Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Tallinn, Estonia | 18 April 1940
Died | 3 March 2023 Tallinn, Estonia | (aged 82)
Nationality | Estonian |
Listed height | 200 cm (6 ft 7 in) |
Listed weight | 209 lb (95 kg) |
Career information | |
Playing career | 1956–1981 |
Position | Center |
Career history | |
1956–1960 | TRÜ |
1960–1962 | Rīgas ASK |
1962–1969 | CSKA Moscow |
1969–1975 | Kalev |
1975–1981 | Harju KEK |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Jaak Lipso (18 April 1940 – 3 March 2023) was an Estonian professional basketball player who competed for the Soviet Union. He is the only Estonian basketball player who has won two medals at the Olympic Games. [1] Lipso also won two medals at the FIBA World Championship and was a three-time Eurobasket champion with the Soviet Union national basketball team. [2] He was a member of the Soviet Union national team from 1961 to 1970. After his active career Lipso became a basketball coach, [3] and was elected to the Estonian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. [4]
Lipso died on 3 March 2023, at age 82. [5]
Lipso's career started at the age of 16 when he joined TRÜ basketball team (now Tartu Ülikool/Rock) in 1956. He played there for four seasons winning two Soviet Estonian titles (1958, 1959). After that he played a season with Rīgas ASK in Soviet Latvia before moving to European powerhouse CSKA Moscow. He spent the next eight years with the team winning two Euroleague titles ( 1963, 1969) and six USSR League championship titles (1962–1966, 1969). Lipso then moved to Tallinna Kalev for two years and then to Harju KEK winning two more Soviet Estonian titles (1974, 1979).