101 Greats of European Basketball

An unfinished
symphony
It was in the fall of 1979 when I heard the name of
Drazen Petrovic for the first time. The one who uttered
it, before a group of journalists at a game in
Belgrade, was Zoran “Moka” Slavnic, who by then
was a player-coach at Sibenka. “In Sibenik there
is a kid who will be better than me or Dragan Kicanovic,”
Slavnic said. “He is a natural-born talent and
he also has a great work ethic. He is very ambitious
and does unbelievable things. His name is Drazen
Petrovic. Remember this name.”
And I did remember. Some months later, in a game on
December 29, 1979, between Sibenka and OOK Belgrade,
Drazen Petrovic scored his first points in the Yugoslav
first division. Slavnic had left the court and substituted
himself with the kid who would become a legend. With his
first basket, Petrovic showed his character to everyone.
He crossed the paint, found 2.01-meter big man Rajko
Zizic in the way, and with a combination of courage and
easiness – the virtues of the greats – Petrovic dropped a
hook shot. He was 15 years, 2 months and 7 days old.
At the 1981 European Championship for Cadets in
Greece, despite being part of a strong class of players
– Velimir Perasovic, Stojan Vrankovic, Zoran Sretenovic,
Sasa Radunovic and others – Drazen was already the
undisputed leader. There was no TV at the tournament,
but we could follow his records through the press: 31
points against Finland, 41 against Spain, 42 against
Israel, 37 against France and 43 against Greece. He totaled
227 points, averaging 32.5. A star was born.
That was the launch of a brilliant career that, unfortunately,
lasted for just 14 years. On June 7, 1993, a car
accident on a German highway put an end to the life of
a great basketball player. Petrovic was only 28 years old
and still had many brilliant seasons ahead of him. As a
matter of fact, the 1992-93 season had been his best in
the NBA, as he played 70 games with the New Jersey
Nets, averaging 22.3 points and securing a spot on the
All-NBA team. That season he also had great numbers
from beyond the arc – 75 of 167 for an accuracy of 45%.
He was about to sign a new contract.
His job: winner
His talent exploded in the 1981-82 season, which he
finished with a 16.3-point scoring average in the Yugoslav
League. The next season, he went on to become the
clear leader of Sibenka, with an average of 24.5 points.
Unfortunately, that great 1982-83 season finished with
a scandal in the finals between Sibenka and Bosna. The
third and final game of the series was played at Sibenka,
the regular season champion. In the final minutes,
and after losing a 19-point advantage because of Drazen’s
scoring, Bosna was only one point ahead, 82-81,
and the last possession was for the hosts. With 2 seconds
to go, young Petrovic got the ball, pulled up and
... missed the shot. The end? No, because the referee
called a foul on Sabit Hadzic, sending Drazen to the foul
line. With the roar of the crowd in the stands and after
a long timeout, Petrovic, as the champion that he was,
hit both attempts to give himself 40 points and win the
game, 83-82. The champion received his trophy and
the city of Sibenik celebrated all night long.
Early the next morning, an emergency meeting of
the executive body of the basketball federation concluded
that, due to a “the clear mistake by the referee,”
101 greats of european basketball
Drazen Petrovic
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