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Dražen Petrović
Dražen Petrović was a Yugoslav and Croatian professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he initially achieved success playing professional basketball in Europe in the 1980s with Cibona and Real Madrid before joining the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1989.
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sports · Yugoslav-Croatian basketball player (1964–1993) · basketball player · also Dražen Petrović, Drazen Petrovic, Drazen Petrović, Petrović
Born 22 October 1964 · Died 7 June 1993 · Q209982
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It was a thrill to play against Dražen. Every time we competed, he competed with an aggressive attitude. He wasn't nervous; he came at me as hard as I came at him. So we've had some great battles in the past and unfortunately, they were short battles.
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2026· 9 entries
“It was a thrill to play against Dražen. Every time we competed, he competed with an aggressive attitude. He wasn't nervous; he came at me as hard as I came at him. So we've had some great battles in the past and unfortunately, they were short battles.”
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“Dražen Petrović was an extraordinary young man, and a true pioneer in the global sports of basketball. I know that a lasting part of his athletic legacy will be that he paved the way for other international players to compete successfully in the NBA. His contributions to the sport of basketball were enormous. We are all proud of the fact we knew him.”
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“Dražen and I were very good friends. I was one of those people who welcomed him to Portland when he came from Europe. We talked about his family a lot in his restaurant, and he enjoyed his friends and he enjoyed the game of basketball. I really respect him because he worked very, very hard. Each and every day in practice he would be the first guy to come and the last guy to leave the gym. So anybody with that kind of dedication...you have to have a lot of respect for him.”
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“You know, there is a saying that we have about JFK, John F. Kennedy – 'You know, Johnny, we never got to know you.' And I kind of feel that way about Dražen. I felt that the whole year that I was with him went by too fast and I really never got to know him the way I would have liked to.”
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BasketNews.com: Patty Mills enters Drazen Petrovic territory with historic 36-point playoff explosion
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Tennis Tonic: H2H Roman Kharlamov Vs Drazen Petrovic stats, prediction, head 2 head, and draw
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Yahoo Sports: What Michael Jordan said to Drazen Petrovic after the Dream Team beat Croatia in the 1992 Olympics
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Public attention spiked: 3,455 Wikipedia readers in one day, 3.7× the usual 928, with 0 article edits.
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2024· 1 entry
The biographical film Dražen was released
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2017· 1 entry
“It's hard for you to imagine here in America, because you have so many great players, but we are a country of four million; without him, basketball takes three steps back.”
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2016· 1 entry
At the Petrovic Museum, and is considered the definitive work on his life
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2015· 1 entry
Australian writer Todd Spehr released a 470-page biography on Petrović, titled Dražen: The Remarkable Life & Legacy of the Mozart of Basketball
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2014· 1 entry
José Antonio Arízaga, the sports agent who played a key role in Petrović's 1988 summer transfer from Cibona to Real, recalled a few details from the transaction: "I spoke to Mirko Novosel, Dražen's head coach at Cibona,
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2013· 2 entries
Former NBA MVP Derrick Rose visited the museum
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Was voted the best European Basketball player in history, by players at the 2013 FIBA EuroBasket
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2011· 1 entry
A statue of him as a little boy sitting on a bench with a ball was unveiled in Šibenik, and his old room was renovated the way it looked when he was young, as a first part of opening a Memorial Center in his hometown
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2007· 1 entry
Was posthumously inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame
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2006· 2 entries
The Dražen Petrović Award was created in his honor
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The 13th anniversary of Petrović's death was marked with the opening of the Dražen Petrović Memorial Center in Zagreb, dedicated to his life and achievements, with ten themed galleries of multimedia content outlining his
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2005· 1 entry
Awarded star on Croatian Walk of Fame (2005).
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2002· 3 entries
Won the Basketball Hall of Fame with _Retired Basketball (2002).
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Awarded Franjo Bučar State Award for Sport (2002).
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Was posthumously enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
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1994· 1 entry
Diego Maradona, the Argentine football star who also had Croatian roots, paid tribute to Dražen Petrović by placing his Argentina jersey on the basketball star's grave in Zagreb
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1993· 4 entries
Earned Silver Olympic Order (1993).
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With a Catholic funeral Mass celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Marko Culej of Zagreb
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Died 1993-06-07.
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Petrović's jersey number 3 was retired by the Nets, and the Dražen Petrović Basketball Hall was named in his honor
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1992· 1 entry
Won the Basketball Olympics Silver with Croatia Basketball (1992).
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1991· 1 entry
Joined Brooklyn Nets in 1991.
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1990· 1 entry
Played for Brooklyn Nets (1990–1993).
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1989· 3 entries
As a member of the Portland Trail Blazers
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Joined Portland Trail Blazers in 1989.
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Played for Portland Trail Blazers (1989–1990).
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1988· 4 entries
Won the Basketball Olympics Silver with Yugoslavia Basketball (1988).
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Played for Real Madrid Baloncesto (1988–1989).
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Rather than go to the NBA, he instead signed with Liga ACB club Real Madrid, for around US$4 million in net income
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Joined Real Madrid Baloncesto in 1988.
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1987· 1 entry
Saw the Yugoslavian squad with Petrović win the gold
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1985· 2 entries
Won the EuroLeague with Cibona Zagreb (1984-1985).
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Received the Golden Badge award for the best athlete of Yugoslavia
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1984· 3 entries
Won the Basketball Olympics Bronze with Yugoslavia Basketball (1984).
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Joined Cibona Zagreb in 1984.
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Played for KK Cibona (1984–1988).
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1983· 1 entry
The 18-year-old Petrović hit two free throws in Šibenka's victory over Bosna Sarajevo in the final playoff game of the Yugoslavian League's 1982–83 season's club championship
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1979· 1 entry
Played for KK Šibenik (1979–1984).
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1964· 1 entry
Born 1964-10-22.
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