Questions about Vlade Divac
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Who is Vlade Divac and what is he known for in basketball?
Vlade Divac is a Serbian basketball player born on the 3rd of February 1968 who played center in the NBA for 16 years, most notably with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings. He was among the first European players to have a major impact in the NBA, finishing as one of only seven players in NBA history to record at least 13,000 points, 9,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists, and 1,500 blocked shots. He was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.
Who was Vlade Divac traded for when he left the Lakers?
Divac was traded to the Charlotte Hornets on the 1st of July 1996 in exchange for the draft rights to Kobe Bryant. He initially considered retiring rather than accepting the trade but remained with Charlotte, helping the Hornets to a franchise-record 54 regular season wins in his first year there.
What was the Vlade Divac flag incident at the 1990 FIBA World Championship?
Following Yugoslavia's gold medal victory at the 1990 FIBA World Championship in Argentina, a fan carrying a Croatian flag ran onto the court and Divac took the flag from him. Divac has stated he would have done the same with a Serbian flag, and that the fan made a derogatory remark about the Yugoslav flag first. The incident occurred during a period of intense nationalist tension and made Divac a hero to Serbs and a villain to Croatians, contributing to the breakdown of his close friendship with Croatian player Dražen Petrović.
How much did Vlade Divac earn in the NBA over his career?
Over his 16 years in the NBA, Divac earned over $93 million in salary. His largest single contract was a six-year, $62.5 million deal he signed with the Sacramento Kings on the 22nd of January 1999.
What records did Vlade Divac hold as a European player in the NBA?
Divac was the first player born and trained outside the United States to play in more than 1,000 NBA games, finishing with 1,134 career regular season appearances. He was also named to the FIBA All-Time EuroStars Team in 2007 and inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame on the 20th of August 2010.
What did Vlade Divac do after retiring from playing basketball?
After retiring in July 2005, Divac worked as a European scout for the Los Angeles Lakers, took on a management role at Real Madrid's basketball club, served as an adviser to the Serbian government on humanitarian issues starting in October 2008, and was elected president of the Olympic Committee of Serbia in February 2009. He returned to the Sacramento Kings as vice president of basketball operations and general manager in 2015, a role he held until stepping down on the 14th of August 2020.