Olimpia Milano returns to Belgrade, where kids learn to play basketball in the street “kavezi”

Olimpia Milano returns to Belgrade less than two weeks after its game against Partizan to face the Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv, which, for obvious reasons, must play its EuroLeague games away from home.

In Serbia, basketball isn’t just a sport—it’s a collective faith. If Belgrade’s large arenas are the cathedrals of this cult, the “kavezi” (the “cages”) are its most authentic sanctuaries—the places where the dogma of Serbian basketball is passed down from generation to generation.

The term “kavez” refers to the characteristic urban outdoor courts with a single basket, often enclosed by metal fences. These are the historic arenas of streetball and 3×3 basketball. Iconic courts such as the famous Mozzart 3×3 Kavez in Belgrade or the historic court in Šabac are the places where Serbia’s reputation as a global powerhouse of streetball and basketball was born.

Stepping onto a kavez means entering sacred ground where unwritten rules of respect, intensity, and pure talent reign. In those frenetic half-court games, under the scorching sun or the artificial lights of the evening, the basketball played is tough, physical, and requires a very high level of intelligence. It is here that Serbian children grow up emulating local legends and NBA champions, learning the fundamentals even before setting foot on the court of a real gym.

For the Serbian people, basketball is an element of national identity, a cultural redemption, and a philosophy of life. The kavezi are the beating heart of this devotion: veritable open-air training grounds that continue to shape the character, resilience, and boundless talent that make Serbia the promised land of world basketball.