Twenty years ago today, up-and-coming NBA star Drazen Petrovic was killed in a traffic accident just months before his 29th birthday. The 6-5 guard was coming off two straight seasons with the Nets that saw him average over 20 points per game. In his final season, he made the All-NBA Third Team while throwing up some Steve Nash-like shooting percentages (nearly 52 percent shooting, just under 45 percent from deep, and 87 percent from the line). He was a beast.
Tragically, because his career was cut so short, many kids nowadays wouldn’t bat an eye if you mentioned his name. But Petrovic was an offensive mastermind. He dropped 112 points in a single game in Europe. He once gave Maccabi 49 points while he was playing for Cibona Zagreb. He was only just hitting his prime when he was so tragically taken from us.
Today, he would’ve been nearing his 49th birthday. To reminisce, check out “Once Brothers,” the full 30 For 30 documentary that ran a few years back, chronicling the relationship of two players from Yugoslavia: Petrovic (Croatia) and Vlade Divac (Serbia).
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