SPQR Rome: There’s a favorite for the coaching job

SPQR Roma has reportedly chosen the coach to lead the sports project spearheaded by Luka Doncic and Donnie Nelson. The favorite for the head coaching position is reportedly Igor Milicic, a 50-year-old Croatian coach already known in Italian basketball for leading Napoli to the Coppa Italia title in the 2023–2024 season.

Currently the head coach of Poland and a three-time PKL champion with Wloclawek and Ostrow, Milicic was fired by Napoli after the first eight games of the 2024–2025 season, ending his stint in Serie A with an overall record of 14 wins and 24 losses.

In the 2025–2026 season, he coached Aris Thessaloniki, leading the Greek team to a fifth-place finish in the league. However, a change in club ownership led to the decision to hand the head coaching position to Vassilis Spanoulis. Before formalizing the agreement with the new Rome-based club, Milicic is reportedly finalizing the termination of the contract that still binds him to Aris.

Aris is one of the foreign clubs that tried to sign Amedeo Della Valle, who will instead remain in Italy: he has agreed to join Pallacanestro Varese.