Encyclopedia, Difference between revisions of "Drazen Petrovic" - New World

From New World Encyclopedia
m
Line 22: Line 22:
 
{{foreignchars|[[ž]] and [[ć]]|Drazen Petrovic}}
 
{{foreignchars|[[ž]] and [[ć]]|Drazen Petrovic}}
  
'''Dražen Petrović''' (October 22, 1964 &ndash; June 7, 1993) was a [[Croatia]]n-[[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavian]] [[basketball]] player. A tireless shooter and prolific scorer, Petrović is arguably the most celebrated basketball player to ever emerge from [[Europe]]; his basketball prowess earned him the nickname "Mozart of basketball" and "basketball Amadeus" from his European fans.{{Fact|date=May 2007}} He is considered the crucial part of the vanguard to the present-day mass influx of European players into the [[NBA]]. Petrovic played professionally in the NBA for two teams, the Portland Trailblazers and the New Jersey Nets. He is arguably the greatest european basketball player of all time. <ref>Stephen Rodrick, [http://insider.espn.go.com/insider/magazine/story?id=1843021 Spirit of the Game], ''ESPN Magazine'', August 8, 2005</ref><ref>Jim Huber, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvTPx9rfT7U Drazen Petrovic], ''Inside the NBA'', January 12th, 2006</ref><ref>NBA.com, [http://www.nba.com/history/players/petrovic_bio.html Drazen Petrovic]</ref>
+
'''Dražen Petrović''' (October 22, 1964 &ndash; June 7, 1993) was a [[Croatia]]n-[[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavian]] [[basketball]] player. A tireless shooter and prolific scorer, Petrović is arguably the most celebrated basketball player to ever emerge from [[Europe]]; his basketball prowess earned him the nickname "Mozart of basketball" and "basketball Amadeus" from his European fans.{{Fact|date=May 2007}} He is considered the crucial part of the vanguard to the present-day mass influx of European players into the [[NBA]]. Petrovic played professionally in the NBA for two teams, the [[Portland Trailblazers]] and the [[New Jersey Nets]].<ref>Stephen Rodrick, [http://insider.espn.go.com/insider/magazine/story?id=1843021 Spirit of the Game], ''ESPN Magazine'', August 8, 2005</ref><ref>Jim Huber, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvTPx9rfT7U Drazen Petrovic], ''Inside the NBA'', January 12th, 2006</ref><ref>NBA.com, [http://www.nba.com/history/players/petrovic_bio.html Drazen Petrovic]</ref>
  
 
== Early years ==
 
== Early years ==

Revision as of 17:26, 19 July 2007

Drazen Petrovic
PositionShooting guard
Height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight200 lb (90.7 kg)
BornOctober 22 1964(1964-10-22)
Template:Country data SFR Yugoslavia Šibenik, SFR Yugoslavia (present-day Croatia)
Nationality Croatia
DiedJune 7 1993 (aged 28)
Flag of Germany Denkendorf,
Bavaria, Germany
Draft60th overall, 1986
Portland Trail Blazers
Pro career1979–1993
Former teams BC Šibenka (1979 – 1983)
BC Cibona (1984 – 1988)
Real Madrid (1988 – 1989)
Portland Trail Blazers (1989 – 1991)
New Jersey Nets (1991 – 1993)
Hall of Fame2002

Template:Foreignchars

Dražen Petrović (October 22, 1964 – June 7, 1993) was a Croatian-Yugoslavian basketball player. A tireless shooter and prolific scorer, Petrović is arguably the most celebrated basketball player to ever emerge from Europe; his basketball prowess earned him the nickname "Mozart of basketball" and "basketball Amadeus" from his European fans.[citation needed] He is considered the crucial part of the vanguard to the present-day mass influx of European players into the NBA. Petrovic played professionally in the NBA for two teams, the Portland Trailblazers and the New Jersey Nets.[1][2][3]

Early years

Born in Šibenik, a city on the Croatian coast, in the former Yugoslavia, Dražen Petrović was the second child of Montenegrin Jovan "Jole" and Croatian Biserka Petrović. The couple's first child, Aleksandar, would be the first one to tread the basketball path, providing a lead for young Dražen to follow. Growing up he played basketball every chance he could, routinely playing in neighborhood pickup games. At night he would shoot for hours by himself from every spot on the court and would even sleep with his basketball. At the age of thirteen Dražen started playing in the youth selections of the local BC Šibenka; at age fifteen he had already made the first team, just as Šibenka earned a place in the national first division.

With young Petrović as the star of the team, Šibenka reached the final of the Radivoj Korać Cup twice (1982 and 1983), losing to CSP Limoges both times. In 1983 the 18 year-old Petrović hit two free throws for Šibenka's victory over BC Bosna Sarajevo in the final playoff game of the Yugoslavian club championship, but the title was taken away from Šibenka the next day by the national basketball federation and awarded to Bosnia shortly after, with irregularities in refereeing cited as the reason.

Petrović regularly played for the Yugoslavian national team in the Balkan Championships, winning bronze and gold with the junior team and silver with the first team. In 1982 he also brought back the silver from the European Championship for Junior Men in Greece.

Petrovic put up good enough numbers with his professional teams, and with the Yugoslavian national team, that Notre Dame tried to lure him to the United States with a basketball scholarship in 1984. Petrovic was only 19 years old at the time and turned down the offer.

Rise to European stardom

Cibona

Olympic medal record
Competitor for Flag of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia / Flag of Croatia Croatia
Men's Basketball
Bronze 1984 Los Angeles Yugoslavia
Silver 1988 Seoul Yugoslavia
Silver 1992 Barcelona Croatia

After spending a year serving the compulsory time in the military, Petrović followed his brother's footsteps and moved to BC Cibona Zagreb to form, at that time, the best backcourt duo in Europe. The very first year in Cibona he won both the Yugoslav championship and the national cup. To top it all off, the 87:78 victory - to which Petrović contributed with 39 points - over Real Madrid brought him and Cibona their first European Cup title. The second came the following year, as Petrović scored 22 points and Cibona defeated BC Žalgiris Kaunas, which starred the legendary Arvydas Sabonis. The same year brought another national cup title for Cibona, seeing Petrović score 46 against the old rival Bosna. In 1987 Petrović earned his third European trophy: a European Cup Winners Cup title against BC Scavolini Pesaro, whose net he filled with 28 points.

With the Yugoslavian national team Petrović won the bronze in the 1984 Summer Olympics. Third place was also earned at the World Championship in 1986, remembered for the last minute thriller in the semi-final game against the Soviet Union. From the European Championship in 1987 Petrović again returned with the bronze, as Yugoslavia lost to the hosts and gold medalists Greece. The University Games, held in Zagreb in 1987, saw the Yugoslavian squad with Petrović win the gold. In the 1988 Summer Olympics Petrović earned 2nd place, as Yugoslavia lost once more to the Soviet powerhouse.

Petrović's scoring average during the four years with Cibona stood at 37.7 points in the Yugoslavian first division and 33.8 in European competitions, with personal one-time bests of 112 and 62 points, respectively [4]. His scoring sheet was often known to show 40, 50, even 60 in a single game; in an 1986 European League game against Limoges, Petrović scored nine 3-pointers, including seven in a row during a first half stretch, for a final tally of 45 points and 25 assists [5]. Self-admittedly, Petrović needed new challenges, which Cibona and the Yugoslavian league could not offer. Across the Atlantic, the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA had already used their third round pick on young Petrović in 1986. However, he decided to postpone his departure to the United States and in 1988 signed with Real Madrid instead, for at that time a hefty sum of around US$ 4 million.

Real Madrid

The 1988-1989 season saw Petrović wear the colors of the Spanish royal club, Real Madrid. In his first game back in Zagreb, as a player for Real Madrid, Petrovic scored 36 points in 30 minutes. He also received a standing ovation from a capacity crowd that lasted over 10 minutes. Although the national championship barely escaped them, as they lost to Barcelona in the fifth and decisive game of the final series, Petrović helped Real to the national cup title over their Catalonian rivals. Petrović also lead the club to victory in the European Cup Winners Cup final against Snaidero Caserta by tying his previous best scoring performance in European competitions (62 points). His first season in the ACB was also his last, but he still holds ACB single performance bests in a final series game in points made (42) and three-pointers made (8).

An excellent season in the club competitions was topped by Petrović's 1989 accomplishment with the national team: at the Eurobasket in Zagreb the young Yugoslavian team went all the way, defeating Greece more than comfortably in the championship game. Petrović was the tournament's second leading scorer and most valuable player.

Petrovic, who was drafted in the 3rd round as the 60th overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, finally decided to try and establish himself in the NBA as he had done in Europe. He left Spain by buying his way out of his contract with Real Madrid, and joined the Blazers for the 1989-90 NBA season.

NBA period

Portland

In his many statements prior to arriving in Portland, Petrović voiced lack of playing time as the only possible obstacle to his success in the NBA [6] [7]; in his first season with the Blazers, those concerns were realized. With Portland's starting backcourt of Clyde Drexler and Terry Porter already established, the reigning European Player of the Year was reduced to playing 12 minutes per game - minutes collected largely in "garbage time" - allowing him a mere 7.4 points per game. However, he did reach the 1990 NBA finals with Portland, who eventually lost to the Detroit Pistons in 5 games. The beginning of the 1990-1991 season brought Petrović's frustration to a climax, as his playing time dropped to 7 minutes a game. In the first half of the 1990-91 season the Trail Blazers kept Petrovic on the bench in 20 of 38 games before trading him to the New Jersey Nets in a three-team deal, with the Denver Nuggets as well, that brought Walter Davis to Portland.

The summer in between the two most frustrating seasons of his professional career, Petrović was again making history with the national team, as Yugoslavia became world champions, beating the Soviet Union for the gold in Buenos Aires.

New Jersey

File:Petrovic.jpg
Nets jersey of Dražen Petrović

On January 23, 1991, Petrović became a member of the New Jersey Nets. Petrović was now a part of a team that featured two of the best young prospects in the league, Kenny Anderson and Derrick Coleman, but a team that hadn't reached the playoffs since 1986. Determined to not let the Portland episode repeat, he immediately responded to the increased playing time (20.5 minutes per game), holding a scoring average of 12.6 points per game in 43 games with the Nets. His first complete season with the Nets was truly stellar: not missing a single game, Petro, as he had been dubbed, averaged 20.6 points in 36.9 minutes on the floor, leading all NBA guards in field goal percentage (51%); he established himself as the team leader and was proclaimed team's MVP. More significantly, his success translated into team success, as the Nets recorded 14 more wins than the season before and made the playoffs. For his encore, in 1992-1993 season Petrović increased his scoring average (22.3) and repeated the excellent three-point field goal percentage from the previous season (45%), again leading all guards in field goal percentage (52%). American media honored him with a selection to the All-NBA 3rd Team. However, a failure to receive an invitation to the 1993 All-Star game came as a great disappointment to Petrović; he was the only one among the top 15 scorers in the NBA that season who did not get invited.

1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona marked the first summer olympiad featuring the independent Croatia, and Petrović was the leader of the Croatian national basketball team at the Olympic basketball tournament. Losing only to the American Dream Team in round-robin play, strong and inspired Croatian team made it to the finals - with clutch free throws executed by Petrović in the semi-final game against the revamped Soviet team. In the end, the now-legendary team composed of NBA stars proved too tough for Croatia, sending Petrović and his teammates home with silver medals.

After the Nets fell in the first round of the 1993 Playoffs, Petrovic, unhappy with New Jersey management, which was slow to renegotiate his contract, told reporters he would probably accept a two-year offer to play pro ball in Greece. He then left for Europe to rejoin the Croatian national team in European Cup competition.

Death and posthumous glory

For personal reasons, Petrović decided not to return to Croatia from Poland together with his teammates, but in a private vehicle. Dražen Petrović died as a passenger in a car involved in a traffic accident on the rain-drenched Autobahn 9 at Denkendorf, near Ingolstadt, in the German state of Bavaria, at approximately 17:20 on June 7th, 1993, four and a half months before his 29th birthday.

According to the report of the Ingolstadt police, that afternoon a truck broke through the Autobahn median: the driver was trying to avoid a collision with a private vehicle in his own lane and lost control of the truck, which crashed through the highway barrier and finally came to a stop, only to block all three lanes of traffic in the Munich direction. It was seconds later that the VW Golf carrying a sleeping Petrović in the passenger seat crashed into the truck, killing only him, and leaving the driver - Klara Szalantzy, a German model with whom Petrović was romantically involved - and the backseat passenger, a female Turkish basketball player, with grave injuries [8]. It was established that visibility on the road was very poor and that Petrović was not wearing a seatbelt [9].

Dražen Petrović's tomb at Mirogoj had instantly become a sanctuary for his compatriots. The Cibona stadium was renamed the Dražen Petrović Basketball Hall on October 4, 1993, and the city of Zagreb dedicated a square in his name. The Nets retired his number 3 jersey on November 11, 1993. Since 1994, the MVP award at the McDonalds Championship has borne the name Drazen Petrovic Trophy. On April 29, 1995, a statue commemorating Petrović's significance to the world of sports was erected in front of the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, thus making him only the second athlete to receive this honor. Petrović was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. On July 9th 2001, having defeated Patrick Rafter at Wimbledon, Croatian tennis player Goran Ivanišević dedicated the win to his late friend Petrović and wore Petrović's Nets jersey amidst the 100,000 strong crowd celebrating his victory in Split. In 2006, the 13th anniversary of Petrović's death was marked with the opening of the Dražen Petrović Memorial Center in Zagreb, a grand temple dedicated to Petrović's person and achievements, with ten themed galleries of multimedia content outlining his entire career.

Legacy

Drazen Petrovic was the advent of one of the most far-reaching changes in the makeup of the NBA — the international influence. During the late 1980s there was the arrival of significant numbers of talented European players, a migration accelerated by the fall of communist governments in Eastern Europe. But no arrival from the former Soviet bloc was more eagerly anticipated than that of Drazen Petrovic. On June 7 he was en route to Munich when the car in which he was a passenger slammed into a tractor-trailer. He died instantly. He was only 28 years old. The loss particularly stunned European fans. "It's hard for you to imagine here in America, because you have so many great players," his brother told the New York Daily News. "But we are a country of four million. Without him, basketball takes three steps back. "Late in 1993 the Nets retired Petrovic's uniform No. 3 in tribute. Another lasting legacy Petrovic leaves is the Drazen Petrovic Trophy which is awarded to the MVP of the McDonalds Championship, the series between the NBA Champion and the European Champion. In four short seasons in the NBA, he was a blazing comet of tireless enthusiasm — with shooting skills to match — who made an everlasting mark. He was posthumously enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.

His amazing talent and affect he had on basketball gave birth to these comments by NBA Commissioner David Stern: "Drazen Petrovic was an extraordinary young man, and a true pioneer in the global sports of basketball. I know that a lasting part of his athletic legacy will be that he paved the way for other international players to compete successfully in the NBA. His contributions to the sport of basketball were enormous. We are all proud of the fact we knew him." Magic Johnson, who was part of Drazen's Hall of Fame class, said "He opened the door for all the other [European] guys that have come behind him. Drazen was definitely a Hall of Fame player because you could not stop him. He was one of the first guys that came from Europe that could get his shot off of the dribble." Chuck Daly, who coach Drazen when he was with the Nets, said it best as he fought back tears and described Petrovic as "a phenomenal player ... who would have been probably one of the top 10 scorers in the league."

The Dražen Petrović Memorial Center

Template:Unreferenced-section A museum named The Dražen Petrović Memorial Center was founded in his honor, and constitutes a co-operative effort led by the Dražen Petrović Foundation in conjunction with the Croatian government, the City of Zagreb and the Croatian Museum of Sports. The memorial center idea originated from Petrović's parents, Biserka and Jole Petrovic, and was supported with the contributions of renouned Croatian architects Andrija Rusan and Niksa Bilic. All of the articles presented in the center have been collected and categorized by the Croatian Museum of Sports. The organization and operations of the center have been provided by the Dražen Petrović Foundation, which is led by Petrović's family. For the actualization of the center several generous contributions have been made from members of the Croatian government, Zagreb city officials, well known athletes and friends of Petrović as well as companies and many fans and anonymous citizens throughout the world.

The official opening of the museum was held on June 7 2006, while the official opening of the center to the public began at the end of December 2006. The plaza on which the center is operated upon has been renamed to Plaza Dražen Petrović in his honor.

Quotes About Petrovic

"a tremendous influence on what has happened in basketball."- Willis Reed, the Nets Vice President at the time of Drazen's death.

"When I had practice he would carry my shoes to the gym for me. He studied the team's every move. I was 15 and he was 10. I had a lot of influence on him then, and he just wanted to play this game that I loved."- Aleksandar Petrovic, Drazen's older brother

"You could have two or three guys on him and he could still get his shot off and score. He was just a natural-born scorer."- Magic Johnson

"Drazen Petrovic was an example for all the young players in Europe. For me, he was the all-time best basketball player in Europe."- Olympic President, Juan Antonio Samaranch

Accomplishments and awards

Club competitions

Year Competition Achievement Club
1982 Korać Cup Finalist BC Šibenka
1983 Korać Cup Finalist BC Šibenka
1985 European Cup Winner BC Cibona
1985 Yugoslavian Championship Winner BC Cibona
1985 Yugoslavian Cup Winner BC Cibona
1986 European Cup Winner BC Cibona
1986 Yugoslavian Championship Finalist BC Cibona
1986 Yugoslavian Cup Winner BC Cibona
1987 European Cup Winners Cup Winner BC Cibona
1987 Yugoslavian Championship Finalist BC Cibona
1988 Yugoslavian Cup Winner BC Cibona
1988 Korać Cup Finalist BC Cibona
1989 Spanish Cup Winner Real Madrid
1989 Spanish Championship Finalist Real Madrid
1989 European Cup Winners Cup Winner Real Madrid
1990 NBA Playoffs Finalist Portland Trail Blazers
  • YUBA most points scored by an individual in a league game (112)
  • ACB most points scored by an individual in a final series game (42)
  • ACB most 3PT field goals made by an individual in a final series game (8)
  • NBA 1992 field goal percentage leader among guards (1st)
  • NBA 1993 field goal percentage leader among guards (1st)
  • NBA most 3PT field goals made with none missed in a three-game playoff series (tied with 2)
  • NBA All-Time 3PT field goal percentage leader (3rd)

National teams

Year Event Host Placement Country
1980 Balkan Championship for Junior Men Istanbul, Turkey 3rd SFR Yugoslavia
1981 Balkan Championship for Cadets Thessaloniki, Greece 1st SFR Yugoslavia
1982 Balkan Championship for Junior Men Patras, Greece 1st SFR Yugoslavia
1982 European Championship for Junior Men Dimitrovgrad and Haskovo, Bulgaria 2nd SFR Yugoslavia
1983 University Games Edmonton, Canada 2nd SFR Yugoslavia
1984 Balkan Championship Athens, Greece 2nd SFR Yugoslavia
1984 Olympic Games Los Angeles, United States 3rd SFR Yugoslavia
1986 World Championship Madrid, Spain 3rd SFR Yugoslavia
1987 University Games Zagreb, SFR Yugoslavia 1st SFR Yugoslavia
1987 Eurobasket Athens, Greece 3rd SFR Yugoslavia
1988 Olympic Games Seoul, South Korea 2nd SFR Yugoslavia
1989 Eurobasket Zagreb, SFR Yugoslavia 1st SFR Yugoslavia
1990 World Championship Buenos Aires, Argentina 1st SFR Yugoslavia
1992 Olympic Games Barcelona, Spain 2nd Croatia
  • Balkan Championship for Junior Men 1982 Best Player
  • World Championship 1986 MVP
  • European Championship 1989 MVP


Notes

  1. Stephen Rodrick, Spirit of the Game, ESPN Magazine, August 8, 2005
  2. Jim Huber, Drazen Petrovic, Inside the NBA, January 12th, 2006
  3. NBA.com, Drazen Petrovic
  4. www.drazenpetrovic.com, Statistics
  5. www.drazenpetrovic.com, Cibona Story
  6. www.drazenpetrovic.com, Real Madrid Story
  7. www.drazenpetrovic.com, Blazers Portland Story
  8. HRT.hr, Today in History - July 7th
  9. Stephen Rodrick, Spirit of the Game, ESPN Magazine, August 8, 2005

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Stephen Rodrick, Spirit of the Game, ESPN Magazine, August 8, 2005.
  • Jim Huber, Inside the NBA, January 12th, 2006 Drazen Petrovic
  • Nba Planet-Drazen Petrovic, June 27th, 2007 [1]
  • Chuck O'Donnell, A Basketball Pioneer, Basketball Digest, Summer 2003
  • Shannon, Bill and Sprechman, Jordan. "This Day in New York Sports". ISBN 1571672540

External links

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.