Dallas Mavs superstar will honor the late Petrović in memorial game in September
A game will be held on September 5th in Zagreb, Croatia to honor the late European basketball icon, Dražen Petrović.
Organized by his brother, Aleksander Petrović, this game is meant to celebrate the lasting impact Petrović has had on Croatian and European basketball. The outing will feature a Croatian team, including current NBA players Ivica Zubac, Bojan Bogdanović, and Dario Šarić, facing off against a European team, helmed by Partizan head coach, Zeljko Obradovic.
If you (like me) are a Mavs fan starved for hoops and some Luka magic in the drought that is the NBA offseason, you’re in luck because it appears that Luka Doncic will also appear in the upcoming game.
This comes as no surprise as Luka has been vocal about his admiration for Petrović in the past, stating:
“Drazen Petrovic was amazing. He was a spectacular player. Everyone who knows him says that he was a very good person. I would take almost everything from his game. Especially his three-point shooting. He couldn’t miss. I would take it, for me (laughs).”
Dražen Petrović was a Croatian basketball player who initially rose to fame playing pro basketball in Europe for Cibona and Real Madrid in the 1980’s. Drafted to the Portland Trailblazers in 1989 and eventually traded to the New Jersey Nets, (where he became one of the best shooting guards in the league), Petrović played 4 seasons in the NBA and died tragically in a car accident in 1993, at age 28. His jersey, number 3, was retired by the Nets in 1993 and he was posthumously inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. Petrović helped pave the way for European players in the NBA and serves as an icon to up-and-coming Euros, (like Luka Doncic), to this day.
Stay tuned to Mavs Moneyball for upcoming ways to watch this memorial game, which serves as not only a tribute to Petrović, but also a way to celebrate a past player’s impact on future European players and basketball culture.
