How good was Drazen Petrovic?

[Shade8780]

I never got to see him play, but I've seen 30 for 30: Once Brothers once or twice. Pretty sad stuff.

How good was Petrovic? Could he have become an all-time great?

[SexSymbol]

He wasn't that great really, he had something like a 20-3-3 season that was his best.
I think we saw some prime years of his and he was a great shooter, but not very good at everything else.
Definitely a serviceable player even in today's league. I'd say a smaller, but faster Kyle Korver is a good example of what Drazen would be today.
He's a huge case of overrated due to death.

[NBAplayoffs2001]

A better Reggie Miller.

[pauk]

In his prime, see Jerry West... with an even better shot and much more trashtalking / competitiveness....

Now imagine that guy in the Euroleague, he would be having 40 to 112 points every other night.... and thats exactly what Drazen did (yes, even the 112 points part where he was 40 of 60 & took 20 3's, the next game he scored 62)...

He came to the NBA at 25-26, still not trusted minutes/starting position until he was 27, got in rythm and averaged 22-3-4 @ 52-45-87 (only 16 FGA) and then died.......

If he came into the NBA early, like at 20 and was given a starting job/minutes he would have been developed into even better than he was before, which is a scary thought..... lets just say i really do believe he would be everything Reggie Miller was but BETTER (and Reggie was my favorite player of all time), but i have also lived in Croatia and spent many years watching his games on TV, the others on VHS, to really see/comprehend prime Drazens game & potential (NBA potential)...

...as worse as any International/Euroleague Basketball league was and is compared to NBA... NOBODY was able to play & dominate like him there ever.... I mean the guy was toying/teasing/clowning with the International players/Euroleague just like if you would have placed Michael Jordan there instead.... just like seeing Mohammed Ali clown some scrub boxer....

[JimmyMcAdocious]

A good player whose potential legacy became excessively distorted because of his premature death (at 29, mind you).

[Euroleague]

In his prime, see Jerry West... with an even better shot and much more trashtalking / competitiveness....

Now imagine that guy in the Euroleague, he would be having 40 to 112 points every other night.... and thats exactly what Drazen did (yes, even the 112 points part where he was 40 of 60 & took 20 3's, the next game he scored 62)...

He came to the NBA at 25-26, still not trusted minutes/starting position until he was 27, got in rythm and averaged 22-3-4 @ 52-45-87 (only 16 FGA) and then died.......

If he came into the NBA early, like at 20 and was given a starting job/minutes he would have been developed into even better than he was before, which is a scary thought..... lets just say i really do believe he would be everything Reggie Miller was but BETTER (and Reggie was my favorite player of all time), but i have also lived in Croatia and spent many years watching his games on TV, the others on VHS, to really see/comprehend prime Drazens game & potential (NBA potential)...

...as worse as any International/Euroleague Basketball league was and is compared to NBA... NOBODY was able to play & dominate like him there ever.... I mean the guy was toying/teasing/clowning with the International players/Euroleague just like if you would have placed Michael Jordan there instead.... just like seeing Mohammed Ali clown some scrub boxer....

None of those games were in the Euroleague you moron.

[chocolatethunder]

He was really good but for some strange reason he's so overrated here. I've never been able to figure it out.

[pauk]

The guys jumpshot was better than anybody i ever seen in basketball history... it surprised me that even someone like Reggie Miller can confirm that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EUo5p6D990

[SHAQisGOAT]

In his prime, see Jerry West... with an even better shot and much more trashtalking / competitiveness....

:kobe: :coleman:

He couldn't pass nor play defense like Jerry, and while he was probably a better pure shooter he couldn't (overall) score like Jerry, didn't have the same scoring skillset.

Petro could really ball though, simply terrific shooter and not just catch-n-shoot, could do it in mny ways, even leaving defenders looking like fools. And as a scorer, he wasn't just limited to shooting either.
Already 28 when he died but still had potential and ways to go, going into his 5th year in the NBA I believe... Feel like soome people overrate him though.

RIP

[pauk]

None of those games were in the Euroleague you moron.

Maybe i should have been more specific.... but i think you get my point, well, at least not you mr. Euroleague... Drazen destroyed the Euroleague like no man ever did before....

[SHAQisGOAT]

He wasn't that great really, he had something like a 20-3-3 season that was his best.
I think we saw some prime years of his and he was a great shooter, but not very good at everything else.
Definitely a serviceable player even in today's league. I'd say a smaller, but faster Kyle Korver is a good example of what Drazen would be today.
He's a huge case of overrated due to death.

This is really underrating him though.

[pauk]

:kobe: :coleman:

He couldn't pass nor play defense like Jerry, and while he was probably a better pure shooter he couldn't (overall) score like Jerry, didn't have the same scoring skillset.

Petro could really ball though, terrific shooter and not just catch-n-shoot, could do it in mny ways, even leaving defenders looking like fools. And as a scorer, he wasn't just limited to shooting either.
Already 28 when he died but still had potential and ways to go, going into his 5th year in the NBA I believe... Feel like soome people overrate him though.

RIP

Good you brought that up, this here is false, thats what many dont know.... thats exactly why i put up Jerry Wests name... because thats EXACTLY what Drazen could do.... pass (very flashy at that aswell) & handle the ball very well... the only place he couldnt do that/play the point-guard position was in the NBA... Drazen was always actually a PG/SG or a SG/PG... a comboguard....

I wish i had some proper footage of his ballhandling & passing highlights to show you.... ill be back with that, one moment, youtube.

[SHAQisGOAT]

Good you brought that up, this here is false, thats what many dont know.... thats exactly why i put up Jerry Wests name... because thats EXACTLY what Drazen could do.... pass & handle the ball very well... the only place he couldnt do that/play the point-guard position was in the NBA... Drazen was always actually a PG/SG or a SG/PG... a comboguard....

Please... Really think he could pass/playmake (not talking about handles here) as well one of the best all-time passers at the SG position? Really think he could play D like one of the GOAT SG defenders? Gimme a break.
And again, Drazen was probably a better pure shooter (while being much more than that) but he didn't have the same scoring skill-set or capabilities as West, who himself was a great shooter.

That other dude's post comparing him to Kyle Korver or something was really underrating him but when you say he was Jerry West with a better shot, that's really overrating him...

[Hamtaro CP3KDKG]

Hed be Calderon with worse passing in todays league

[Hamtaro CP3KDKG]

:kobe: :coleman:

He couldn't pass nor play defense like Jerry, and while he was probably a better pure shooter he couldn't (overall) score like Jerry, didn't have the same scoring skillset.

Petro could really ball though, simply terrific shooter and not just catch-n-shoot, could do it in mny ways, even leaving defenders looking like fools. And as a scorer, he wasn't just limited to shooting either.
Already 28 when he died but still had potential and ways to go, going into his 5th year in the NBA I believe... Feel like soome people overrate him though.

RIP
LOL @ that ignorant fool puttin Drazen in the same sentence as Jerry. Never mind the massive defense/scoring/playmaking. Jerry had gorilla arms, was one of the best slashers ever and his athleticism was just a level below the top tier athletic guards (MJ, Vince, Westbrook, Wade)

[pauk]

Please... Really think he could pass/playmake (not talking about handles here) as well one of the best all-time passers at the SG position? Really think he could play D like one of the GOAT SG defenders? Gimme a break.
And again, Drazen was probably a better pure shooter (while being much more than that) but he didn't have the same scoring skill-set or capabilities as West, who himself was a great shooter.

That other dude's post comparing him to Kyle Korver or something was really underrating him but when you say he was Jerry West with a better shot, that's really overrating him...

Dunno about defense... but yea... thats about what i think a prime Drazen would be in the NBA if he was there from start to finish.... a 25-30 ppg -5-5 guy.....

Im really trying very hard to not downplay Jerry / overrate Drazen, but i cant help it as thats what i have seen from Drazen which is maybe more than anybody on this board... and ive seen a bit of Jerry to... his scoring skill-set from what i have seen didnt strike me as any much better than prime Drazen, if it is better then maybe microscopically, thats only from what ive seen with my own eyes...... there i said it, feels better, you can kill me now!

[SexSymbol]

This is really underrating him though.
Yeah, I probably was a bit too harsh.
I'd say he was close to curry's level shot wise, but didn't have the handle or passing ability or defense of curry

[SexSymbol]

Dunno about defense... but yea... thats about what i think a prime Drazen would be in the NBA if he was there from start to finish.... a 25-30 ppg -5-5 guy.....

Im really trying very hard to not downplay Jerry / overrate Drazen, but i cant help it as thats what i have seen from Drazen which is maybe more than anybody on this board... and ive seen a bit of Jerry to... his scoring skill-set from what i have seen didnt strike me as any much better than prime Drazen, if it is better then maybe microscopically, thats only from what ive seen with my own eyes...... there i said it, feels better, you can kill me now!
We've seen Drazen in his peak year having freedom on a team that he was the 1st option and he gave us a 22,6 - 2,7 - 3,5 season.
He just wasn't that good skill and ability wise, but was a great guy and a perfect teammate from what I've read on him

[Genaro]

Definitely a serviceable player even in today's league. I'd say a smaller, but faster Kyle Korver is a good example of what Drazen would be today.
He's a huge case of overrated due to death.
Drazen was a hell of a player. If you want to compare him with anyone today that would be Klay with better handles and playmaking.

[Hamtaro CP3KDKG]

Drazen was a hell of a player. If you want to compare him with anyone today that would be Klay with better handles and playmaking.
he wasnt a quarter of the defender Klay is
they look alike

[inclinerator]

overrated because of his death

[kamil]

overrated because of his death

Kinna like Heath Ledger getting an oscar, right?

[SexSymbol]

Kinna like Heath Ledger getting an oscar, right?
Heath ledger's joker is a top 5 performance of all time

[kamil]

Heath ledger's joker is a top 5 performance of all time

lol

[SexSymbol]

lol
get this, the dark knight is a top 5 movie ever. And you wouldn't believe it, but majority of the audiences actually agree with me on this according to the imdb rating

[JellyBean]

I never got to see him play, but I've seen 30 for 30: Once Brothers once or twice. Pretty sad stuff.

How good was Petrovic? Could he have become an all-time great?

He was good. I just remember him being one those shooters that once he got into that shooting zone, it was a wrap! He was terrible as a defender. But he could score! He was aggressive on offense. Playing with Portland, he was lost on the bench. But once he got to New Jersey and they added Derrick Coleman and Kenny Anderson, Drazen's star really grew. The guy was good. Just an offensive machine.

Could he have become an all-time great? Probably. He was a hard worker with a chip on his shoulder. He wanted to make it big in the NBA so he was determined to be one of the best in the league. I say probably because he was on the same team as Derrick Coleman and Kenny Anderson. Egos got in the way. I think at one point, Petro wanted to leave the Nets because of conflicts within the team dynamics. Stuff like that impacts a players confidence. It can either break you or make you, ala my boy Kobe :D

So Petro was really good and could have been an all-time great.

[jzek]

White Ray Allen

[JellyBean]

get this, the dark knight is a top 5 movie ever. And you wouldn't believe it, but majority of the audiences actually agree with me on this according to the imdb rating

Wow. You are right. Holy Crap!! I figured one of the Star Wars would be in the top five. Nope.

[La Frescobaldi]

Wow. You are right. Holy Crap!! I figured one of the Star Wars would be in the top five. Nope.

most of them never even heard of Bogart, Rossellini, Edward G. Robinson, John Huston, Cagney, Howard Hawks, Fellini, Grant, or Garbo. So how are they going to know anything about it? Some really old movies are masterpieces to this day.

saying dark knight is better than star wars is like comparing petrovic to jerry west

[Kingwillball]

He wasn't that great really, he had something like a 20-3-3 season that was his best.
I think we saw some prime years of his and he was a great shooter, but not very good at everything else.
Definitely a serviceable player even in today's league. I'd say a smaller, but faster Kyle Korver is a good example of what Drazen would be today.
He's a huge case of overrated due to death.

He was every bit as good as klay Thompson at very least.

[iamgine]

most of them never even heard of Bogart, Rossellini, Edward G. Robinson, John Huston, Cagney, Howard Hawks, Fellini, Grant, or Garbo. So how are they going to know anything about it? Some really old movies are masterpieces to this day.

saying dark knight is better than star wars is like comparing petrovic to jerry west
Meh movies evolve as well. What was good back then might not be that good for today's standard.

[SHAQisGOAT]

get this, the dark knight is a top 5 movie ever. And you wouldn't believe it, but majority of the audiences actually agree with me on this according to the imdb rating

IMDB's ratings for more recent movies are absolutely terrible, you're simply being dumb if you don't take them with a HUGE grain of salt.

And since when does the majority of "random"-public's opinion decides what's right? - Talking about people who don't even know much about film history or haven't seen close to a "reasonable" amount of movies to let them have fundamented or credible opinions... How about them Kardashian bitches being popular af, what you gotta say about stuff like that?

I really enjoyed The Dark Knight and Ledger's performance... but there's NO WAY that the movie or the performance are all-time top5, not even remotely close...

[Euroleague]

Maybe i should have been more specific.... but i think you get my point, well, at least not you mr. Euroleague... Drazen destroyed the Euroleague like no man ever did before....

You claimed he scored 112 points in a Euroleague game which is a lie. Probably thinking all these clown NBA only fans won't know any better. Stop trolling.

For the NBA fans that don't know any better.

He scored 112 points an a Yugoslav league game, and it was against a team that was playing with their junior players of their 2nd team. Basically he was playing against some high school kids.

Drazen was a great player without any question and these NBA clown trolls are totally ridiculous as usual with most of their comments here about him, but don't troll for no reason. There is no reason to troll, lie and flat out make up shit. Which is what you did.

As for no player dominating Euroleague like him before he did?

Oh really?

What about.......

Emiliano Rodriguez
Sergey Belov
Janis Krumins
Bob Morse
Szczerbiak Sr.

Just to name some right there?

Stop trolling.

[SHAQisGOAT]

Meh movies evolve as well. What was good back then might not be that good for today's standard.

:facepalm

Dumb-ass post right there... Evolve in what way? And not everything evolves for the better, not even close.

Movie industry is at one of his weakest points right now, imho. That's especially when you compare what's good to what makes the most money... Compare it to the 70's or so (probably the best movie era) and you'll see a huge difference there

You'll see plenty of overrated films and actors nowadays, not much originality as before or close, even clear when you see the huge amount of reboots/remakes being thrown out like never before...

"What was good back then might not be that good for today's standard." :rolleyes: Lmfao...

You must be one of those persons who think better cgi-effects makes for the best movies :rolleyes: That's why the most recent Mad Max makes little use of it (compared to others out there) and shits on the vast majority of action movies in like the last 10 years... Couldn't even top Pitch Perfect 2 on opening week at the box office though...

[Euroleague]

Yeah, I probably was a bit too harsh.
I'd say he was close to curry's level shot wise, but didn't have the handle or passing ability or defense of curry

You need to seriously stop smoking crack.

:biggums: :biggums: :biggums: :biggums: :biggums:

[plowking]

He was a better Reggie Miller.

I'd take him over Klay Thompson, but that is because I don't really rate him.

A lot of people like to point that he was already 29 and he wouldn't have gotten better, but at the same time, he was on the bench in Portland when he shouldn't have been, and when he was still getting adjusted to the game.
He would have been a 24-4-4 type guy getting minutes from the get go in his prime.

The "smaller Kyle Korver" comparison is an embarrassment. Petrovic was a great playmaker too.

[CavaliersFTW]

In his prime, see Jerry West... with an even better shot and much more trashtalking / competitiveness....

Now imagine that guy in the Euroleague, he would be having 40 to 112 points every other night.... and thats exactly what Drazen did (yes, even the 112 points part where he was 40 of 60 & took 20 3's, the next game he scored 62)...

He came to the NBA at 25-26, still not trusted minutes/starting position until he was 27, got in rythm and averaged 22-3-4 @ 52-45-87 (only 16 FGA) and then died.......

If he came into the NBA early, like at 20 and was given a starting job/minutes he would have been developed into even better than he was before, which is a scary thought..... lets just say i really do believe he would be everything Reggie Miller was but BETTER (and Reggie was my favorite player of all time), but i have also lived in Croatia and spent many years watching his games on TV, the others on VHS, to really see/comprehend prime Drazens game & potential (NBA potential)...

...as worse as any International/Euroleague Basketball league was and is compared to NBA... NOBODY was able to play & dominate like him there ever.... I mean the guy was toying/teasing/clowning with the International players/Euroleague just like if you would have placed Michael Jordan there instead.... just like seeing Mohammed Ali clown some scrub boxer....
Jerry West is much much better player than Petrovich not the other way around

[dgaras]

petrovic is a player that would have excelled in any situation if given time and the ball like he did in nj killing everyone

yea this guy is like kyle korver :roll:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLlPtBsGbYo

[Euroleague]

He was a better Reggie Miller.

I'd take him over Klay Thompson, but that is because I don't really rate him.

A lot of people like to point that he was already 29 and he wouldn't have gotten better, but at the same time, he was on the bench in Portland when he shouldn't have been, and when he was still getting adjusted to the game.
He would have been a 24-4-4 type guy getting minutes from the get go in his prime.

The "smaller Kyle Korver" comparison is an embarrassment. Petrovic was a great playmaker too.

Kyle Korver is a poor man's Matt Lojeski. In other words, he is basically the same player as Matt Lojeski, only not as good. Lojeski is something like the 3rd to 5th best player on Olympiacos........

The guy that said Korver is better than Petrovic is in the same level of troll as Rooster.

[FKAri]

Please... Really think he could pass/playmake (not talking about handles here) as well one of the best all-time passers at the SG position? Really think he could play D like one of the GOAT SG defenders? Gimme a break.
And again, Drazen was probably a better pure shooter (while being much more than that) but he didn't have the same scoring skill-set or capabilities as West, who himself was a great shooter.

That other dude's post comparing him to Kyle Korver or something was really underrating him but when you say he was Jerry West with a better shot, that's really overrating him...

dat nigguh Jerry... lmao @ anyone with that name getting a NCAA scholarship today...dat nigguh wouldnt get off the bench for Zimbabwe's special olympic team.

[Euroleague]

Jerry West is much much better player than Petrovich not the other way around

This is why you will always be a troll no matter what. There are guys here over trolling about Petrovic..........OK. No need to point it out, unless they are making shit up and lying. I pointed out the blatant lies like "he scored 112 point in a Euroleague game", when it was actually 112 points in a Yugo league game against a team playing with its junior players.

But see, on the other hand, we have guys saying players like Jose Calderon and Kyle Korver are clearly better than Petrovic was. Strangely, you of course don't respond at all to that absurd, actually ludicrous trolling.

Or even the guy saying Curry is better at defense.............which is absurd, and even the remark that Curry is a better passer is quite honestly also ridiculous.

You pretend to be some kind of basketball guy and non troll, but you are one of the worst trolls here BY FAR.

[CavaliersFTW]

This is why you will always be a troll no matter what. There are guys here over trolling about Petrovic..........OK. No need to point it out, unless they are making shit up and lying. I pointed out the blatant lies like "he scored 112 point in a Euroleague game", when it was actually 112 points in a Yugo league game against a team playing with its junior players.

But see, on the other hand, we have guys saying players like Jose Calderon and Kyle Korver are clearly better than Petrovic was. Strangely, you of course don't respond at all to that absurd, actually ludicrous trolling.

Or even the guy saying Curry is better at defense.............which is absurd, and even the remark that Curry is a better passer is quite honestly also ridiculous.

You pretend to be some kind of basketball guy and non troll, but you are one of the worst trolls here BY FAR.
I focus on the Jerry West era of basketball. Maybe that's why I chose to respond to the Jerry West comparison? The name Jerry West stands out to me. You want to contest the other comparisons? Go right ahead no one is stopping you.

[Euroleague]

I focus on the Jerry West era of basketball. Maybe that's why I chose to respond to the Jerry West comparison? The name Jerry West stands out to me. You want to contest the other comparisons? Go right ahead no one is stopping you.

The point is, the fact you constantly post that way, shows you obviously think like that.

Like, "oh yeah, have to say to this guy, oh West was way better."

On the other hand, like the thought never occurs to you that,

"I should say to those other trolls, you know, saying Jose Calderon or Kyle Korver are better than Petrovic really is an insult".

Just one, two, three instances would not mean anything probably, but it's always like that with you in topics like this.

[La Frescobaldi]

The point is, the fact you constantly post that way, shows you obviously think like that.

Like, "oh yeah, have to say to this guy, oh West was way better."

On the other hand, like the thought never occurs to you that,

"I should say to those other trolls, you know, saying Jose Calderon or Kyle Korver are better than Petrovic really is an insult".

Just one, two, three instances would not mean anything probably, but it's always like that with you in topics like this.

he literally just told you why he posted about West's era and yet you apparently don't know how to read bro

[La Frescobaldi]

Meh movies evolve as well. What was good back then might not be that good for today's standard.

on the other hand, many of them were better than today's standard.

[iznogood]

In his prime, see Jerry West... with an even better shot and much more trashtalking / competitiveness....

Now imagine that guy in the Euroleague, he would be having 40 to 112 points every other night.... and thats exactly what Drazen did (yes, even the 112 points part where he was 40 of 60 & took 20 3's,
I love Drazen, but Truth be told, he scored 112 agains 15 and 16 years old kids, since Olimpija made a mistake when they were licensig their pros and couldn't play them.

[fandarko]

He wasn't that great really, he had something like a 20-3-3 season that was his best.
I think we saw some prime years of his and he was a great shooter, but not very good at everything else.
Definitely a serviceable player even in today's league. I'd say a smaller, but faster Kyle Korver is a good example of what Drazen would be today.
He's a huge case of overrated due to death.

Hahaha, this is simply great shit.

Faster, faster Kyle Korver??

Let me put it this way: Drazen Petrovic was Europe's ALL TIME prime offensive player, discounting Dirk who never really played any serious competition in Europe. His peak year in Europe was the year before he came to the NBA, where he was benched and humiliated by Adelman, behind Drexler and Porter. Not exactly the best situation for him.

He played at all star level that season (the one before he died), which shits on anything Korver's done in the league. Not to mention that "13 ppg all star Korver would be a role player in the Euroleague (can't really create).

Drazen had a shot at being an all star guard, but his career was cut short. He ultimately has been overappreciated because of his death, but just slightly. On the international level, he's on par with Manu, if not better.

[fandarko]

I love Drazen, but Truth be told, he scored 112 agains 15 and 16 years old kids, since Olimpija made a mistake when they were licensig their pros and couldn't play them.

It was not 15-16 year olds, but 18 year olds.

[fandarko]

None of those games were in the Euroleague you moron.

The 112 pts game was a fringe national league game.

He had many +40 pts games in the then Euroleague.

[fandarko]

The guys jumpshot was better than anybody i ever seen in basketball history... it surprised me that even someone like Reggie Miller can confirm that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EUo5p6D990

It's an exaggeration. Coming from a lifelong Drazen fan.
I watched him play since day 1 in Sibenka.
He was a great shooter, one of the greatests ever.

In terms of pure shooting touch, there were many guys he can't touch.

His delivery was great, though.

[fandarko]

Hed be Calderon with worse passing in todays league

He'd be anywhere between 20 and 26 ppg today, if Kevin Martin can do it, c'mon...

[fandarko]

He was every bit as good as klay Thompson at very least.

Klay has the better form.

But Drazen in Europe was 10 times the creator.

Had he been given the chance to play immediately, Drazen would have been 30% better.

But this is the case with many players, including Toni Kukoc.

At the time, the NBA didn't trust Europeans.

[fandarko]

You claimed he scored 112 points in a Euroleague game which is a lie. Probably thinking all these clown NBA only fans won't know any better. Stop trolling.

For the NBA fans that don't know any better.

He scored 112 points an a Yugoslav league game, and it was against a team that was playing with their junior players of their 2nd team. Basically he was playing against some high school kids.

Drazen was a great player without any question and these NBA clown trolls are totally ridiculous as usual with most of their comments here about him, but don't troll for no reason. There is no reason to troll, lie and flat out make up shit. Which is what you did.

As for no player dominating Euroleague like him before he did?

Oh really?

What about.......

Emiliano Rodriguez
Sergey Belov
Janis Krumins
Bob Morse
Szczerbiak Sr.

Just to name some right there?

Stop trolling.

Truth be told, Drazen was way more dominant and nobody of the aforementioned compares to him.

[NBASTATMAN]

He was every bit as good as klay Thompson at very least.


THIS... He was selected to 3RD TEAM ALL NBA the last season before he passed... That means he was the third best sg in the league...


1992-93
FIRST TEAM
Charles Barkley, Phoenix
Karl Malone, Utah
Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston
Michael Jordan, Chicago
Mark Price, Cleveland

SECOND TEAM
Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta
Larry Johnson, Charlotte
Patrick Ewing, New York
John Stockton, Utah
Joe Dumars, Detroit


THIRD TEAM

Scottie Pippen, Chicago
Derrick Coleman, New Jersey
David Robinson, San Antonio
Tim Hardaway, Golden State
Drazen Petrovic, New Jersey



Pippen on the third team as well under Dominique...

[iznogood]

It was not 15-16 year olds, but 18 year olds.
I'm pretty sure every article I've read calls this age category "kadeti". In Slovenia, "kadeti" means 16 or less. Age group of 18 or less would be called "mladinci".

[r0drig0lac]

Drazen was much better than Klay

[NBASTATMAN]

Drazen was much better than Klay


Not sure if he was much better but I do agree he was better... Klay plays good defense and Drazen was decent at best... Drazen a was better on offense and was A killer unlike most of today's soft arse players...

[Kingwillball]

Reggie said he is the best shooter he has ever seen.

[r0drig0lac]

Not sure if he was much better but I do agree he was better... Klay plays good defense and Drazen was decent at best... Drazen a was better on offense and was A killer unlike most of today's soft arse players...
I think Drazen reach the championship today in a lottery team as their main offensive player, put some great statistics, the defensive effort could improve his defense, who knows

[JtotheIzzo]

different skill set but his impact is basically the same as Ginobili.

Huge overseas, borderline all star with a lot of ability and a flair for the dramatic.

Great big match temperament.

If he was Jerry West, he would have been a top ten all time talent.

Not the case. Easy bucko!

[JtotheIzzo]

THIS... He was selected to 3RD TEAM ALL NBA the last season before he passed... That means he was the third best sg in the league...


1992-93
FIRST TEAM
Charles Barkley, Phoenix
Karl Malone, Utah
Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston
Michael Jordan, Chicago
Mark Price, Cleveland

SECOND TEAM
Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta
Larry Johnson, Charlotte
Patrick Ewing, New York
John Stockton, Utah
Joe Dumars, Detroit


THIRD TEAM

Scottie Pippen, Chicago
Derrick Coleman, New Jersey
David Robinson, San Antonio
Tim Hardaway, Golden State
Drazen Petrovic, New Jersey



Pippen on the third team as well under Dominique...


So was DRob, who according to Shep is the 2nd best player of all time.:lol Shep:facepalm

[Rooster]

I think Drazen reach the championship today in a lottery team as their main offensive player, put some great statistics, the defensive effort could improve his defense, who knows

:facepalm He was the best player on fringe playoff team who freefalled when Kenny Anderson got injured during regular season. He also played with another All NBA Team Derrick Coleman who had so much talent. He was good but he did not have that game changer impact. The novelty as the first Euro to lead an NBA made him overrated and his death made his trajectory off the roof. He was already 29 at the prime of his career and he average like 15 ppg in the last playoff series he played.

[Rooster]

Klay has the better form.

But Drazen in Europe was 10 times the creator.

Had he been given the chance to play immediately, Drazen would have been 30% better.

But this is the case with many players, including Toni Kukoc.

At the time, the NBA didn't trust Europeans.


:facepalm Toni Kukoc was a role player. He was skilled offensively but could not play a lick of defense just like Petrovic.

[Rooster]

The 112 pts game was a fringe national league game.

He had many +40 pts games in the then Euroleague.

The corpse of Mc Adoo dominated Euroleague on those days.:oldlol: There's nothing special about that:oldlol:

[NBASTATMAN]

So was DRob, who according to Shep is the 2nd best player of all time.:lol Shep:facepalm


WTHELL IS SHEP?

[JellyBean]

most of them never even heard of Bogart, Rossellini, Edward G. Robinson, John Huston, Cagney, Howard Hawks, Fellini, Grant, or Garbo. So how are they going to know anything about it? Some really old movies are masterpieces to this day.

saying dark knight is better than star wars is like comparing petrovic to jerry west

So true. Some of those classics by EGR, Grant, Gabro, and Cagney were masterpieces.

[fandarko]

different skill set but his impact is basically the same as Ginobili.

Huge overseas, borderline all star with a lot of ability and a flair for the dramatic.

Great big match temperament.

If he was Jerry West, he would have been a top ten all time talent.

Not the case. Easy bucko!

Great summary, as someone who has watched Drazen from day one (many games live, in the stadium), I concur.

[Euroleague]

Hahaha, this is simply great shit.

Faster, faster Kyle Korver??

Let me put it this way: Drazen Petrovic was Europe's ALL TIME prime offensive player, discounting Dirk who never really played any serious competition in Europe. His peak year in Europe was the year before he came to the NBA, where he was benched and humiliated by Adelman, behind Drexler and Porter. Not exactly the best situation for him.

He played at all star level that season (the one before he died), which shits on anything Korver's done in the league. Not to mention that "13 ppg all star Korver would be a role player in the Euroleague (can't really create).

Drazen had a shot at being an all star guard, but his career was cut short. He ultimately has been overappreciated because of his death, but just slightly. On the international level, he's on par with Manu, if not better.

I really don't think he was a better scorer than Dalipagic or certainly Galis. This is how people overrate him for some reason. For some reason Petrovic and Sabonis get overrated always by most European fans.

He was ONE of the greatest offensive players ever from Europe, not THE greatest ever. Yet for some reason, people make that false claim.

[Euroleague]

The 112 pts game was a fringe national league game.

He had many +40 pts games in the then Euroleague.

As far as I know his career high in Euroleague was 51 points, and he averaged something like around about 30 a game if I remember right (maybe a little less, I can't remember the exact number), which was not that unusual at that time actually, as several other players actually did the same back then. The guy claimed he scored 112 in a Euroleague game, and made it sound like he regularly scored 60 a game in Euroleague.

That's outright trolling and needed to be pointed out. Especially when the all time record for most points ever scored in a Euroleague game is 99 by Korac.

Petrovic was a great player obviously, but some of the exaggerations about him are a bit ridiculous. Same with Sabonis. For whatever reason, people have created too many myths around them. They are like Europe's basketball version of Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan in that way - as in that their basketball "legacies" have become more myth and legend than reality.

[Euroleague]

Truth be told, Drazen was way more dominant and nobody of the aforementioned compares to him.

So you are saying that stats domination is "dominant" instead of leading teams to championships as the best player?

OK then...................

So you have,

Drazen Dalipgagic
Nick Galis
Oscar Schmidt

Truth be told, all of them were playing in same level basically national and European leagues in same era (back then Euroleague, Saporta Cup, Korac Cup had relative minimal level of difference - nothing like now where it is dramatic, as same teams often changed from all 3 leagues yearly), Yugo league, Greece, Italy, Spain, along with USSR was clear best, well same as now basically, etc.)

Please explain for example then since you are using stats as "domination" how Petrovic was any more dominant than any of them.........

Again, this is where the reality of Drazen and how good he was, turns into MYTH and LEGEND. It is the same exact bull shit as all the Sabonis nonsense.


Petrovic could not win Barca and Epi in Spanish League when he was with Real Madrid.

He could not win Bosna in Yugo league when he was at Cibona. Come on now.

If he was anything remotely close to what you describe ("most dominant player in Europe ever by far") it would have been impossible for either of those two things to have happened.

[eeeeeebro]

if he shot 30 for 30 one day he was the best player in the world durring that day for sure :)

[Euroleague]

different skill set but his impact is basically the same as Ginobili.

Huge overseas, borderline all star with a lot of ability and a flair for the dramatic.

Great big match temperament.

If he was Jerry West, he would have been a top ten all time talent.

Not the case. Easy bucko!

Ginobili's level "overseas" is dramatically overblown by US media that is always just totally making up and fabricating shit whenever they want to.

Ginobili was just another very good player in Europe. That was it. He would not even be in the same discussion as someone like Petrovic, based on the level of play he had "overseas".

Ginobili in Europe is nothing next to what players like Navarro or Spanoulis were/are there.

Again, it's just US media making up shit and blowing smoke up someone's a$$ whenever they want to hype shit for whatever ulterior motive or agenda they have to create their bullshit false narratives.

You can't even put Ginobili and Petrovic in same sentence on "overseas" play.

It's funny, because the guy trolling hardest of all about Petrovic in last pages is agreeing on that point, when Manu in Europe was nothing at all compared to Petrovic.

Bunch of trolling in this thread, as usual with every topic about any basketball not in USA.

[24-Inch_Chrome]

Petrovic put up 22.3 PPG on .518/.449/.870 in his best NBA season.

Spanoulis put up 2.7 PPG on .319/.172/.810 in his only NBA season.

Petrovic > Spanoulis.

[plowking]

Petrovic put up 22.3 PPG on .518/.449/.870 in his best NBA season.



Exactly. Basically a better version of Klay Thompson and Reggie Miller.

Let me put it this way. Peja was a great player during his prime, a 24ppg scorer and MVP candidate. Petrovic was a better player than him, and given the minutes earlier in his career, time to get accustomed to a new style of game, and just grow as a player, and he is putting up 24-26ppg, and is the second best SG behind MJ. He was already the 3rd best SG only two seasons into playing starters minutes.

[fandarko]

So you are saying that stats domination is "dominant" instead of leading teams to championships as the best player?

OK then...................

So you have,

Drazen Dalipgagic
Nick Galis
Oscar Schmidt

Truth be told, all of them were playing in same level basically national and European leagues in same era (back then Euroleague, Saporta Cup, Korac Cup had relative minimal level of difference - nothing like now where it is dramatic, as same teams often changed from all 3 leagues yearly), Yugo league, Greece, Italy, Spain, along with USSR was clear best, well same as now basically, etc.)

Please explain for example then since you are using stats as "domination" how Petrovic was any more dominant than any of them.........

Again, this is where the reality of Drazen and how good he was, turns into MYTH and LEGEND. It is the same exact bull shit as all the Sabonis nonsense.


Petrovic could not win Barca and Epi in Spanish League when he was with Real Madrid.

He could not win Bosna in Yugo league when he was at Cibona. Come on now.

If he was anything remotely close to what you describe ("most dominant player in Europe ever by far") it would have been impossible for either of those two things to have happened.

I agree with many of your points.

You sound exactly like me when I speak to people godifying Drazen. When I tell them that Kukoc (who never played at his potential in the NBA) was a better player, they go mad.

And Drazen was my idol growing up, make no mistake.

I say he was the best European offensive player, which is probably true (excluding Dirk), not most dominant.

Schmit was Brazilian, that's why I'm not counting him in.

Galis was great, but Petrovic was better. By not much, but he was.

Dalipagic played in a different era and was just a shooter, I know the man.

As for Manu, Manu was, as you said, just another talent in Europe and made his name in the NBA. More or less the same for Peja.

Drazen was a better player in Europe (made his name in the 1982-1989 period) than he was in the NBA (1989-1993).

[fandarko]

Exactly. Basically a better version of Klay Thompson and Reggie Miller.

Let me put it this way. Peja was a great player during his prime, a 24ppg scorer and MVP candidate. Petrovic was a better player than him, and given the minutes earlier in his career, time to get accustomed to a new style of game, and just grow as a player, and he is putting up 24-26ppg, and is the second best SG behind MJ. He was already the 3rd best SG only two seasons into playing starters minutes.

This.

But Drazen had knee troubles and thought about returning to Europe.

He was basically aware that he could not go further from his then level because of this.

He was 29 and the NBA didn't have the medical facilities they have today.

Drazen did accustom to the new game and made great progress his last season.

But for some reason, he was 20% slower than in his final year in Europe and with a lesser handle.

Had he been born 10 years later (the same for Kukoc), when almost all prejudice in the NBA against European players had gone, he would have been a perrenial all star (6-7 in shoes, big and strong, ultra aggressive, lights out shooter, good passer and midrange scorer, alpha and competitive).

Good comparison - Klay Thompson with a better handle, better midrange game and more aggressive.

[fandarko]

:facepalm He was the best player on fringe playoff team who freefalled when Kenny Anderson got injured during regular season. He also played with another All NBA Team Derrick Coleman who had so much talent. He was good but he did not have that game changer impact. The novelty as the first Euro to lead an NBA made him overrated and his death made his trajectory off the roof. He was already 29 at the prime of his career and he average like 15 ppg in the last playoff series he played.

This is also an objective, non-Eurocentric point of view, I tend to agree.

[inclinerator]

Ginobili's level "overseas" in dramatically overblown by US media that is always just totally making up and fabricating shit whenever they want to.

Ginobili was just another very good player in Europe. That was it. He would not even be in the same discussion as someone like Petrovic, based on the level of play he had "overseas".

Ginobili in Europe is nothing next to what players like Navarro or Spanoulis were/are there.

Again, it's just US media making up shit and blowing smoke up someone's a$$ whenever they want to hype shit for whatever ulterior motive or agenda they have to create their bullshit false narratives.

You can't even put Ginobili and Petrovic in same sentence on "overseas" play.

It's funny, because the guy trolling hardest of all about Petrovic in last pages is agreeing on that point, when Manu in Europe was nothing at all compared to Petrovic.

Bunch of trolling in this thread, as usual with every topic about any basketball not in USA.

ginoboli is better than navarro

[fandarko]

:facepalm Toni Kukoc was a role player. He was skilled offensively but could not play a lick of defense just like Petrovic.

Kukoc's stats, without special order:

Remember, he was a 6-11 SF in shoes.

15,7/5.4/4.7 in his sophomore season (without MJ), he basically carried the team while Pippen was injured.

Followed by three 13/4/4 seasons in a championship team, playing thrid fidle to MJ and Pippen. All that in an average of 29 minutes.That's Kyle Korver's all star stats this year, but better.

And then a 19/7/5 season, his last in Chicago.

A 20/5/6 season in Atlanta.

A role player, right, but just because he played in a stacked team.

He would have been an all star today, easily.

These are numbers Petrovic couldn't come close to, especially versatility wise.

[KungFuJoe]

Petrovic was a good/great shooter. And that's it.

Peja was better.

I watched Petrovic play. Trust me...RIP and all that but no one was hyping him during his playing days. All that happened after his untimely demise.

[iamgine]

In his last NBA season before his death, 1st round of playoff, 5 game series. 28 years old.

His team made it 2 - 2...in a must win game 5 he only scored 11 points with 2 rebounds and 1 assist. Only attempted 10 shots as well. He's the team's leading scorer, wonder why he was so passive in a crucial game.

[Smoke117]

I see a lot of people sucking the dick of nostalgia...Petrovic was a HORRENDOUS DEFENDER...yes i know it's hard for you casuals to understand the importance of defense, but Petrovic was Kukoc level pathetic. He was also a star on a team going nowhere...so lets settle time. I'm not saying he wasn't good...but I read a some comments saying he was much better than this and that and what not and that is just insane.

"a way better version of Klay Thompson and Reggie Miller"

...wtf? he was a way worse defensive player that's for sure and Reggie is average at best in his prime. Stupid m@other f@ckers.

[plowking]

I see a lot of people sucking the dick of nostalgia...Petrovic was a HORRENDOUS DEFENDER...yes i know it's hard for you casuals to understand the importance of defense, but Petrovic was Kukoc level pathetic. He was also a star on a team going nowhere...so lets settle time. I'm not saying he wasn't good...but I read a some comments saying he was much better than this and that and what not and that is just insane.

"a way better version of Klay Thompson and Reggie Miller"

...wtf? he was a way worse defensive player that's for sure and Reggie is average at best in his prime. Stupid m@other f@ckers.

Klay is an average defender too that for some reason people prop up. On the offensive side of the ball, Petrovic is flat out better. Yeah, he wasn't on a great team like Klay, but that doesn't take away from the fact he was a better player and a better shooter.

And I'm not 100% sure about this, but I'm fairly sure Petro made the all NBA team before Miller ever did. Says a lot after only 2 seasons in of real play.

[fandarko]

Petrovic was a good/great shooter. And that's it.

Peja was better.

I watched Petrovic play. Trust me...RIP and all that but no one was hyping him during his playing days. All that happened after his untimely demise.

Peja was the better NBA player, that is correct.

Can't touch Petrovic's international accolades though.

[JtotheIzzo]

Ginobili's level "overseas" in dramatically overblown by US media that is always just totally making up and fabricating shit whenever they want to.

Ginobili was just another very good player in Europe. That was it. He would not even be in the same discussion as someone like Petrovic, based on the level of play he had "overseas".

Ginobili in Europe is nothing next to what players like Navarro or Spanoulis were/are there.

Again, it's just US media making up shit and blowing smoke up someone's a$$ whenever they want to hype shit for whatever ulterior motive or agenda they have to create their bullshit false narratives.

You can't even put Ginobili and Petrovic in same sentence on "overseas" play.

It's funny, because the guy trolling hardest of all about Petrovic in last pages is agreeing on that point, when Manu in Europe was nothing at all compared to Petrovic.

Bunch of trolling in this thread, as usual with every topic about any basketball not in USA.

I was talking about their impact on the NBA which I think is level, though maybe Ginobili had a greater one.

As for your retarded overreaction, no one cares to rank people in how they perform against FAR INFERIOR talent so the 'in Europe' BS is a moot point.

Drazen was huge in Europe, but Ginobili also sheparded the first team that won a major trophy when the US brought their best, so that is worth something too, in the 'all time' and 'legacy' catergory.

Much more important than dumping a bunch of points against minor league talent.

[fandarko]

I was talking about their impact on the NBA which I think is level, though maybe Ginobili had a greater one.

As for your retarded overreaction, no one cares to rank people in how they perform against FAR INFERIOR talent so the 'in Europe' BS is a moot point.

Drazen was huge in Europe, but Ginobili also sheparded the first team that won a major trophy when the US brought their best, so that is worth something too, in the 'all time' and 'legacy' catergory.

Much more important than dumping a bunch of points against minor league talent.

The brand of basketball that was played in Europe during Drazen's peak is different than the one that existed when Ginobili played. Drazen is like 15 years older.

Ginobili was by far better than Drazen in the NBA, since he spent most of his career there. He too could have been an alpha dog 25/5/5 guy had he not played for a championship team.

I reckon they are equal at international level, by that I mean their accomplishments for their respective national teams.

[julizaver]

I have seen Drazen play - in Europe he was invincible, and no way Ginobili is the same breath as him, sorry no hate on Manu. Drazen is that type of scorer that could score on any team under any circumstances. He was a great great shooter and scorer (R. Miller who said that he could not stand Drazen admit that Drazen was the better pure shooter). He could penetrate, he had a jump shoot with quick release and he was great outside shooter. And he improved his defensive game. He work hard as anyone could.

About his NBA stay and career:

1) he came during the late 80s , when the NBA was far more conservative and he really do not receive a lot of chances in Blazers, given the fact that they were one of the elite teams at the time.

2) going into young and midocre team like the Nets he really shows of his potential playing at a All-Star level in his two seasons with the Nets - he was over 20 ppg on 51/45/85 shooting. Esspecially before injury in his last season he was over 23 ppg scorer. In his full two seasons with the Nets they've made the playoffs.

3) He was very disapointed after 1993 playoffs and he was considering move to Greece, so there was 50/50 chance for Drazen to stay in NBA.

Personaly I think that although Drazen died at 28, if he choosed to stay in NBA for few more seasons he would have even better season than in 1992/93 where he suffered injury in his left knee:

"With only 16 games left in the regular season and the playoffs looming large, the Nets received some bad and untimely news yesterday: guard Drazen Petrovic, the team announced, will miss at least one week because of a sprained ligament in his left knee.

But team sources said last night that the injury was more serious than the Nets were saying and it was more likely that Petrovic could miss up to a month of action. The problem, sources said, is that Petrovic has a 35 percent tear in one of the exterior cruciate ligaments. The injury will probably not need surgery, they said, but will need lots of rehabilitaion and healing time.

"Petrovic is the league's leading 3-point shooter and the 11th-best scorer in the N.B.A. averaging 23.2 points a game. Reed indicated that the team would probably not make a move to get another player. Instead, the Nets will look for other Nets to step up their play while Petrovic is out."

As a player I rated him ahead of players like Reggie Miller or Peja Stojakovic. From the curent players he share some similarities with Steph Curry (not saying that Drazen is better).

Here is a clip of Drazen (44 points) vs Hakeem's Rockets from 1992/93 season:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLlPtBsGbYo

[pauk]

I say it again... if you think you have seen Drazen only by his NBA context then you havent seen enough to understand his potential.... that was not his prime, screw the health (as mentioned above) if you dont care about that but he was not given a solid chance coming in the NBA and it was to late, minutes/starting job, when he did he got it a bit to late anyways at 28...

Although his last 2 seasons were cool, 22-3-4 @ 52-45-85, showcased him to a degree... it didnt showcase the entire degree. He would have done more than that, i can guarantee you IF he came to the NBA earlier and was given a chance (minutes/starting job) just like Reggie, immediately so he can get customized (just like Reggie did) you would see a season or maybe even seasons of up to 25-30 ppg.... trust me when i say his scoring arsenal was better than Reggies....

Dale Ellis, Glen Rice, Chris Mullin, Mitch Richmond were players that averaged much more/reached higher on the PPG scale (up to 27 ppg) than Reggie as pure shooters.... it isnt so crazy.... not to mention those pure shooters perimeter players that were even more than that aswell (Bird / Durant)

He was more like Chris, Mitch, Bird as a shooter in the sense that they didnt settle for the 3pt shot, they drove inside, posted up, used more unorthodox/creative ways to score just a bit more than Reggie, because they had just a tad bit more skill to do it.... even in that season where he was 28 he averaged 22 ppg he took only 1-2 3's a game.... everything else is created plays from midrange / closer to the basket.... you dont think Reggie would wanted that if he was able to at 28-29? At that age Reggie averaged like 19 ppg on 6 3's taken, he was just a tad bit more of a specialist/catch-n-shoot/spotup guy than Drazen was....

Even though im sad about Drazen's death.... im even more sad that people didnt get to see him in his prime in the NBA just to understand the potential, what he could have been or averaged if he started nicely & at a correct time in the NBA, to know wtf im talking about.... the guy was a beast, thats all.... he was a bit more than your Reggies, Klays or Korvers etc... more closer to Chris Mullin, thats what he would have been at least in the NBA i mean (and that is a talent/skill which is a bit higher than Reggie Miller)...... and that is enough to arguably be deemed as the best SG in the NBA today with Harden aswell...

[Sakkreth]

Peja was great, but comparing him to Petrovic, cmon clowns :no:

I think he belongs to European mount rushmore with Sabonis, Nowitzki and Galis.

[pauk]

Jerry West, with less defense perhaps & assists (he wont be playing PG i think) is what his offensive peak could been headed to in the NBA.... im thinking about gamestyle, scoring arsenal, clutchness, IQ, offensive awereness, fundamental skills, at that size.... that is what i think Drazen could have showcased in the NBA at his best if he came in early & got starting job...

...imagine Jerry West at his best being thrown in some Euroleague/International league... imagine the crazy games he would have, imagine how he would toy with everybody... yes, thats what Drazen did aswell... like nobody ever did....

Your nickname isnt "The Mozart of Basketball" if you are just.... somebody like Peja Stojakovic or Klay Thompson or Reggie Miller or something.... anywhere....

[NBASTATMAN]

Kukoc's stats, without special order:

Remember, he was a 6-11 SF in shoes.

15,7/5.4/4.7 in his sophomore season (without MJ), he basically carried the team while Pippen was injured.

Followed by three 13/4/4 seasons in a championship team, playing thrid fidle to MJ and Pippen. All that in an average of 29 minutes.That's Kyle Korver's all star stats this year, but better.

And then a 19/7/5 season, his last in Chicago.

A 20/5/6 season in Atlanta.

A role player, right, but just because he played in a stacked team.

He would have been an all star today, easily.

These are numbers Petrovic couldn't come close to, especially versatility wise.

:facepalm

His 19 /7/5 assist season he shot around 42 percent, Drazen shot 52 percent.. He only played 44 games that season so he didn't put up a full season of those stats...

He played like 17 games that season with Atlanta...


Don't get me wrong he was a talented offensive player but not on Drazen's level.. Not even close...

Drazen could have avg 25-27 pts a game easily and maybe still shot around 50 percent.. He was playing hurt that last season and his shooting numbers actually went down at the end of the year because of that...He could have put up 25/4/4 and still been very efficient..

[NBASTATMAN]

I have seen Drazen play - in Europe he was invincible, and no way Ginobili is the same breath as him, sorry no hate on Manu. Drazen is that type of scorer that could score on any team under any circumstances. He was a great great shooter and scorer (R. Miller who said that he could not stand Drazen admit that Drazen was the better pure shooter). He could penetrate, he had a jump shoot with quick release and he was great outside shooter. And he improved his defensive game. He work hard as anyone could.

About his NBA stay and career:

1) he came during the late 80s , when the NBA was far more conservative and he really do not receive a lot of chances in Blazers, given the fact that they were one of the elite teams at the time.

2) going into young and midocre team like the Nets he really shows of his potential playing at a All-Star level in his two seasons with the Nets - he was over 20 ppg on 51/45/85 shooting. Esspecially before injury in his last season he was over 23 ppg scorer. In his full two seasons with the Nets they've made the playoffs.

3) He was very disapointed after 1993 playoffs and he was considering move to Greece, so there was 50/50 chance for Drazen to stay in NBA.

Personaly I think that although Drazen died at 28, if he choosed to stay in NBA for few more seasons he would have even better season than in 1992/93 where he suffered injury in his left knee:

"With only 16 games left in the regular season and the playoffs looming large, the Nets received some bad and untimely news yesterday: guard Drazen Petrovic, the team announced, will miss at least one week because of a sprained ligament in his left knee.

But team sources said last night that the injury was more serious than the Nets were saying and it was more likely that Petrovic could miss up to a month of action. The problem, sources said, is that Petrovic has a 35 percent tear in one of the exterior cruciate ligaments. The injury will probably not need surgery, they said, but will need lots of rehabilitaion and healing time.

"Petrovic is the league's leading 3-point shooter and the 11th-best scorer in the N.B.A. averaging 23.2 points a game. Reed indicated that the team would probably not make a move to get another player. Instead, the Nets will look for other Nets to step up their play while Petrovic is out."

As a player I rated him ahead of players like Reggie Miller or Peja Stojakovic. From the curent players he share some similarities with Steph Curry (not saying that Drazen is better).

Here is a clip of Drazen (44 points) vs Hakeem's Rockets from 1992/93 season:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLlPtBsGbYo



:cheers:

Great post...

Peja doesn't get close to this guy... This guy was by far the best shooter I have ever seen until Curry came along.... When a guy like Reggie Miller can say that Petro was the best shooter he had ever seen than that tells you exactly the kind of player he was...

[SpanishACB]

...as worse as any International/Euroleague Basketball league was and is compared to NBA... NOBODY was able to play & dominate like him there ever.... I mean the guy was toying/teasing/clowning with the International players/Euroleague just like if you would have placed Michael Jordan there instead.... just like seeing Mohammed Ali clown some scrub boxer....

the difference was less back in the day.

There were less NBA teams. And they had one or two very good american players who could do it all (franchise players) and then a bunch of specialists.

This meant lots of american players that were decent at all facets in the game but not a shoot or defense specialist had to find their way in Europe.

[pauk]

One more thing you need to know about Drazen... he was known as a basketball lunatic, addict... the players (Kukoc, Divac, Radja etc.) used to always talk about how nuts he was, about basketball, that it was even annoying, he never "relaxed", basketball was the relaxation, he never took a break from playing/training or talking/thinking about it , it was meaning of life for him....

It was more than hard work, motivation... more than love.... more than anything for him...

Kukoc said stories like that it was normal to see him get in the gym at night completely alone hours & hours before practice... then practice... then have a game they would have, drop like 60 points... then stay and shoot / work on his game more after the game...... and even if that is not avaliable (if they are away) he would go outside and find a hoop and practice, if it was raining... if it was snowing... he didnt care.... since childhood....

He is the type of guy who would do this even if he was freakin homeless in middle of nowhere or something, just put him on a court with a basketball and he is happiest man on earth, its at that level he was at with basketball, completely insane, that CURSED/HAUNTED by basketball....... His basketball work ethic is hence much more than that of anybody i ever heard about........

This guy would play in the NBA for completely free, happily and give more & work harder than anybody ever did.... all he ever wanted was essentially a starting position, trust, to simply PLAY.... NBA teams actually begged for him in the 80s, but he would have to come of the bench, he didnt accept that, he didnt care about the NBA, he cared about basketball, he just wanted to play his game, unleashed, without any bottleneck....

He didnt find those NBA terms acceptable until it was to late and hence more acceptable (to late at least to showcase what his prime could have been in the NBA), why not... traded here there, warming the bench, injury here & there, finally got minutes/starting job at 27-28........ and died......

For me Drazen is the ultimate "WHAT IF" / "WHAT COULD OF BEEN" (in the NBA at least)....

[inclinerator]

One more thing you need to know about Drazen... he was known as a basketball lunatic, addict... the players (Kukoc, Divac, Radja etc.) used to always talk about how nuts he was, about basketball, that it was even annoying, he never "relaxed", basketball was the relaxation, he never took a break from playing/training or talking/thinking about it , it was meaning of life for him....

It was more than hard work, motivation... more than love.... more than anything for him...

Kukoc said stories like that it was normal to see him get in the gym at night completely alone hours & hours before practice... then practice... then have a game they would have, drop like 60 points... then stay and shoot / work on his game more after the game...... and even if that is not avaliable (if they are away) he would go outside and find a hoop and practice, if it was raining... if it was snowing... he didnt care.... since childhood....

He is the type of guy who would do this even if he was freakin homeless in middle of nowhere or something, just put him on a court with a basketball and he is happiest man on earth, its at that level he was at with basketball, completely insane, that CURSED/HAUNTED by basketball....... His basketball work ethic is hence much more than that of anybody i ever heard about........

This guy would play in the NBA for completely free, happily and give more & work harder than anybody ever did.... all he ever wanted was essentially a starting position, trust, to simply PLAY.... NBA teams actually begged for him in the 80s, but he would have to come of the bench, he didnt accept that, he didnt care about the NBA, he cared about basketball, he just wanted to play his game, unleashed, without any bottleneck....

He didnt find those NBA terms acceptable until it was to late and hence more acceptable (to late at least to showcase what his prime could have been in the NBA), why not... traded here there, warming the bench, injury here & there, finally got minutes/starting job at 27-28........ and died......

For me Drazen is the ultimate "WHAT IF" / "WHAT COULD OF BEEN" (in the NBA at least)....


:eek: sounds like u pauk

[TheBigVeto]

Great player. Better than Kobe.

[fandarko]

One more thing you need to know about Drazen... he was known as a basketball lunatic, addict... the players (Kukoc, Divac, Radja etc.) used to always talk about how nuts he was, about basketball, that it was even annoying, he never "relaxed", basketball was the relaxation, he never took a break from playing/training or talking/thinking about it , it was meaning of life for him....

It was more than hard work, motivation... more than love.... more than anything for him...

Kukoc said stories like that it was normal to see him get in the gym at night completely alone hours & hours before practice... then practice... then have a game they would have, drop like 60 points... then stay and shoot / work on his game more after the game...... and even if that is not avaliable (if they are away) he would go outside and find a hoop and practice, if it was raining... if it was snowing... he didnt care.... since childhood....

He is the type of guy who would do this even if he was freakin homeless in middle of nowhere or something, just put him on a court with a basketball and he is happiest man on earth, its at that level he was at with basketball, completely insane, that CURSED/HAUNTED by basketball....... His basketball work ethic is hence much more than that of anybody i ever heard about........

This guy would play in the NBA for completely free, happily and give more & work harder than anybody ever did.... all he ever wanted was essentially a starting position, trust, to simply PLAY.... NBA teams actually begged for him in the 80s, but he would have to come of the bench, he didnt accept that, he didnt care about the NBA, he cared about basketball, he just wanted to play his game, unleashed, without any bottleneck....

He didnt find those NBA terms acceptable until it was to late and hence more acceptable (to late at least to showcase what his prime could have been in the NBA), why not... traded here there, warming the bench, injury here & there, finally got minutes/starting job at 27-28........ and died......

For me Drazen is the ultimate "WHAT IF" / "WHAT COULD OF BEEN" (in the NBA at least)....

Great post, but Kukoc is also a big "What if".

Zarko Paspalj beats them all in the "what if" department. There was a big interview recently with him talking about his short stay with the Spurs and how he was told by Larry Brown he wouldn't play his first season because the team was stacked and that he had to wait for his turn to come (and he was literally kidnapped by Greg Popovich as the most talented forward in Europe, slept on Pop's couch for months), so Paspalj, who used to kill everyone in practice, including Sean Elliot, decided he couln't take it anymore and returned to Europe, where he became an offensive monster.

[fandarko]

[/B]

:facepalm

His 19 /7/5 assist season he shot around 42 percent, Drazen shot 52 percent.. He only played 44 games that season so he didn't put up a full season of those stats...

He played like 17 games that season with Atlanta...


Don't get me wrong he was a talented offensive player but not on Drazen's level.. Not even close...

Drazen could have avg 25-27 pts a game easily and maybe still shot around 50 percent.. He was playing hurt that last season and his shooting numbers actually went down at the end of the year because of that...He could have put up 25/4/4 and still been very efficient..

Kukoc was an all-round guy, see his stats.

In Europe he did play defense, make no mistake.

While playing in the best team in Europe (Split), he would routinely block a shot and proceed for a coast to coast dunk/assist.

He would be assigned to guard the opposite PG or SG, at 6-11 he was very good at that.

He NBA version of Kukoc was (like in Petrovic's case) a slower, bulkier version.

They would both have been much better had they been born ten years later and developed properly by a NBA team. They would both have been perrenial all stars and Paspalj would have been an all star too.

They had that much talent.

[julizaver]

Kukoc was an all-round guy, see his stats.

In Europe he did play defense, make no mistake.

While playing in the best team in Europe (Split), he would routinely block a shot and proceed for a coast to coast dunk/assist.

He would be assigned to guard the opposite PG or SG, at 6-11 he was very good at that.

He NBA version of Kukoc was (like in Petrovic's case) a slower, bulkier version.

They would both have been much better had they been born ten years later and developed properly by a NBA team. They would both have been perrenial all stars and Paspalj would have been an all star too.

They had that much talent.

Kukoc and Drazen are so different type of players. Kukoc doesn't possess the same attitude/mentality as Drazen, and he doesn't seem to be the hard worker Drazen was.
Kukoc had all the talent in the world - he was skinny, tall, could jump (he dunked twice from the FT line during Yugoslavian All-Star game), skillful, could shoot from every distance. But he was not the defensive menace like Pippen, Rodman and MJ. In Europe he was the go to go guy in every team he played. In NBA playing behind MJ and Pippen he received far less touches. Had he played with mediocre NBA team at the time he would be 20 5 5 player and possibly could made 1-2 All Star appearances. He bulkied cause in Bulls rotation he sometimes played PF position and need to match the more physical demands of NBA basketball.
With that said Drazen was above Kukoc (my favourite player at the time) overall and had greater impact on court. No one could stopped him from scoring. He was called basketball Mozart for a reason. He was all about basketball.
When speaking about talent I put Arvydas Sabonis on first place, he is undoubtedly (for me) the most talanted European player I have seen. But he had some let's say typical east european bad habitts and injuries which robbed him of his prime. To this day I am wondering how with his broken body he played 7 years in NBA - to me it is a testament of how better and advanced was the medicine care in US then Soviet Union or even Europe.

[Lebron23]

He was a terrific player.

[SpanishACB]

to me it is a testament of how better and advanced was the medicine care in US then Soviet Union or even Europe.

:biggums:

USA imports most of its pharmaceutical from Europe

obviously there's a big difference between western and eastern europe

[Euroleague]

ginoboli is better than navarro

That's highly debatable to anyone that isn't 100% NBA only fan. Besides, that wasn't even what I said.

[Euroleague]

I was talking about their impact on the NBA which I think is level, though maybe Ginobili had a greater one.

As for your retarded overreaction, no one cares to rank people in how they perform against FAR INFERIOR talent so the 'in Europe' BS is a moot point.

Drazen was huge in Europe, but Ginobili also sheparded the first team that won a major trophy when the US brought their best, so that is worth something too, in the 'all time' and 'legacy' catergory.

Much more important than dumping a bunch of points against minor league talent.

So basically you are retarded and a hypocrite.

You call it "minor league talent" and discredit it on the one hand, then proclaim that Manu should be given praise and his legacy should make him better because he beat the same exact "minor league talent".

In case you were unaware, Argentina beat Italy to win the gold, the same Italy that already beat USA, just like SEVERAL other teams also already beat them. All what you are calling "minor league talent". And it in case you were also not aware, FYI, it was Luis Scola that basically did all the damage, and actually led his team to the gold medal anyway. Never mind that Argentina was a great TEAM, and yet every moron like you creates a LIE that it was simply Ginobili. Even that other myth you touched on "first to beat Team USA with NBA players"...........another one of these NBA only fans RETARDS like you just can't keep themselves from, like it was all Manu, Manu, Manu.

Funny, because to anyone that actually watched the game, it was Alejando Montecchia that was making almost all of the key plays in the game, not Manu. But yes, Manu is another one, like Petrovic and Sabonis that NBA fans have created these imaginary myths and legends about.

I remember the best one was all those years ESPN kept saying, "Ginobili is the only player ever to win Euroleague, NBA, and Olympics." Even though Bill Bradley had done it like 25 years before he did it. But nope, for years ESPN kept making up that lie and saying it in like every game they broadcast of the Spurs. Finally, someone called them out on that, and they had to stop lying about it. Just one of all these myths and legends type examples of BULLSHIT.

But you are calling other people "retarded".

A retard and a hypocrite. No wonder you are a mod.

[jayfan]

Wow. You are right. Holy Crap!! I figured one of the Star Wars would be in the top five. Nope.

One soon will be.




.

[Euroleague]

Great post, but Kukoc is also a big "What if".

Zarko Paspalj beats them all in the "what if" department. There was a big interview recently with him talking about his short stay with the Spurs and how he was told by Larry Brown he wouldn't play his first season because the team was stacked and that he had to wait for his turn to come (and he was literally kidnapped by Greg Popovich as the most talented forward in Europe, slept on Pop's couch for months), so Paspalj, who used to kill everyone in practice, including Sean Elliot, decided he couln't take it anymore and returned to Europe, where he became an offensive monster.

If you have not heard it, the excuse Popovich has always given as to why Paspalj was not given a chance to play was that he smoked and that Popovich found that unacceptable and so he was never going to play unless he stopped smoking.

I have no idea if that is complete bullshit or not, but that's the excuse.

Another one,

The excuse given by Jeff Van Gundy for why he did not play Spanoulis in Houston was that he told the Rockets GM he did not want Spanoulis to be signed because he was a rookie from Europe and he did not really know anything about him. Van Gundy was in the last year of his contract and he wanted a new contract. So he wanted the Rockets GM to sign Mike James instead of Spanoulis and told the Rockets GM that.

The Rockets GM decided that Spanoulis was a better player and told Van Gundy he was signing him stead. Van Gundy was mad about it and so as a way to show his displeasure with the GM over the issue, he benched Spanouli permanently.

At least, that is the excuse given.

See how much these the excuses sound like the excuse Adelman gave for why he benched Petrovic? It amazes me that the NBA has ever been able to get any actual well established good player from Europe to ever come to it, with how some of these coaches treat European players.

I forgot about what was the excuse Byron Scott gave for why he benched Arvydas Macijauskas, but from my memory that was also ridiculous.

[24-Inch_Chrome]

The Rockets GM decided that Spanoulis was a better player and told Van Gundy he was signing him stead. Van Gundy was mad about it and so as a way to show his displeasure with the GM over the issue, he benched Spanouli permanently.



2.7 PPG on 31.9% from the field might also have something to do with it.

:yaohappy:


I forgot about what was the excuse Byron Scott gave for why he benched Arvydas Macijauskas, but from my memory that was also ridiculous.

2.3 PPG on 34.1% from the field.

:yaohappy:

[Euroleague]

24 inch chrome is still pissed off that Fanis Christodoulou dominated Canada so bad on their home floor at the 1994 FIBA World Championship, that he actually made Steve Nash cry.

Still can't get over it...........

:rolleyes:

[24-Inch_Chrome]

Steve Nash > Spanoulis. :confusedshrug:

[fandarko]

If you have not heard it, the excuse Popovich has always given as to why Paspalj was not given a chance to play was that he smoked and that Popovich found that unacceptable and so he was never going to play unless he stopped smoking.

I have no idea if that is complete bullshit or not, but that's the excuse.




It's a bulshit story.

In the latest Paspalj interview (fascinating), he basically recounts that Larry Brown told him openly he wouldn't play that season and how he was tired of that shit and returned to Europe. Asked about the cigarette thing, he said it was BS.

As I say, it's a pity these guys weren't born ten years later.

[fandarko]

See how much these the excuses sound like the excuse Adelman gave for why he benched Petrovic? It amazes me that the NBA has ever been able to get any actual well established good player from Europe to ever come to it, with how some of these coaches treat European players.

In retrospect, I can understand the Portland benching of Drazen, since they had Drexler and Porter.

Basketball wise, Porter was not better than Drazen, but he was a PG and Drazen was a SG.

As Drexler said, "he could have been gang busters, he was that good."

[Fiba basketball]

If you have not heard it, the excuse Popovich has always given as to why Paspalj was not given a chance to play was that he smoked and that Popovich found that unacceptable and so he was never going to play unless he stopped smoking.

I have no idea if that is complete bullshit or not, but that's the excuse.



Popovic wasn't coach at the time Paspalj played and I'm sure if he was he would have gave Paspalj playing time. Paspalj lived with Popovic and his family during his time in NBA so that gives you an idea how much Popovic believed in him. He was always telling him his time would come and that he should just patient and was very sad when Paspalj decided to leave.

But you are right Popovic tried to make Paspalj to stop smoking. Paspalj said that Popovic even took him to some guy who supposedly would touch you and you would start hating cigars :oldlol:

Of course that didn't work and Paspalj lit up a cigar second he left the guys home.

But I don't think Popovic was mad at Paspalj for smoking he was just disappointed.