He’s long gone from the NBA and the world, but Petrovic’s influence lives on
Drazen Petrovic, sadly, is ultimately a tragic story: he got to the NBA at 24, played at an incredibly high level for four years, only to die at 28 in an auto accident.
In his brief NBA career, Petrovic was brilliant. He went toe to toe with great players, including Michael Jordan, and held his own.
Today, we see European players getting drafted near or at the top of the NBA Draft on a regular basis, but when Petrovic showed up, people were very skeptical of the Europeans. Although Petrovic was drafted in 1986, he didn't get to the NBA until 1989. In that era, it was often hard for players from the Eastern Bloc to get their communist governments to allow them the right to play in the U.S.
When he did get to the NBA, Petrovic did as much as anyone to make European players ultimately not just acceptable but desirable. He was one of the great shooters in NBA history and in the end, he helped changed the NBA radically. Deservedly, he’s in the Hall of Fame.
