101 Greats of European Basketball

Vladimir Stankovic
drag Danilovic, Ivo Nakic and Slavisa Koprivica. In April
of the next spring, together with Silobad, Loncar, Vladimir
Dragutinovic, Zoran Stevanovic and Dragisa Saric,
this would win the 1992 EuroLeague title, Partizan’s
first and only continental crown. In the semis, Partizan
defeated Olimpia Milano, and in the final, Djordjevic and
his famous three-pointer on the run near the buzzer
snatched the title from Joventut Badalona.
In the career of Rebraca, nothing after that happened
suddenly. His way was slow but steady. His progression
coincided with the development of his body. With each
kilo he gained and each muscle that got bigger, that body
shouted “superstar”. His specialty was, of course, blocking
shots. His super-long arms terrified opponents, while
the rest of his game, both on defense and offense, was
like life insurance for his coaches. He was one of the rational
players: high shooting percentages, secure from the
line, good rebounder and excellent blocker. Coaches knew
it for sure: it was just a matter of time before he exploded.
Rebraca was still green, especially in the physical aspect,
when he entered the 1994 NBA Draft and ended up being
picked 54th. Before even entering the NBA, his draft rights
were traded to a number of teams, going from Seattle to
Minnesota to Toronto and then Detroit – the last of those
moves coming in 2001. But the NBA would have to wait.
three years of isolation due to international sanctions.
The team returned in Sofia in a qualifying tournament that
FIBA created after the country missed the 1992 Olympics
in Barcelona, the 1993 EuroBasket in Germany and the
1994 World Cup in Canada. Yugoslavia advanced and
made the 1995 EuroBasket in Athens. With its own version
of the Dream Team – Djordjevic, Danilovic, Bodiroga,
Vlade Divac, Zarko Paspalj, Zoran Savic, Sasa Obradovic
and Dejan Tomasevic, Rebraca was too young to have an
important role, but his 4.8 points and 3.6 rebounds were
still part of the gold medal won by his team. In the title
game against Lithuania, Rebraca only scored 1 point and
grabbed 1 rebound, but he played 14 minutes, meaning
that coaches Dusan Ivkovic and Zeljko Obradovic counted
on him. The following year, his worth was re-confirmed as
Yugoslavia won the 1996 Olympics silver medal in Atlanta
with Rebraca contributing 10.6 points and 3.8 rebounds.
In Treviso, Rebraca started working with coach Mike
D’Antoni. In the 1996-97 season, the team won the
Italian League after a dramatic final series. Benetton
defeated Teamsystem Bologna 3-2. Rebraca shined,
especially in the fourth game, which Benetton won 79-
67 at home in overtime. Rebraca scored 32 points and
pulled 12 rebounds in 41 minutes. Benetton also won
Game 5 with 6 points and 8 rebounds by Rebraca.
To Italy with D’Antoni
After four years, 110 games, 1,292 points, two domestic
league titles, two cups and one EuroLeague crown
with Partizan, the time came for Rebraca to take a new
step in his career. Maurizio Gherardini, then the general
manager of Benetton Treviso, with his impeccable eye
for young talent, decided to sign Rebraca in the summer
of 1996. Before moving to Italy, Rebraca made his debut
with the Yugoslav national team, which reappeared after
Again with Obradovic
The summer of 1997 saw Yugoslavia repeat the
continental title at the Barcelona EuroBasket. Rebraca
was the third-best scorer on his team, after only Danilovic
and Djordjevic, with 11.1 points, and was its top
rebounder with 5.0 rebounds per game. The coach was
Zeljko Obradovic, who would leave Real Madrid that
summer to sign with Benetton. Right off the bat, the
team won the Italian Supercup against Kinder Bologna,
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