7
Coaching career	1979–1981
Career history
As player:
1955–1957	Rustovnna Burevestnik
1957–1967	CSKA Moscow
As coach:
1979–1981	Mozambique
Career highlights and awards
As a player: FIBA's 50 Greatest Players (1991) 2× EuroLeague champion (1961, 1963) EuroLeague Finals Top Scorer (1961) FIBA EuroBasket MVP (1959) 8× USSR League champion (1959–1966)
Medals Representing Soviet Union Men's Basketball Olympic Games 1956 Melbourne 1960 Rome FIBA World Cup 1963 Brazil EuroBasket 1957 Sofia 1959 Istanbul 1961 Belgrade

Viktor Alekseyevich Zubkov (Russian: Виктор Алексеевич Зубков; 24 April 1937 – 16 October 2016) was a Soviet professional basketball player and coach. At a height of 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in), he played at the center position. He is considered to be one of the most distinguished players of Soviet and European basketball in the 1950s and 1960s.

He won two silver medals at the Summer Olympic Games, while representing the senior men's Soviet national team. He was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1991.

Club playing career

Zubkov played at the club level with CSKA Moscow, with whom he won 8 Soviet national league titles (1959–1966), and two FIBA European Champions Cup (EuroLeague) titles (1961 and 1963).

National team career

As a member of the senior men's Soviet national team for seven years (1956–1963), he won two Olympic silver medals (1956 and 1960), one FIBA World Cup bronze medal, in 1963 (in which he was also the team captain), and three EuroBasket gold medals (1957, 1959, and 1961).

Post-playing career

Zubkov retired from playing basketball in 1966, and after that, he worked as senior instructor and deputy chief of the military-engineering academy, named after Valerian Kuybyshev, and as the head coach of the senior Mozambican national team.

Death

Zubkov died on 16 October 2016.

External links

• FIBA Profile
• FIBA Europe Profile
• Olympics Profile
• Russian Language Profile (in Russian)