Aleksandr Salnikov

A small forward, Aleksandr Salnikov is considered one of the best shooters ever produced in Soviet basketball. Salnikov started playing basketball professionally in 1968 with Stroitel Krasnodar and from 1973-77 Salnikov played with Stroitel Kyiv, except for a short spell with CSKA Moskva in 1975. Salnikov never won a Soviet title, winning silver in 1977 and bronze in 1974 with Stroitel Kyiv and another silver in 1975 with CSKA Moskva. From 1978-88 Salnikov played with SKA Kyiv, before finishing his career with Poland’s Legia Warszawa from 1989-91.

Salnikov was on the Soviet national team from 1973-81. He won Olympic bronzes in 1976 and 1980 and was a 1974 World Champion, winning silver at the 1978 Worlds. Salnikov was also a European Champion in 1979 and 1981, while taking silvers at the 1975 and 1977 European Championships.

After finishing his playing career, Salnikov worked as a basketball coach and official. From 1991-93 Salnikov was head coach of Legia Warszawa. From 1993-94 Salnikov worked with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and concurrently coached the Ukrainian natinal basketball team. From 1994-99 Salnikov worked in Lebanon, serving as head coach of Al-Fida Saida Sports Club and Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut. In 1999 Salnikov returned to Ukraine and for the next 10 years, until 2009, he worked as athletic director of BC Kyiv. From 2009 until his death, Salnikov worked as a consultant with Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague, responsible for analyzing reports of match officials and monitoring their compliance with rules and regulations.