Croatian basketball legend Drazen Petrovic, who passed away in 1993 at the age of 28, will be honored by the Brooklyn Nets the night of February 26th, ESPN has reported.
“Petrović’s mother will be in attendance and there will be a video tribute showcasing the guard’s legacy. The Nets will also be giving out Dražen Petrović STARTING LINEUP ™ Figurines to the first 10,000 fans in attendance. And there’s plenty of other festivities planned. There will be five new Petrović items in the Swag Shop along with a NBA Jam arcade machine, where fans can play as “Petro” in the classic game. Autographed and game-worn items from Petrović will also be on display.”
I’m very happy to see the Nets still remember Petro after all this time. I think we all live in the “what could have been” if that unfortunate accident didn’t happen, which to this day makes me very sad and nostalgic, because those were some good times and Petro brought some raw emotion and excitement that rallied all Croats and Nets fans. That being said, best Croatian player ever has to be Petro over Kukoc. Don’t get me wrong, Kukoc was great, but he had Jordan. Without Jordan that whole team would’ve done nothing. Petro brought every team he played for to greatness, and that’s a fact. Without him, no silver medal. Basketball has not been the same since he left, especially for Croats. But he will remain a legend, which few other players are. Pucaj tricu.
Saric is gonna be better than Kukoc.
He’s just a bigger and stronger version of Kukoc, so he can play the PF spot better. He’s an excellent rebounder, and a very good scorer, shooter and passer. Already an excellent “stretch 4” who is showcasing his “playmaking 4” ability every game.
Neither Saric nor Kukoc are athletic enough to play the 3 spot defensively. Kukoc was valuable because he was an excellent scorer, playmaker, shooter and could play that point forward position.
Saric will likely never be as good of a playmaker as Kukoc (although he’s not too shabby), but he could be better at everything else down the road.
Kukoc was unfortunate to have to play on the 72-10 Bulls, so it may have hampered his development and chances to showcase himself. Plus, team defense didn’t exist back in the 90s.
Saric, despite playing on a team with ball dominant players, still manages to lead his team to wins. He’s an excellent player and will have a great career in the NBA.
talk about living a “za dom … spremni” lifestyle, Drazen was the epitome of it.
Petro’s screen shooting was awesome. His release was so quick. Curry like. 😉
Petrovic was such an intense dude and he could shoot the lights out.
Jordan once called him one of the toughest 2’s to guard. Reggie Miller called him the best shooter at one point too I think.
But I just love how smooth and versatile Kukoc was. Especially for a big man. I saw him live when he was older drop 25 in a half against the Grizz and he still had it. As easy as some might thing it would be to play on those Bulls teams I’m sure being accepted wasn’t. Pippen didn’t like him out the gate and I remember hearing Jordan was hard on him too.
Kukoc had a brilliant carerer.
Played into his late 30’s, won at every level, FIBA Hall of Famer.
If Petro played a little longer I might think differently. He was just starting to come into his own.
Petrovic best ever. I’d say more talented than Kukoc. Takes talent to hit the deep ball at the rate he did, IMO. He also had a sneaky way of creating a shot, for somebody who didn’t “carry” the ball like all these dopey post-Iverson ball players.
Petro had nobody to make the game easier on him. As much as I love Kukoc, he didn’t do much without the Bulls supporting cast. Even his game winner vs the Knicks (without Jordan) was an uncalled bank shot. 😉 Remember hearing that play on the radio, I was so happy for him. Was somewhat embarassed when I saw the highlight, and realized it was unintentionally off the glass.
Kukoc seemed way more of a natural.
Petrovic seemed like the type that worked his ass off to get where he got.
Watched a lot of B-Ball in the early 90’s and my favourite thing about Petrovic was his competitiveness.
He was Jordan like in that aspect.
Kukoč – most talented player ever.
Petrović – transcendent.
Kovačić – on the rise ?
“Not only did he complete 96.7 percent of his passes – 88 out of 91 – but he was involved in all of Real Madrid’s goals in the 3-1 victory.”
Lets not kid ourselves. Kukoc was our best ever player.
Shame on you! Truth troll. You’re embarrassing yourself.
Were you impressed by those highlights?
It’s interesting that Croatias “best player” ever would be a guard as the nba “talent” Croatia tends to produce is at the bigger positions
This will create an issue for Croatia in future competition as their most talented players all play similar spots. Even hezonjas revival has been at the power forward position.
As a result, Croatia might have to try to neutralize a point guard like in the past
Theres, been a good deal written about genetics and athletic performance recently. Observing the all star game, it is interesting to note that 23 of 24 players appeared to be at least partially of African decent, despite them only making up 12 percent of the US population.
It seems to point to those of African ancestry having an advantage in the game. Possibly just faster, stronger, or better jumpers. Particularly in basketball there is a question of longer wingspan
This raises the question of will Croatia ever really be able to emerge in a tournament with no players of African decent whereas other European countries like France regularly feature those players. I suppose one could look to Serbia as a hopeful example
Truth Troll. Nobody wants you here. Nobdy likes you.
Those were some of the worst highlights I’ve ever seen. Just jump shots and a couple lay ups.