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How Drazen Petrovic Paved The Way for Croatian Basketball

He is a member of the Basketball Hall Of Fame, was one of the league’s best shooting guards and one of the best shooters ever. He also is one of the reasons that there are so many European players in today’s NBA. Tragically, Drazen Petrovic’s career and life were cut short after he died in a car accident at the age of 28.

Petrovic was an idol for many European kids and players, especially in his home country.

Vice Sports produced an amazing documentary called ‘How Dražen Petrović Paved the Way for Croatian Basketball’ and it is absolutely worth watching. They introduced their film with following words:

Rewind a generation and the barrier to entry for foreign players to the NBA was at an all-time high–considered “soft” and unable to keep up with American competition, European players carried a stigma. But when Dražen Petrović arrived to the NBA and team Croatia went toe-to-toe with the Dream Team in the 1992 Summer Games Finals, the outlook for Dario Šarić and a new generation of European players changed forever.