View Full Version : Drazen Petrovic Appreciation - top 5 guard you never heard of
IamRAMBO24
03-03-2012, 08:06 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLlPtBsGbYo
Great passer, great ball handling skills, and can shoot the 3, mid range with his eyes closed, and hands down the sickest ball fakes (yes better than Jordan's) the NBA has ever seen.
Died before he reached his peak.
My favorite player of all time and i think the best European of all time and the best shooter of all time (just like Reggie Miller always says)....
He just got a starting spot in the NBA and was just ready to wreak some havoc in the NBA.... then the accident happened...
Clutch
03-03-2012, 08:15 AM
He's a legend here in Croatia.
Probably the greatest athlete his country ever had and one of the best European players of all time.
He's a legend here in Croatia.
Probably the greatest athlete his country ever had and one of the best European players of all time.
More like a god! Not only in Croatia, but entire Balkans aka. fr Yugoslavia :D
I was at his grave in Zagreb (Mirogoj Cemetery) last year, it was a bit emotional, the guy was/is my idol and the guy i patterned my game after.... beautiful place, so many people there visiting him in and out all the time..
Odakle si iz Hrvatske Clutch? Zivis li jos tu ili u Ameriku?
Clutch
03-03-2012, 08:24 AM
More like a god! :D
I was at his grave in Zagreb (Mirogoj Cemetery) last year, it was a bit emotional, the guy was my idol and the guy i patterned my game after.... beautiful place, so many people there visiting him in and out all the time..
Where are you from ?
If you visited Zagreb you probably live somewhere close,maybe Hungary,Slovenia,Austria... ?
To answer your question,I still live in Croatia.
roffie
03-03-2012, 08:33 AM
that first play in the video was awesome. strong dream shake
Where are you from ?
If you visited Zagreb you probably live somewhere close,maybe Hungary,Slovenia,Austria... ?
To answer your question,I still live in Croatia.
Nisam znao da si Hrvat, haha... odakle si iz Hrvatske?
I am Bosnian/Montenegro mix... we have a house in Bosnia, Sarajevo but i live in Denmark, Copenhagen, so i am in and out between those two countries..... took my car last summer from Sarajevo to Rijeka, Croatia (have a cousin there, beautiful place!), Zagreb was kindof on the way to the route so i made sure i made a stop there to visit the cemetery...
Shade8780
03-03-2012, 08:41 AM
http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/qXFsXDFa4uU3JAxrsws.xA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/sptusnbaexperts/petrovic1.jpg
http://larrybrownsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/anthony-morrow-drazen-petrovic1-530x346.jpg
http://ww1.hdnux.com/photos/11/56/26/2549132/3/628x471.jpg
:applause:
Nicely done by Morrow, but he failed dramatically :lol
Clutch
03-03-2012, 08:46 AM
Nisam znao da si Hrvat, haha... odakle si iz Hrvatske?
I am Bosnian/Montenegro mix... we have a house in Bosnia, Sarajevo but i live in Denmark, Copenhagen, so i am in and out between those two countries..... took my car last summer from Sarajevo to Rijeka, Croatia (have a cousin there, beautiful place!), Zagreb was kindof on the way to the route so i made sure i made a stop there to visit the cemetery...
I live near Split,the second biggest city in Croatia.
I've been to Sarajevo a few times.
But let's get back to topic.
I recommend all of you to watch a documentary called "Once brothers".
Here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hOst_NExGI
Divac was a great player but I don't have a high opinion on him as a person.
I might be wrong but that's my opinion.
blablabla
03-03-2012, 08:48 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hOst_NExGI
here's espns doc about divac and petrovic unfortunately the war destroyed their friendship
EDIT: clutch was faster
swi7ch
03-03-2012, 08:48 AM
Sasha Danilovic was better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hOst_NExGI
here's espns doc about divac and petrovic unfortunately the war destroyed their friendship
EDIT: clutch was faster
The war destroyed almost everybodies relationships there imo lol.... hell its the main reason my family moved to Denmark, to escape what could have been maybe death....
Sasha Danilovic was better.
:no:
blablabla
03-03-2012, 09:00 AM
The war destroyed almost everybodies relationships there imo lol.... hell its the main reason my family moved to Denmark, to escape what could have been maybe death....
my family moved to austria because of the war
Shade8780
03-03-2012, 09:00 AM
I live near Split,the second biggest city in Croatia.
I've been to Sarajevo a few times.
But let's get back to topic.
I recommend all of you to watch a documentary called "Once brothers".
Here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hOst_NExGI
Divac was a great player but I don't have a high opinion on him as a person.
I might be wrong but that's my opinion.
I'm watching that now, thanks :cheers:
my family moved to austria because of the war
Cool another Balkan guy :D
Yea man, what a shame to say the least what happened... greedy/insane politicians ftw...
Clutch
03-03-2012, 09:10 AM
my family moved to austria because of the war
I've been to Vienna once.
There's a lot of "our people" there. You could hear them speaking Croatian/Bosnian/Serbian on the streets.
Consequences of the war are huge. Relationships between people are broken,Croatians and Serbs mostly hate each other.
It's like a war when they're playing against each other,cars are getting destroyed,people are getting injured,crowd at games chants offensive stuff like "Kill,kill,kill Serbs".
WillC
03-03-2012, 09:10 AM
Sasha Danilovic was better.
No, he wasn't.
But at least Danilovic is someone that most fans haven't heard of, unlike Petrovic who everyone knows.
I remember reading lots about Danilovic in FIBA Basketball magazine in the early/mid-1990s. I thought he'd be a star when he went to the Miami Heat, but it never happened.
alenleomessi
03-03-2012, 09:19 AM
never heard of?
everyone knows drazen...
never heard of?
everyone knows drazen...
WillC is talking about Sasha Danilovic...
WillC
03-03-2012, 09:42 AM
I think alenleomessi was referring to the thread title. I agree with him, most people know who Petrovic is.
That's why I said Danilovic is a better example of a good SG who (many) people haven't heard of.
Glide2keva
03-03-2012, 10:11 AM
I saw Petro play and he was as good as advertised.
Shade8780
03-03-2012, 10:26 AM
Just finished watching "Once Brothers" by ESPN. It's really good and sad at the same time. If you haven't seen it, I recommend you watch it.
PTB Fan
03-03-2012, 11:01 AM
GOAT player to ever come from the Balkan. He's a legend here...
IamRAMBO24
03-03-2012, 11:02 AM
This thread totally got off track. I just wanted to post an appreciation thread for a great player who died young not turn it into a Croatia jerkoff fest.
I think alenleomessi was referring to the thread title. I agree with him, most people know who Petrovic is.
That's why I said Danilovic is a better example of a good SG who (many) people haven't heard of.
Oh, im blind... just now i noticed the "never heard of" in the title lol
Clutch
03-03-2012, 11:05 AM
This thread totally got off track. I just wanted to post an appreciation thread for a great player who died young not turn it into a Croatia jerkoff fest.
It was expected that many people from Balkan will come to this thread.
He's a legend for us,for Americans he's just another player.
IamRAMBO24
03-03-2012, 11:09 AM
It was expected that many people from Balkan will come to this thread.
He's a legend for us,for Americans he's just another player.
Trust me, he plays a lot better than 90% of the scrubs we call "stars" here in America.
I guess to us Americans, he's not a household name, hence why I said, "Never heard of."
Didn't know there were so many croatians in here. I thought everybody in here was black (not a racist statement mods, just an uneducated observation).
LEFT4DEAD
03-03-2012, 11:14 AM
my family moved to austria because of the war
Where are you living man? I'm studying in Vienna right now. We could play a pick up game maybe if you are there son. I just finished my Deutschkurs and should start with Uni in September.
SteveNashMVPcro
03-03-2012, 11:28 AM
GOAT player to ever come from the Balkan. He's a legend here...
You are also from balkan? :D
Petrovic could've been a NBA star easly
Sakkreth
03-03-2012, 11:31 AM
My favorite player of all time and i think the best European of all time and the best shooter of all time (just like Reggie Miller always says)....
He just got a starting spot in the NBA and was just ready to wreak some havoc in the NBA.... then the accident happened...
He was great but don't get carried away.
chocolatethunder
03-03-2012, 11:38 AM
This board is crazy. Given the fact that the overwhelming majority of this board is under 20, I always find it hilarious when they are so ready to rank and talk about a bunch of players who they've only ever seen on a highlight reel. I'm 39 and I saw this guy play. Yes he was a good player but that's what he was. He was a great shooter. It's really odd that he has become the biggest "coulda been" player on this board. He was good. You guys are going way too far though.
blablabla
03-03-2012, 11:39 AM
Where are you living man? I'm studying in Vienna right now. We could play a pick up game maybe if you are there son. I just finished my Deutschkurs and should start with Uni in September.
I'm from Linz unfortunately that's 200km away from Wien
Are you studiying at TU, i will probably start studiying there next year.
I've been to Vienna once.
There's a lot of "our people" there. You could hear them speaking Croatian/Bosnian/Serbian on the streets.
Consequences of the war are huge. Relationships between people are broken,Croatians and Serbs mostly hate each other.
It's like a war when they're playing against each other,cars are getting destroyed,people are getting injured,crowd at games chants offensive stuff like "Kill,kill,kill Serbs".
Yeah there are a lot of Balkan people here in my neigbourhood over 50% of the peolpe are form there. And the hate is clearly visible even between the people who are born here there are always fights in nightclubs between croatians serbs and bosnians.
Fiba basketball
03-03-2012, 11:52 AM
He was great but don't get carried away.
Who is better than him ?
RaininTwos
03-03-2012, 12:00 PM
Just finished watching "Once Brothers" by ESPN. It's really good and sad at the same time. If you haven't seen it, I recommend you watch it.
That shit almost made me cry bro. :(
Clutch
03-03-2012, 12:28 PM
Who is better than him ?
I have a feeling he'll say Sabonis.
Just finished watching "Once Brothers" by ESPN. It's really good and sad at the same time. If you haven't seen it, I recommend you watch it.
I'm old enough to have seen all of Petro's career. I understand the couple posts here diminishing his importance as a player, the "just a shooter" comments. You really had to have seen him play internationally, then on a regular basis as an NBA backup in Portland and starter in NJ, to appreciate the scope of his skill set.
I had read the stories of the war and impact it had on he, Vlade, Kukoc, etc. But that doc was amazing.
The scenes of Vlade walking the streets on his return, en route to see Petrovich's family. Little children, way too young to have been around for the actual events, whispering about him as if they were seeing the boogie man himself. The guy who, when asked about Divac, spat out some expletive that you didn't need a translator to understand. An incredibly moving piece of film making, and one of the most enduring moments from that "30 On 30" series.
Fiba basketball
03-03-2012, 01:51 PM
I have a feeling he'll say Sabonis.
No way Sabonis is better player than Drazen . Every time I watched Drazen ( I admit its not that much ) he was the best player on the court .
ralph_i_el
03-03-2012, 01:59 PM
This board is crazy. Given the fact that the overwhelming majority of this board is under 20, I always find it hilarious when they are so ready to rank and talk about a bunch of players who they've only ever seen on a highlight reel. I'm 39 and I saw this guy play. Yes he was a good player but that's what he was. He was a great shooter. It's really odd that he has become the biggest "coulda been" player on this board. He was good. You guys are going way too far though.
Is watching game film on youtube any less valid than watching it live?
You old folks talk so much shit about this generation overrating players we've seen, and then when we talk about old players yall talk shit because we haven't seen them.
macpierce
03-03-2012, 02:04 PM
]My favorite player of all time[/B] and i think the best European of all time and the best shooter of all time (just like Reggie Miller always says)....
He just got a starting spot in the NBA and was just ready to wreak some havoc in the NBA.... then the accident happened...
Not Lebron? jump on somone elses thread bandwagoner :roll:
HurricaneKid
03-03-2012, 02:12 PM
I was really sad when he passed. I dug Drazen. He was really coming into his own when he died. If you never saw the picture of his car after the accident DON'T look it up. I was on the Autobahn 12 years later shaking because of it.
ZenMaster
03-03-2012, 03:19 PM
Was at a small clinic with one of his former NT coaches, we heard some pretty amazing stories.
rodman91
03-03-2012, 05:13 PM
He owned Hakeem in this play so bad :roll:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWaI_O85CK8
Maga_1
03-03-2012, 05:34 PM
It sucks, really ... I'm tired of hearing my father or my uncle talking about how great Petrovic, Maciulis, Bodiroga and other guys were and i've never catched them live. I watched a lot of footage, but it's not the same thing.
It's like talking about Rose, Durant and other players in 2040.
I hate i've missed some truly remarkable players in Europe development.
Maga_1
03-03-2012, 05:35 PM
Was at a small clinic with one of his former NT coaches, we heard some pretty amazing stories.
Had a clinic with A
inclinerator
03-03-2012, 05:40 PM
wouldnt have started over fisher in todays game
Divac was a great player but I don't have a high opinion on him as a person.
I might be wrong but that's my opinion.
Is this based mostly/entirely on the flag thing?
Also OP said he never hit his peak, I'd say he'd just reached his peak (though perhaps he could have done more sooner with more playing time in Porland).
No way Sabonis is better player than Drazen . Every time I watched Drazen ( I admit its not that much ) he was the best player on the court .
Wow, Sabonis posted a career PER of 21.2 at an age range when an ordinary player would be on the downswing but with his injuries as well, well that performance was remarkable. Plus the way he beasted guys like D-Rob and Sampson in international play, well tbh I think Sabonis would have been top 30 all time.
Is watching game film on youtube any less valid than watching it live?
Not per se, but youtube is often clips specifically selected to show a player in a good light- if you believed the highlights you'd think the average fg% in the NBA was 99.99999%. Not that being old makes your opinion more valid, or that some old fans won't be influenced by nostalgia.
Anyway Drazen was awesome and it's sad how the Balkan conflict led to all the stuff that happened between that former Yugoslavia team.
wouldnt have started over fisher in todays game
:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:
Maga_1
03-03-2012, 05:49 PM
wouldnt have started over fisher in todays game
Yes, true.
Fisher is a PG.
Petrovic was a SG. :lol
IGotACoolStory
03-03-2012, 05:54 PM
If you never heard of Petrovic then you aren't much of a fan of the NBA. That's like not hearing of Bill Walton or not knowing who Kevin Johnson is.
And Drazen wasn't that good. He was getting there and we will never know how good he could become, but he never got there. JR Smith could be one of the better shooting guards in the NBA, but he won't reach that potential. Maybe Len Bias could have been an alltimer, we don't know for a fact that he would have.
He was a scorer and a damn good one at that. He still didn't provide much outside of his scoring ability.
Fiba basketball
03-03-2012, 06:37 PM
It sucks, really ... I'm tired of hearing my father or my uncle talking about how great Petrovic, Maciulis, Bodiroga and other guys were and i've never catched them live. I watched a lot of footage, but it's not the same thing.
It's like talking about Rose, Durant and other players in 2040.
I hate i've missed some truly remarkable players in Europe development.
Euroleague now is beter than it was 20 years ago and you can see a lot of great players now so no need to regret you didnt see some .
Maga_1
03-03-2012, 07:13 PM
Euroleague now is beter than it was 20 years ago and you can see a lot of great players now so no need to regret you didnt see some .
Off course i regret it, they are part of our history.
It's the same thing to say that now we have plenty of good PG's in NBA when i really liked (if i could) to see Pete Pistol, Magic Johnson, etc ..
chocolatethunder
03-03-2012, 07:40 PM
Is watching game film on youtube any less valid than watching it live?
You old folks talk so much shit about this generation overrating players we've seen, and then when we talk about old players yall talk shit because we haven't seen them.
Ok yes it is different because you're unable to understand it contextually. Your benchmark for what a player should be is different that what mine is. The game was different then and it wasnt all isos and stuff like that. If someone tells me how great Wilt was and they saw him play, I trust them because I'm unable to understand how the league was then or how good he was compared to players of his era. For example, if you were to watch a bunch of highlight reels of Dr J you might think that his dunks weren't that good and he just wasn't as badass as everyone makes him out to be because you'd be comparing him to Lebron and Wade etc. But the truth is he was badass. He was doing that kind of stuff before those guys. Now his shtick has been refined and for sure Lebron and Wade all look better than he did and they're really great but in his day it didn't get much better than him. Magic and Larry and Jordan were coming around so he quickly became an afterthought but in his time he was great. It's foolish to compare players of different eras because athletes and training have evolved. Who knows if Dr J had grown up watching Michael Jordan instead of Hondo, he may have been as amazing as Lebron is now. So what I mean respectfully, is its hard to truly understand a player unless you were around to see that player play. That's all.
PTB Fan
03-03-2012, 08:04 PM
You are also from balkan? :D
Petrovic could've been a NBA star easly
Yup.
From Macedonia. :cheers:
Rooster
03-03-2012, 08:50 PM
Euroleague now is beter than it was 20 years ago and you can see a lot of great players now so no need to regret you didnt see some .
There are no great players in Euroleague. Those so called great players according to you are only great in Europe like VSpan.
Rooster
03-03-2012, 08:52 PM
Is this based mostly/entirely on the flag thing?
Also OP said he never hit his peak, I'd say he'd just reached his peak (though perhaps he could have done more sooner with more playing time in Porland).
Wow, Sabonis posted a career PER of 21.2 at an age range when an ordinary player would be on the downswing but with his injuries as well, well that performance was remarkable. Plus the way he beasted guys like D-Rob and Sampson in international play, well tbh I think Sabonis would have been top 30 all time.
Not per se, but youtube is often clips specifically selected to show a player in a good light- if you believed the highlights you'd think the average fg% in the NBA was 99.99999%. Not that being old makes your opinion more valid, or that some old fans won't be influenced by nostalgia.
Anyway Drazen was awesome and it's sad how the Balkan conflict led to all the stuff that happened between that former Yugoslavia team.
Sabonis never beasted on the Admiral. How come this myth spread like a plague.
Rooster
03-03-2012, 08:57 PM
If you never heard of Petrovic then you aren't much of a fan of the NBA. That's like not hearing of Bill Walton or not knowing who Kevin Johnson is.
And Drazen wasn't that good. He was getting there and we will never know how good he could become, but he never got there. JR Smith could be one of the better shooting guards in the NBA, but he won't reach that potential. Maybe Len Bias could have been an alltimer, we don't know for a fact that he would have.
He was a scorer and a damn good one at that. He still didn't provide much outside of his scoring ability.
He was named in all NBA team third team in his prime. That does not equal greatness but just because he was the first one who did it from Europe, he became special in Euros point of view. Around here, he is just another good player.
Lebron23
03-03-2012, 09:09 PM
This guy once scored over 20 or more points againts Petrovic and his Yugoslavian National team. Samboy Lim pioneered the cross-over head shoulder fake in the PBA during the 1980's and 1990's.
http://samboylimacademy.multiply.com/photos/album/13/NEWS_ARTICLESACTION_SHOTS
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Samboy+Lim
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shz8xa9hnAU
DKLaker
03-03-2012, 09:41 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLlPtBsGbYo
Great passer, great ball handling skills, and can shoot the 3, mid range with his eyes closed, and hands down the sickest ball fakes (yes better than Jordan's) the NBA has ever seen.
Died before he reached his peak.
I loved watching him play, he was truly special. I couldn't believe it when I heard he died. He was just about to really take off.
Drazen Petro was a tough guy to boot. No 1 messed with him.
He also has an obsession with basketball itself. many around him say he has no social life and lived across the gym where he worked out and played.
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