Dražen Petrović
In 1979, a thirteen-year-old boy named Dražen Petrović stepped onto the court of his hometown club Šibenka in Yugoslavia. He wore the number for the youth selection and began playing basketball with local intensity. By age fifteen, he had already made the first team of that same club. That year, Šibenka earned a place in the Yugoslav national first division. The young star helped lead them to the final of the FIBA Korać Cup twice during the early eighties. They lost both times to Limoges CSP, a French League club. In 1983, an eighteen-year-old Petrović hit two free throws in a victory over Bosna Sarajevo. That win secured the club championship for the season. Yet the Basketball Federation of Yugoslavia stripped the title from Šibenka the next day due to refereeing irregularities. The league awarded the championship to Bosna instead after Šibenka refused to play a rematch.
His scoring numbers grew steadily each season he played with Šibenka. During the 1979, 80 season, he scored 13 points across 16 games. That gave him an average of 0.8 points per game. The following season brought 39 points in 20 games, raising his average to 2.0 points. By 1981, 82, he scored 392 points in 24 games, averaging 16.3 points. His final season there saw 758 points in 31 games, averaging 24.5 points. He finished his time at Šibenka with 1,202 total points in 91 games. This established a foundation of raw talent that would soon explode onto the European stage.
After mandatory military service, Petrović joined Cibona Zagreb alongside his older brother Aco. They formed what was then considered the best backcourt duo in Europe. In his first season, 1984, 85, he won both the national Yugoslav League championship and the National Cup title. Petrović averaged 32.5 points per game during domestic league play. On the 6th of December 1984, he scored 44 points against Real Madrid in the EuroLeague. Twenty-nine of those points came in the second half alone. He also scored 36 points in the league's 1985 Final against Real Madrid. Cibona won 87 to 78, securing their first top-tier European Champions Cup title.
The following season brought a record that still stands today. On the 5th of October 1985, Petrović scored 112 points in a single game against Union Olimpija Ljubljana. The final score was 158 to 77. He shot 40 out of 60 from the field and made all 22 free throws. This broke the previous single-game scoring record of 74 points set by Radivoj Korać in 1962. Before the game, Petrović reportedly announced he would leave once he surpassed Korać's mark. He scored 112 points before stopping his own effort. That season, he scored 1,241 points in 30 games for an average of 41.4 points per game. He also won another Yugoslav National Cup title with Cibona. His dominance continued through three Pan-European club competitions where he averaged 33.8 points per game.
Petrović joined the NBA in 1989 as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers. They had drafted him 60th overall in 1986 but waited until he turned 28 to let him go. In his rookie year, he averaged just 7.4 points in 12 minutes per game. The following season, veteran guard Danny Ainge joined the team. Petrović's playing time dropped further to only 7 minutes a game. He became frustrated by the lack of opportunity. Eighteen months passed while he sat on the bench. He told reporters that he had nothing left to say to coach Rick Adelman. He stated clearly that he intended to prove how much he was worth elsewhere.
At his insistence, a trade sent him to the New Jersey Nets after 38 games. He received 20.5 minutes per game immediately upon arrival. His scoring over the remaining 43 games increased to 12.6 points per game. That ratio placed him among the league's best scorers per minute. By the 1991, 92 season, he started every single game for the first time. On the 13th of March 1992, he scored 39 points against the Boston Celtics. He shot 65 percent from the field and made all three of his three-point attempts. The Nets made the playoffs with 14 more wins than the previous year. Petrović led the team in field-goal shooting and free-throw shooting. His success translated directly into victories for the franchise.
Before joining the NBA, Petrović dominated international basketball stages representing Yugoslavia. He earned two silver medals at the Summer Olympic Games in 1988 and 1992. A bronze medal came in 1984. He won gold at the FIBA World Cup in 1990 and bronze in 1986. At EuroBasket, he secured gold in 1989 and bronze in 1987. He was named MVP of the tournament in both 1986 and 1989. In 1985, he received the Golden Badge award as the best athlete of Yugoslavia.
His club career included two consecutive EuroLeague championships with Cibona Zagreb in 1985 and 1986. He also won the Spanish ACB League's top scorer title during his brief time with Real Madrid. That season, he scored 1,327 points in 47 games for an average of 28.2 points. He holds the ACB's single-game Finals records for most points scored with 42 and most three-pointers made with 8. Petrović became one of only five players to score over 100 points in a single Yugoslav league game. His total scoring across all European competitions reached nearly 6,000 points before he ever stepped onto an NBA court.
In the summer of 1993, Petrović traveled to Wrocław where the Croatian national team played a qualification tournament. He contemplated leaving the Nets because they had not extended his contract. At least two Greek clubs offered him three-year contracts worth US$7.5 million net. He decided to skip a connection flight back to Zagreb from Frankfurt. Instead, he drove to Zagreb with a woman he was romantically involved with at the time. They met only a few weeks prior after a game at Meadowlands Arena.
At about 5:20 p.m. on the 7th of June 1993, Petrović died in a traffic accident. He was a passenger in a car cut off by a semi-truck near Denkendorf in Bavaria. The truck driver lost control trying to avoid a collision and crashed through the median barrier. Seconds later, the Volkswagen Golf carrying Petrović crashed into the truck. He was ejected from the vehicle and died of severe head injuries. The driver, Klara Szalantzy, sustained serious injuries along with another female Turkish basketball player named Edebal. Visibility on the road was very poor that afternoon. Neither Petrović nor Edebal wore their seatbelts. Petrović was just 28 years old when his life ended.
Petrović was buried on the 12th of June 1993, with a Catholic funeral Mass celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Marko Culej of Zagreb. His tomb at Mirogoj Cemetery instantly became a sanctuary for his compatriots. The Cibona stadium was renamed the Dražen Petrović Basketball Hall on the 4th of October 1993. The city of Zagreb dedicated a square in his name. Šibenik and Vukovar followed suit, while Petrinja dedicated a street to him. Before Game 1 of the 1993 NBA Finals, the league held a moment of silence for Petrović.
On the 11th of November 1993, the Nets retired his number 3 jersey. Diego Maradona paid tribute by placing his Argentina jersey on Petrović's grave in 1994. A statue commemorating his significance was erected in front of the Olympic Museum in Lausanne on the 29th of April 1995. He became only the second athlete to receive this honor. In 2002, he was posthumously enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The 13th anniversary of his death marked the opening of the Dražen Petrović Memorial Center in Zagreb in 2006. That center contains his No. 3 New Jersey Nets jersey and the watch that stopped when he died.
Petrović is considered to have helped usher in today's flood of European players in the NBA. In Croatia, he is viewed as a national hero. He received the Olympic Order in 1993. In 2007, he was posthumously inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame. He was named one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors in 2008. In 2013, he was voted the best European Basketball player in history by players at the FIBA EuroBasket.
A documentary titled Once Brothers released in 2010 portrayed how Yugoslav Wars tore the team apart. It explored Petrović's broken friendship with Serbian player Vlade Divac. A statue of him as a little boy sitting on a bench with a ball was unveiled in Šibenik in 2011. Australian writer Todd Spehr released a 470-page biography on Petrović in 2015. Croatian basketball journalists Marjan Crnogaj and Vlado Radicevic released another 487-page biography in 2015. The biographical film Dražen was released in 2024. His legacy continues through the Dražen Petrović Award created in 2006 and the memorial center that houses over 1,000 memorabilia items.
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Common questions
When did Dražen Petrović die and what caused his death?
Dražen Petrović died on the 7th of June 1993 in a traffic accident near Denkendorf in Bavaria. He was ejected from a Volkswagen Golf after it crashed into a semi-truck, resulting in severe head injuries.
What single-game scoring record did Dražen Petrović set in 1985?
On the 5th of October 1985, Dražen Petrović scored 112 points in a single game against Union Olimpija Ljubljana. This performance broke the previous record of 74 points set by Radivoj Korać in 1962.
Which teams did Dražen Petrović play for during his European club career?
Dražen Petrović played professionally for Šibenka, Cibona Zagreb, Real Madrid, and the Portland Trail Blazers before joining the New Jersey Nets. He won two consecutive EuroLeague championships with Cibona Zagreb in 1985 and 1986.
How many Olympic medals did Dražen Petrović win representing Yugoslavia?
Dražen Petrović earned two silver medals at the Summer Olympic Games in 1988 and 1992 plus one bronze medal in 1984 while playing for Yugoslavia. He also secured gold at the FIBA World Cup in 1990 and bronze in 1986.
When was Dražen Petrović posthumously inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame?
Dražen Petrović was posthumously enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. He was also inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007.