After Croatia became independent country, "Novi" was just dropped out and the club name got its simpler and present form - KK Zagreb.

From the beginnings Zagreb players were known under the nickname Ants as a symbol of hard work and team spirit.

[1] Since its establishment KK Zagreb worked its way up over 19 years to join the famed first division in ex-Yugoslavia in 1989.

It was only a matter of time, when the team will move from its traditional base in Trnsko school sports hall (capacity 3,000) to a bigger one, which happened in 2010, when they moved to Dražen Petrović Basketball Hall, home of their better known rival Cibona.

Moving to a new and bigger hall proved to be some kind of "growing up" for KK Zagreb as the club won double title, winning both Championship of Croatia and Croatian Cup in 2011.