Luca Banchi (born August 1, 1965) is an Italian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. He is currently the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

of the Latvian national team. He was awarded as the best coach of FIBA World Cup 2023.

Club coaching career

Italy

Banchi began working as a

basketball coach Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behavior of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as wel ...

in the youth teams of Basketball Grosseto, after which he was an assistant coach for the Armed Forces Vigna di Valle, and Affrico Firenze. Between 1987 and 1999, he coached the junior teams of Livorno, winning three consecutive youth national titles in the period, from 1995 to 1997. He was then promoted to

of Basket Livorno, in the Italian second-tier level Serie A2. In 1999, he made his debut on the bench of Pall Trieste, where he coached for two years, before returning to Livorno, that had meanwhile been promoted to the Italian top-tier level LBA. He followed that up with two stops in the Italian 2nd Division, in

Trapani Trapani ( ; ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') with 54,887 inhabitants, on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an important fishing port and the mai ...

and

Aurora Basket Jesi Aurora Basket Jesi is an Italian professional basketball club based in Jesi. It plays in the second division Serie A2 as of the 2015-16 season. History In 1965, Gianni Rossetti (a television journalist for RAI), Carlo Barchiesi (current presid ...

. In 2006, he became the assistant coach of

Montepaschi Siena Mens Sana Basketball Siena, also known as simply Mens Sana, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Siena. It is a section of the sports club Polisportiva Mens Sana, founded in 1871. Under the name Montepaschi Siena, derived from spon ...

, under head coach

Simone Pianigiani Simone Pianigiani (born 31 May 1969) is an Italian professional basketball coach. Coaching career Pro clubs Pianigiani was appointed the head coach of the Italian League club Montepaschi Siena before the 2006–07 season, and led his team to ...

. As an assistant with Montepaschi, he won six 6 Italian League championships in a row (2007–2012), five Italian Super Cups (2007–2011), and four Italian Cups (2009–2012). In June 2012, he took over the role of head coach of Montepaschi Siena, following the departure of

to Fenerbahçe. On February 10, 2013, he won the

Italian Cup Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

, after defeating

Pallacanestro Varese Pallacanestro Varese, also called by its current sponsor's name, the Openjobmetis Varese, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Varese, Lombardy. Founded in 1945, the team plays in the Italian basketball league system, Italian first ...

, by a score of 77–74 in the final game. On June 19, 2013, he also won his first Italian League championship, as a head coach. On July 1, 2013, he signed a two-year deal to become the head coach of the Italian European-wide top-tier level

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

club,

Emporio Armani Milano Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...

. In his first season with the team, he won the Italian League championship, repeating the previous success of

Carlo Recalcati Carlo Recalcati (born September 11, 1945, in Milan, Italy) is an Italian professional basketball coach, and a former player. He was the head coach of the senior Italian national basketball team, from 2001 to 2009, and led them to the silver meda ...

, as the only head coaches who won consecutive Italian League titles, with different teams. In the 2017–18 season, he was the head coach of the European-wide second-tier level EuroCup team, Auxulium Torino.

Brose Bamberg (2018)

On March 4, 2018, Banchi became the

of the German club

Brose Bamberg Bamberg Baskets is a German professional basketball team from Bamberg, Franconia/North Bavaria. The club has won the German Championship title nine times and the German Cup six times. The club currently plays in the German top tier Basketball ...

, of the German top-tier level

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the German basketball league system, highest level Sports league, league of professional club basketball in German ...

(BBL), and the

AEK Athens (2018–2019)

On July 1, 2018, Banchi was appointed as the

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

of the Greek Basket League (GBL) and

FIBA Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL), also commonly known as the FIBA Champions League, is an annual professional basketball competition for European clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the top-level competition organised by FIBA Europe, therefor ...

(BCL). On June 17, 2019 his contracted at

was terminated.

Lokomotiv Kuban (2019)

On July 5, 2019, he signed with

Lokomotiv Kuban PBC Lokomotiv Kuban () is a Russian professional basketball team based in Krasnodar. It participates in the VTB United League. Their honour list includes a EuroCup Basketball, EuroCup championship in the 2012–13 season, and two Russian Basketb ...

of the

VTB United League The VTB United League () is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2009. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it is the first tier of Russian ...

. On November 15, 2019, his contract with Kuban has been terminated.

Victoria Libertas Pesaro (2021–2022)

In October 20, 2021 Banchi signed with

Victoria Libertas Pesaro Victoria Libertas (also known as "VL" or in Italian ''Vuelle''), full name Unione Sportiva Victoria Libertas Pallacanestro, is a professional basketball team that is based in Pesaro, Italy. The club competes in the top level Italian professiona ...

to replace Aco Petrović. After a slow start, Pesaro made multiple winning streaks during the season and qualified for the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

SIG Strasbourg (2022–2023)

On November 16, 2022 Banchi signed with

SIG Strasbourg Strasbourg Illkirch-Graffenstaden Basket, most commonly known as SIG Basket or SIG Strasbourg, is a French professional basketball club that is based in Strasbourg. The club, founded in 1929, competes domestically in the French Pro A League. The ...

and helped the team to raise from the last place to playoffs in French ProA, as well as a playoff spot in

Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL), also commonly known as the FIBA Champions League, is an annual professional basketball competition for European sports club, clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the European professional club basketball system ...

Virtus Bologna (2023–2024)

In September 15, 2023, after Scariolo was fired following controversial statements regarding the new roster and the upcoming season, he became new head coach of

Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

, and signed a two-year contract. Returning to the Euroleague, after a 5-year break. About a week later, the team won the first title under the new coach, winning the Italian Supercup. On 24 September 2023, after having ousted Olimpia Milano in the semifinals, Virtus won its fourth Supercup, and the third in a row, defeating 97–60 Germani Brescia. On December 5, 2024, Banchi resigned as head coach after a 2–11 start in the EuroLeague.

Anadolu Efes (2025–present)

On January 7, 2025, he signed with

Anadolu Efes Anadolu Efes Spor Kulübü, commonly referred to as Anadolu Efes or simply Efes, is a Turkish professional basketball team based in Istanbul. Founded in 1976, the club was formerly known as Efes Pilsen until 2011. Efes is the 2021–22 EuroLeagu ...

of the

Basketbol Süper Ligi The Basketball Super League (; TBSL), also known as the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional basketball division of the Turkish basketball league system. It replaced the former Turkish Bas ...

(BSL).

National teams

On March 25, 2021, Luca Banchi was announced as the next head coach of the

Latvia men's national basketball team The Latvia men's national basketball team () represents Latvia in international basketball. They are organized and run by the Latvian Basketball Association. Latvia has reached the European Basketball Championship 15 times, with their ultimat ...

. Latvia became one of the two European teams to qualify for the

2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 19th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams, held from 25 August to 10 September 2023. The tournament was the second to feature 32 teams and was hosted by multipl ...

after starting their journey at the World Cup Pre-Qualifiers. In the country's World Cup debut in 2023, Banchi led the team to a 5th place finish and received the award for the Best Coach of the tournament. Starting with the Pre-Qualifiers, Latvia had won 21 out of 24 games under coach Banchi.

Coaching record

EuroLeague

, - , align="left", Montepaschi , align="left",

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 24 , , 12 , , 12 , , , , align="center", Eliminated in Top 16 stage , - , align="left" rowspan=2,

Milano Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nearly 1.4 million, while i ...

, align="left", 2013–14 , 28 , , 16 , , 12 , , , , align="center", Eliminated in quarterfinals , - , align="left", 2014–15 , 24 , , 9 , , 15 , , , , align="center", Eliminated in Top 16 stage , - , align="left",

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main (river), Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in ...

, align="left", 2017–18 , 6 , , 2 , , 4 , , , , align="center", Eliminated in regular season , - , align="left" rowspan=2,

, align="left", 2023–24 , 36 , , 18 , , 18 , , , , align="center", Eliminated in the play-in round , - , align="left", 2024–25 , 13 , , 2 , , 11 , , , , align="center", ''Parted ways'' , -class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan=2, Career, , 131, , 59, , 72, , , ,

References

External links

Luca Banchi
at euroleague.net
Luca Banchi
at legabasket.it {{DEFAULTSORT:Banchi, Luca 1965 births Living people Anadolu Efes S.K. coaches Aurora Basket Jesi coaches Auxilium Pallacanestro Torino coaches Basket Livorno coaches Brose Baskets coaches Italian basketball coaches Italian expatriate sportspeople in France Italian expatriate basketball people in Germany Italian expatriate basketball people in Greece Italian expatriate sportspeople in Latvia Italian expatriate basketball people in Russia Italian expatriate basketball people in the United States Mens Sana Basket coaches Olimpia Milano coaches Pallacanestro Trapani coaches Pallacanestro Trieste coaches Victoria Libertas Pesaro coaches Virtus Bologna coaches