View Full Version : Drazen Petrovic appreciation thread!
http://www.24sec.net/images/hof/petrovic/3.jpg
On this day 48 years ago in Sibenik, the legendary Drazen "The basketball Mozart" Petrovic was born.... In just 29 years he spent on this earth, he managed to leave a mark in letters to the European and international basketball....
Drazen Petrovic was by far the most talented/skilled european player ever, had he managed to stay in the NBA (or preferably came earlier to the NBA) you would see why this guy was great... you saw only half of it his last year in the NBA, he finally got his starting job & minutes and was ready to nail the gaspedal next year... but then came the accident... Many people remember him as simply a dead on shooter pure SG, but he was actually a combo-guard SG/PG that could dishout up to ~30 assists (his career high in Cibona was 27 assists), his court vision and passing ability was remarkable, as you can see in 1992 Olympic team for example, he played Point-Guard.... think of a Manu Ginobili with greater scoring & shooting ability........ or think of Pete Maravich with greater efficiency/accuracy... or think of Jerry West.......... or think of a smaller version of Larry Bird... he was more like that rather than Chris Mullin, Reggie Miller, Ray Allen and such, but he did have their type of role in the NBA...
Here i will be paying some homage with some facts, videos etc. feel free to add in if you so wish...
[LIST]
6
51 points vs Limoges 1986: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCvrQbxdOFs&feature=relmfu
49 points vs Maccabi 1988: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBoPZbQMdwo
44 points vs Rockets 1993: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLlPtBsGbYo
41 points vs Crven Zvezda 1986: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAx1QcHCFOA&feature=related
62 points vs Snaidero 1989: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flSbtlg2Tvs&feature=relmfu
59 points vs Hapoel 1988: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uXQXpYYUxM
49 pts / 10 assists vs Real Madrid 1989: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQkZn-SEY3w
47 pts vs Zagreb 1989: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qbf83OwkC38
47 pts vs Barcelona 1987: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQq7XjcqfIw&feature=relmfu
45 pts vs Holland 1986: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NegS2xXz5Y
42 pts vs Real Madrid 1989: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45nIleXLmCQ
Point is.... he could score with the best of them (even compared to any of those guys in the NBA at his era), i think he would have growed into a 30-5-5 type of player in the NBA (with his usual shooting accuracy 50-40-90)
Euroleague
10-22-2012, 12:39 PM
Not to get picky, but that 112 point game was against the youth squad players of a Yugo League team. So it really should not count, even though people always want to claim it should.
Some fun facts you may have not known:
*Drazen was 14 when he played for the first pro team in Europe, they became later that year one of the top 2 best teams in Yugoslavia. The first game he got to start he was 15 and immediately that game he scored 49 points.
*Drazen believed he was maybe the biggest basketball addict ever, he said he used to play almost the entire days, even in rain, snow etc. mostly shooting jumpshots.
*Could have gone to the NBA much earlier, 5 NBA teams showed interest in 1987-88 but he didnt want to take that path.
*Drazen played his last basketball game versus Slovenia in Wroclow, Poland on June 6, 1993. A day after, when the National team was returning home, he was supposed to fly with them but his girlfriend (Klara) was gona drive home to Croatia in her VW Golf, Drazen finally took the offer and told the team: "I will see you in the morning" (he was always the first on the court). The young lady that drove Drazen, at high speed, lost control of the vehicle in the middle of the storm and crashed into a truck.... There was 2 women in the car, they were only left with injuries, but Drazen died (he was sleeping on the passengers seat and had no seatbelt)
Not to get picky, but that 112 point game was against the youth squad players of a Yugo League team. So it really should not count, even though people always want to claim it should.
It was against SMELT Olimpija (Slovenian pro team), it was a Yugoslavian Cup (top teams in Yugo, Yugoslavia by the way had the best basketball in Europe especially in that era) it was not a "youth squad" team..... :rolleyes:
It was more "countable" than Wilt Chamberlains 100 pts against that competition he had, i can tell you that... he was on absolute fire with his jumpshot and kept "chucking" like a mofo, i dont think anybody would have stopped him from taking ~60 shots....
The following game after that he dropped 62 points on much less shots... ironically he had many 62 point games, in European Championship games, European League games, World Cup games....
* Most points in history of Spain Finals: 42 vs. Barcelona /88-89(Game 4.)
* Most 3-points made in history of Spain Finals: 8 vs. Barcelona /88-89
* Most 3-pointers: 9 vs. Limoges (France) on January 22, 1986. (Game 2.)
* Most points in European League: 62 vs. Snaidro Caserte 88/89, 62 vs. Katkan (Finland), Korac Kup-October 21. 1987
AirTupac
10-22-2012, 01:01 PM
Love this guy. My dad knew him and his brother personally. His brother is currently the coach of the Bosnian basketball team.
Love this guy. My dad knew him and his brother personally. His brother is currently the coach of the Bosnian basketball team.
wow, nice! Where are you from?
AirTupac
10-22-2012, 01:05 PM
wow, nice! Where are you from?
Originally from Bosnia.
Originally from Bosnia.
Pa sto ne kazes nista! Haha... Odakle si iz Bosne?
Euroleague
10-22-2012, 01:16 PM
It was against SMELT Olimpija (Slovenian pro team), it was a Yugoslavian Cup (top teams in Yugo, Yugoslavia by the way had the best basketball in Europe especially in that era) it was not a "youth squad" team..... :rolleyes:
It was more "countable" than Wilt Chamberlains 100 pts against that competition he had, i can tell you that... he was on absolute fire with his jumpshot and kept "chucking" like a mofo, i dont think anybody would have stopped him from taking ~60 shots....
The following game after that he dropped 62 points on much less shots... ironically he had many 62 point games, in European Championship games, European League games, World Cup games....
In that 112 point game, the team's senior players were not playing.
In that 112 point game, the team's senior players were not playing.
Any source to all this?
Psileas
10-22-2012, 01:45 PM
I've also heard that the 112-pointer was not achieved against senior players. I mean, the final score was 158-77. There's something completely fishy in this, don't you think? I would understand if we were talking about a 158-154 game.
I've also heard that the 112-pointer was not achieved against senior players. I mean, the final score was 158-77. There's something completely fishy in this, don't you think? I would understand if we were talking about a 158-154 game.
In Wilt Chamberlains 100 point game the score was 169-147, 22 point blowout... Drazens team did the same but Olimpija could not recover and gave up, opposing starters went to the bench early in the 2nd half, by that time Drazen had 85 points ("seniors not playing", they didnt play as you can see later indeed, but thats not the entire story, it was more like "butthurt seniors/starters walking with their heads down to the bench" because of Drazen, it was all because of Drazen and that humiliating outcome)............. Drazens team never took the foot of the gaspedal ofensively or defensively, it was a Yugoslavian Professional League (S.F.R.J.) game...
I read that in a book of Drazen Petrovic by Mario Zorko, Drazen said he was offended/insulted that game by the players, once he already killed them and they gave up he decided to squeeze the dagger harder and ended up with 112.... It was 60 FG attempts for gods sake, why didnt he take that many before/after that playing worse teams? No my friend, this guy was on fire... and angry...
No matter how you look at it, Drazen was not bad... he was a "baaaad man" against opposing players, but not bad player lol.. :)
madmax17
10-22-2012, 03:41 PM
Some great info here, thanks :)
For me the best international player ever.
Psileas
10-22-2012, 03:57 PM
Pauk, I don't know about the book, but that's not what this site says:
http://www.politika.rs/rubrike/Sport/sportske-price/t35292.lt.html
It says the opponents' oldest player was 18, all the others were 16-17 and their normal players didn't play at all, because they were "unlicensed". After all, the score at halftime was 77-34, and I doubt a normal Smelt team would have such a half. Even if your story was true, how many teens did Smelt bring with them and had them form a starting 5 in the 2nd half? And why bring so many teens with you, if you are a serious, competitive team?
Please, don't bring up Wilt's 100-pointer. We know that Wilt actually faced a grown-up men's team.
Deuce Bigalow
10-22-2012, 07:06 PM
He looks like Rick Kamla to me
http://www.emptythebench.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/kamla1.jpg
http://www.ifmanagement.com/sites/default/files/RickKamla_PORTRAIT_0.jpg
Euroleague
10-22-2012, 07:12 PM
In Wilt Chamberlains 100 point game the score was 169-147, 22 point blowout... Drazens team did the same but Olimpija could not recover and gave up, opposing starters went to the bench early in the 2nd half, by that time Drazen had 85 points ("seniors not playing", they didnt play as you can see later indeed, but thats not the entire story, it was more like "butthurt seniors/starters walking with their heads down to the bench" because of Drazen, it was all because of Drazen and that humiliating outcome)............. Drazens team never took the foot of the gaspedal ofensively or defensively, it was a Yugoslavian Professional League (S.F.R.J.) game...
I read that in a book of Drazen Petrovic by Mario Zorko, Drazen said he was offended/insulted that game by the players, once he already killed them and they gave up he decided to squeeze the dagger harder and ended up with 112.... It was 60 FG attempts for gods sake, why didnt he take that many before/after that playing worse teams? No my friend, this guy was on fire... and angry...
No matter how you look at it, Drazen was not bad... he was a "baaaad man" against opposing players, but not bad player lol.. :)
I love Drazen, he's one of my favorite players ever. His combo of shooting, scoring, and passing skills was unparallelled in any other European player ever.
However, this stuff is just like the Wilt myths.
millwad
10-22-2012, 07:15 PM
I love Drazen, he's one of my favorite players ever. His combo of shooting, scoring, and passing skills was unparallelled in any other European player ever.
However, this stuff is just like the Wilt myths.
Who would win in a 1-on-1 game between G-String (V-Span) and Drazen?
julizaver
10-23-2012, 05:00 AM
Two years ago I have made a H2H of D. Petrovic against other SG (Jordan, Drexler, Dumars, Miller, Starks and so on) from early 90s. I took his final two seasons with NETS, because in his first two he was part time player with Blazers (after his 91 midseason move to NETS his playing time increase to 20 mpg, but still not sufficient and he did not started in any of the games till the end of the season).
So in his last two seasons he has better numbers than everybody except Jordan and Drexler in his H2H meetings. He generally outplayed Reggie Miller also, who is the closest one to him. In fact he kicked his ass in some games.
I have also read an old article in which Reggie said of Drazen at the time and called him bad trash talker with an accent. And there was an info about how Drazen said to Reggie that he will make 3 consecutive shots over him and saying how exactly it will happen and he did it. Thats why Reggie consider him his all time nemezis and better shooter than him. Vary sad Drazen career was cut short by that terible incident in Germany. He was in his prime years and my personal view is that he could eclipse his numbers (had he stay alive or in NBA, since there were rumors of him moving to Greece dutring the summer he died).
About duels with Jordan (Bulls games, not Olympics) I noticed in youtube video that Drazen was guarded more often by Pippen, not Jordan and he scored a lot of his points outplaying Pippen and going for a lay up rather than scoring from outisde.
His last year in the NBA he made All NBA 3rd team but not the All Star Team.
He blamed it mostly on xenophobia. But I think if he did play in today's league, he would be perennial All Star.
RIP. First International great player in the NBA.
julizaver
10-23-2012, 05:19 AM
I remember two other players who were volume and unstopable scorers in the international basketball like Nikos Galis (Greece) and Oscar Shmidt (Brazil) but never tried in NBA. Drazen tried and proved himself in NBA against the best.
Euroleague
10-23-2012, 06:02 AM
I remember two other players who were volume and unstopable scorers in the international basketball like Nikos Galis (Greece) and Oscar Shmidt (Brazil) but never tried in NBA. Drazen tried and proved himself in NBA against the best.
In the time that Schmidt and Galis would have been likely to come to the NBA, it wasn't allowed for pro players to play with their national teams. Back then the leagues they played in were classed as not fully pro so they could stay with their national team, but not if they played in the NBA.
When Drazen wanted to come to the NBA fully pro players were already allowed to play with their national teams.
So that's the reason why Schmidt and Galis never played in the NBA. Because it was not allowed back then for them to play in the NBA and play with their national teams.
unknowns8
10-23-2012, 06:41 AM
It was more "countable" than Wilt Chamberlains 100 pts against that competition he had, i can tell you that...
From Drazens wiki-page:
Self-admittedly, Petrović needed new challenges, which Cibona and the Yugoslavian league could not offer.
so even by Drazens standards, Wilts 100 was against better quality competition than Drazens 112
still, thanks for the great thread mate, i love drazens style and skills too and its nice to be reminded occasionally of how good he was so for that, I offer up a :cheers:
Batchoy
10-23-2012, 11:04 AM
I just saw ESPN's "30 for 30: Once Brothers" about Vlade Divac and his relationship with Drazen Petrovic. A very emotional and interesting story about friendship and friendship lost. Drazen was taken from us when he was about to reach the peak of his career. He could have been the greatest international player to play in the NBA.
julizaver
10-23-2012, 11:35 AM
In the time that Schmidt and Galis would have been likely to come to the NBA, it wasn't allowed for pro players to play with their national teams. Back then the leagues they played in were classed as not fully pro so they could stay with their national team, but not if they played in the NBA.
When Drazen wanted to come to the NBA fully pro players were already allowed to play with their national teams.
So that's the reason why Schmidt and Galis never played in the NBA. Because it was not allowed back then for them to play in the NBA and play with their national teams.
Yes, I am aware of that fact - just saying that they did not try it. Galis was injured during pre-season with Celtics and was not offered a contract after his college career. The remarkable about him is that he broke through US basketball system as he was born in US, I mean tougher competition. So if Celtics had offered him a contract he probably would need to wait untill 1992 Olympics in order to play for Greece.
ralph_i_el
10-23-2012, 12:13 PM
Reggie Miller said Drazen never showered before they played so he'd stink while he guarded him. That's dedication :applause:
get these NETS
10-23-2012, 02:33 PM
John Starks injured Kenny Anderson either in playoffs or last game of season...then Petro died in the offseason
Nets really never recovered until Kidd got there...
Faptastrophe
01-04-2013, 08:36 PM
He was a truly great player and he opened the door for Europeans in the NBA.
AngelEyes
01-04-2013, 09:11 PM
Greatest European shooter of the 90's.
TheBigVeto
01-04-2013, 09:54 PM
Top 10 GOAT SG.
Locked_Up_Tonight
01-04-2013, 11:07 PM
Doesnt surprise ke about the showering. dirk has routinely said that a lot of Euro basketball players dont shower. Makes it easier for yhem to play defense.
Derka
01-05-2013, 12:00 AM
This is the first sports death I actually remember feeling upset over. Even my Dad, both of us die-hard Celtics fans, was at a loss. What you saw when he played was just undeniable, one-of-a-kind talent.
He didn't open the door for Europeans so much as he kicked it the hell open and made a big noise while doing it.
DKLaker
01-05-2013, 03:01 AM
Some great info here, thanks :)
For me the best international player ever.
No question about it, Drazen was :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:
I loved watching him play.
dirkdiggler41
01-05-2013, 03:17 AM
Petro je peder
Mrofir
01-05-2013, 04:27 AM
respect
AngelEyes
01-05-2013, 04:33 AM
Drazen was one of the players who had no fear of Jordan and went right at him, his fearless nature as well as his great talent are reasons why people have so much respect for him.
andgar923
01-05-2013, 05:31 AM
Two years ago I have made a H2H of D. Petrovic against other SG (Jordan, Drexler, Dumars, Miller, Starks and so on) from early 90s. I took his final two seasons with NETS, because in his first two he was part time player with Blazers (after his 91 midseason move to NETS his playing time increase to 20 mpg, but still not sufficient and he did not started in any of the games till the end of the season).
So in his last two seasons he has better numbers than everybody except Jordan and Drexler in his H2H meetings. He generally outplayed Reggie Miller also, who is the closest one to him. In fact he kicked his ass in some games.
I have also read an old article in which Reggie said of Drazen at the time and called him bad trash talker with an accent. And there was an info about how Drazen said to Reggie that he will make 3 consecutive shots over him and saying how exactly it will happen and he did it. Thats why Reggie consider him his all time nemezis and better shooter than him. Vary sad Drazen career was cut short by that terible incident in Germany. He was in his prime years and my personal view is that he could eclipse his numbers (had he stay alive or in NBA, since there were rumors of him moving to Greece dutring the summer he died).
About duels with Jordan (Bulls games, not Olympics) I noticed in youtube video that Drazen was guarded more often by Pippen, not Jordan and he scored a lot of his points outplaying Pippen and going for a lay up rather than scoring from outisde.
Drazen was a hard cover because he was always moving (like Reggie and Hornaceck) and like them was very elusive and smart. You had to respect his shot, and he knew that. He used every inch to get an open look and could hit shots off balance, on the run, floaters, you name it. But he was just deceiving with his quickness. Even when you watch footage of him playing, he doesn't look quick per se, yet he got the step on people once they closed on him. It's the type of player you hate to guard because he's efficient in his play. To me he reminded me of that guy that shows up half drunk, smoking a cigarette while playing, looks out of shape, is strong as an ox, can't jump, can't move, but yet manages to drop 30 points with ease with everybody screaming "switch switch!!!" with every touch.
Drazen was a hard cover because he was always moving (like Reggie and Hornaceck) and like them was very elusive and smart. You had to respect his shot, and he knew that. He used every inch to get an open look and could hit shots off balance, on the run, floaters, you name it. But he was just deceiving with his quickness. Even when you watch footage of him playing, he doesn't look quick per se, yet he got the step on people once they closed on him. It's the type of player you hate to guard because he's efficient in his play. To me he reminded me of that guy that shows up half drunk, smoking a cigarette while playing, looks out of shape, is strong as an ox, can't jump, can't move, but yet manages to drop 30 points with ease with everybody screaming "switch switch!!!" with every touch.
Unlike Reggie and such Drazen had also fantastic handles/ballcontrol and was a very flashy passer, he was used as a point-guard alot back in Europe and Olympics (even against the dream team if you noticed). In his prime / at his best i like to compare his game/style to Jerry West.
Djahjaga
01-05-2013, 02:02 PM
I'm from Kosovo. My dad still talks about Petrovic all the time. It's a bit hard to take him seriously at times because he refuses to admit Drazen's faults. Any takers? What were the deficiencies in his game?
Edit: I never saw him play, so everything I know about him is from YouTube and stories. From watching videos, I've seen that: A. he's obviously a ridiculously good shooter and B. he had good, but unspectacular handles.
His last season he was playing 38 mpg and still only got 2.7 boards (3.1 being his career high). I realize he was out on the perimeter a lot (because he was damn good: 45% on 3 attempts from the arc over his last two years), but this is just horrendous rebounding any way you cut it. His playmaking was alright for a SG. I'm not sure if his role allowed him to assist much. He looked like he could run the break well in the Olympics games I've watched of him, so I'll assume he could average 5 assists if he had to, but the turnovers worry me; he had almost a 1:1 ratio for his career and you can see the turnovers trending upward as his assists did at almost an identical rate.
Again, I can't really make any claims for sure because I'm not qualified, having not watched him play, but I can't see him being a 30-5-5 player in the NBA. Not unless he played the whole 48 minutes. And even then.
brain drain
01-05-2013, 02:47 PM
I'm from Kosovo. My dad still talks about Petrovic all the time. It's a bit hard to take him seriously at times because he refuses to admit Drazen's faults. Any takers? What were the deficiencies in his game?.
He was an amazingly efficient scorer (60.5 TS% in his last season), but he got rather few rebounds, not that many assists and comparatively many turnovers.
And for my taste he took too few 3 pointers for the kind of accuracy he had. His two last seasons were 3.4 and 2.4 3pa, shooting 44% of them.
Ray Allen for example has 5.9 3pa as his career average.
On top of that, his efficiency dropped badly in the playoffs and his last playoff run was really horrible.
Djahjaga
01-05-2013, 02:52 PM
He was an amazingly efficient scorer (60.5 TS% in his last season), but he got rather few rebounds, not that many assists and comparatively many turnovers.
And for my taste he took too few 3 pointers for the kind of accuracy he had. His two last seasons were 3.4 and 2.4 3pa, shooting 44% of them.
Ray Allen for example has 5.9 3pa as his career average.
All things considered, the three wasn't considered a huge weapon until the line was shortened in '95, after which the NBA fell in love with it, even when the line was unshortened.
Europe discovered the use of the three before teams in the States, though. But overall, players took fewer threes then. Today, he would almost definitely take closer to 5 threes a game.
Edit: And if he played for the Nets today? Can you imagine having him in one corner and Joe Johnson on the wing (or vice versa) while D-will runs a PnR with Brook? Who do you help off of? :bowdown:
brain drain
01-05-2013, 03:02 PM
All things considered, the three wasn't considered a huge weapon until the line was shortened in '95, after which the NBA fell in love with it, even when the line was unshortened.
Europe discovered the use of the three before teams in the States, though. But overall, players took fewer threes then. Today, he would almost definitely take closer to 5 threes a game.
True to a degree, but Reggie Miller for instance was already averaging around 4.5 3pa between 89/90 and 92/93, while never making 44% of them.
Fiba basketball
01-22-2013, 01:11 PM
http://www.euroleague.net/features/voices/2012-2013/vladimir-stankovic/i/107623/7781/drazen-petrovic-an-unfinished-symphony
Baller1986
04-24-2016, 08:20 AM
Better player than Manu Ginobili. Manu Had better success in the NBA.
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