Drazen Petrovic (photo ©Lipofsky Basketballphoto.com) was born on October 22, 1964, in Sibenik, in the then Yugoslavia, now Croatia.
Following in the footsteps of his older brother Aleksandar, at 13 Drazen Petrovic started playing basketball in his hometown team. At 15 he was playing in the first team, which was promoted to the first division in the Yugoslav championship. Thanks to him, the team reached the final twice in the Korac Cup, one of the European Cup played at that time.
In 1983, Drazen Petrovic scored two free throws to get the decisive win against Bosna in the final of the Yugoslavian league, but the national federation canceled the game for irregularities in the refereeing. The team refused to replay the game and the title was given to the Bosna.
In 1983, Drazen Petrovic won the bronze medal with the Yugoslavian national team at the Universiade in Edmonton.
In 1984, Drazen Petrovic won the bronze medal with the Yugoslavian national team at the Olympics in Los Angeles.
In 1984, Drazen Petrovic joined his brother at Cibona Zagreb, where they formed a devastating backcourt. The Cibona won two consecutive titles in the Yugoslavian championship but mostly won the European Champions Cup twice, at that time, the most important European club competition. In 1986, with the Yugoslavian national team, he also won the bronze medal at the World Championships.
In 1987, Drazen Petrovic led Cibona to victory in the European Cup Winners’ Cup. With the Yugoslavian national team, he won the bronze medal at the European Championships and the gold medal at the Universiade in Zagreb.
In 1988, Drazen Petrovic won the silver medal with the Yugoslavian national team at the Olympics in Seoul.
The need for new challenges led Drazen Petrovic to sign a contract with Real Madrid in 1988. His transfer was controversial because according to sports laws in Yugoslavia, athletes could move abroad only after turning 28 while at that point Petrovic hadn’t even turned 24. According to statements made by persons involved in the transfer, it was a matter of bribes paid to the right people.
With Real Madrid, Drazen Petrovic won the Copa del Rey and especially the European Cup Winners’ Cup, scoring 62 point in the final against Snaidero Caserta. It was one of the most outstanding individual performances in the history of European basketball.
In 1989, Drazen Petrovic decided to go to the NBA, to the Portland Trail Blazers that had picked him in 1986. Today that’s a normal choice for high-level European players, at the time that was a real challenge. Not surprisingly, for him the beginnings were very difficult: the Blazers had Clyde Draxler and Terry Porter as backcourt starters so Petrovic played very little and often it was garbage time.
In 1990, Drazen Petrovic won the gold medal with the Yugoslavian national team at the World Championship.
In early 1991, Drazen Petrovic asked to be traded and was included in a three-team trade that brought him to the New Jersey Nets. From the beginning, he played more minutes and started showing his skills in the NBA. In the two following seasons, Petrovic helped to bring the Nets to the playoffs after years of mediocrity.
In 1992, Drazen Petrovic played the Barcelona Olympics with the national team of Croatia after Yugoslavia’s fragmentation. He won the silver medal losing in the final to the one and only real immense American Dream Team.
In 1993, Drazen Petrovic wanted to go to an NBA team where he could fight for the title but there were also top European teams ready to offer him a lot of money. In the meantime, he played in the qualification tournament of the European Championship in Poland with the Croatian national team. On June 7, 1993, after one of those games, he decided to return to Croatia with his girlfriend but on a German highway, he died in a car accident.
Considered a national hero in Croatia, where a museum dedicated to him was opened, Drazen Petrovic was included in the American Hall of Fame in 2002, a global recognition of his greatness. He’s one of the greatest players in the history of European basketball, with an extraordinary individual technique and exceptional mental strength that made him an absolute winner.
