@@duantae If you look at Steph's shooting form, you can tell he's modeled some of his jump shot on Draz. I have no doubt his Dad would have encouraged that too, on top of being a great shooter in his own right.
Drazen was my neighbour in Sibenik (Drazens hometown in Croatia) in the late 80ies. I remember him standing outside of his fam house on the street after he came back from Barcelona losing to the real Dream Team in Barcelona Olympics. He had the silver olymp medal hanging around his neck .. I was 10 yrs old, he was our superhero and gave us the feeling that we can achieve anything in the world even when you are from a small town in the middle of the mediteranean and even during a war! There was no ceiling for this guy I still belive he would have had the best percentage off all time if he didn’t die so tragically in that accident! our hero is still missed to this day! “Zivot leti, kapetane” (time flies, Captain) is a famous song dedicated to him!
I used to be drazen baby sitter. I would make him formula because his mom worked hard as well as his dad. He was a talented young boy. He would shoot his bottle in the trash after downing them. I would call him Baby Petroswish
For sure... back then coaches told Drazen to shoot less 3s cause it was a "bad shot"... yeah... bad shot my ass.. the man was sinking them left and right... in today's NBA he would be averaging EASILY over 30ppg with his eyes closed...
And He was a Serbian not a Croatian, He did played for Croatain representation after the war and collapse of the SFRY. But His father JOLE PETROVIC is Serbian 100%. and his brother live in Serbia. Similar thing is with Luka Donicic, again another Serbian dude with Slovenian passport.
@@antidogmatic6298 He was great but the 1st player from Yugoslavia that should go to NBA was PASPALJ ZARKO. He was drafted as the better talent then Drazen and all others according to talent scouts, but due to some reason things messed up so He ended up in the GREECE. There Paspalj became the legend of European Basket Ball. Strange thing is that Drazen Petrovic close relative DEJAN BODIROGA is well known as ''Mister MVP'' and he have stayed in Europe. Moreover, He is also a huge legend and an amazing shooter. All 3 of them were similar height, skills and deadly precise shooters. BODIROGA and PETROVIC grandmother and grand father are brother and sister aka siblings, that is another cool fact that you won't find on the YT. So from a small portion of Europe/Balkan in the last 30-ish years there were a several huge Basket B stars and players, more then 10 far as i know. That is size of NY for example when it comes to size lol,
I actually knew Dražen personally as a kid. My grandpa had a vacation house at the seacoast and Dražen's family had his/their house, few houses down the street, so all of us kids played with him and swam in the Adriatic sea with him, hung out. We were much younger. He was already a b-ball star in Croatia, well, back then it was still Yugoslavia. But he always found time for us kids, even used to buy us ice cream etc. Regular modest and humble guy. I lived in the capital and when I told my classmates from my elementary school that I know him, I got ridiculed and laughed at, called a liar. Funny thing, my school was right across the Cibona basketball club, and I literally ran there during our big recess, as an 8 year old kid (2nd grade I think it was, perhaps 3rd), crashed his training and kinda "complained" that no one believes me that I know him. And I kid you not, he took me by my hand, all sweaty from the training session, still in his jersey and went with me to my class and like : "My good friend Ivan told me you guys want to meet me". He never said anything bad or scolded them for calling me a liar. But I was never called a liar in school again. I could have told them all my father was a NASA astronaut and the would probably believe me, lol. When he died in the car wreck I cried like rain.
I met Drazen a few months before he passed away at a signing. Incredible player and very humble when I met and spoke with him for a couple minutes. I still have his signings and a pic with him.
Excellent video! I'm from Croatia and Dražen's career happened in my teenage years so I remember it vividly. His death devastated us all, he was a national icon and hero, even today it is still hard to accept why he had to end like that :( And what's even more bizarre is that they were hit by the truck from the opposite side of the highway, which smashed through the barricades that separate opposite traffic lanes, what are the odds of something like that happening :( He was simply incredible and it is probably the greatest unfinished story in basketball history!
what a special player!! amazing shooter with unique style of dribbling and hesitations loved him so much in the euroleague games. so him in many games here in israel against macabi tel aviv. the best European player i have seen. and for sure the most talented one. a basketball legend Rip
In 93 season Drazen was 11. scorer in the legaue but he missed 12 games because he torn his knee. He was only one among first 13 scorers who was not invited to all star. And he was only one born outside Usa.
Thank you for making this video. Atcually i am from Croatia. And i think people do not understand that he was our legend. And if he lived. I belive he will be yours to.
I was born in Seattle in 1973, where I grew up. Sonics and Blazers fan. Japanese-American. I have a NETS 3 PETROVIC Jersey. At shootaround, I made 4 Drazen Petrovic FIBA 3-Pointers. If I were younger (I was handsome from 20-27, but started to get fatter and uglier at 28), I would try to find a Croatian girl to marry! Maybe, some Croatian girl would have wanted to come to America. I am SO impressed with how well many Croatians speak English!
thank you for this video.. he was a real hero to our country at the time his country needed him to put croatia on the map he did it. there are alot of haters who say that drazen isn't even in the top 20 european players of all time in nba... i can't really stand that talk. he was one of the best my country had to offer. I hope he is at peace.
I’m from Greece where at the time basketball was huge. I was a student. I still remember that morning..I was ready to go to my school, and I listened to this sad sad sad news from the radio.I was really shocked. I remember that I couldn’t think anything else that day… So unfair……
When Dražen died, Croatian basketball died in some way and we were never same as before even with the fact that after Football/Soccer it is seconmd most popular sport in the country.
@@markobakovic627 I'm from Finland but my father play basketball for South Africa, and he is still what he been before... Petrovic is Serbian by orgin and he played for Croatia.
Idk you guys had a great football team but yeah Drazen was special. I'm from New Jersey so.i got to see him play. I still have an autographed Jersey of his on my wall.
Idk bout being the "pioneer of the eurostep", Even though there's limited footage of him, the eurostep wasn't really part of his game. I've seen some step back/fadeaway jumpers, hop steps and behind the back lay ups but the eurostep wasn't really part of his layup package. He was physically limited with a limited layup package and also had average handles but he always played his heart out on both ends of the court. I'd even go as far and say that his scoring game was sorta basic yet incredibly effective and efficient similar to Klay. I'd say his deadliest attribute was his shooting and his awkward ball fakes that caught his defenders off guard. He was like a Klay Thompson type player playing in the 90s, deadly off ball but not really on ball but as a ball handler he had such a unique style that defenders couldn't adjust to and he made some insane shots like his runners and floaters(layups and jumpers). He had a deceivingly quick first step kind of like Paul Pierce with Luka's fundamentals especially with the triple threat and his own unique way of shooting while in the jumpstop where he was very crafty with his fakes and his pivot foot. He also was way more flashier than Klay especially with his behind the back package, slightly better passer but risked/gambled his passing and dribbling more often than Klay that led to TOs who had some tunnel vision issues as well. It's quite ironic that he had such a predictable yet unpredictable style that defenders had a hard time guarding him. He's certainly a pioneer of European fundamental basketball in a way but calling him the pioneer of the eurostep is a reach cuz he rarely used it.
Been on this channel since 10.000 subscribers and I've got to say it's insane how much your channel grew and evolved in the last months. Keep up the great work!
i was born and lived in Yugoslavia for 19 years and i can tell you i was his fan since the start of his carrier to the tragic end of his life. I still has wonderful memories of his plays. Best shooter in history yes thats true
Back in the Euroleague, I remember watching Drazen seemingly single-handedly destroy my home team, Maccabi Tel Aviv, who at the time were perennial contenders.
javite se kad zavrsite drazen je bio u europi potpuno isto sto i jordan on +4 igreca najbolja kosarka.zao mi je sto je tog prokletog jutra 1993 poginuo jer cuo sam od brata da bi vjerovatno presao u knikse sa patryckom ewningom bilo bi zanimljivo jordanu i bullsima jer on je bio jedina osoba koja je bila sposobna svojim talentom otet bullsim koji naslov i u iducoj sezoni siguran sam da bi imao za cilj sebi zabit 50,60,70...jer je sam sebe stavljao na ispite .....pozz
As a kid I was watching Drazen as a superhero. Once after the game in Zagreb people chanted Drazen, Drazen until they turned off the lights in the hall. It was insane!
I grew up in Portland and played high school basketball there in the early 90’s. I got the chance to run some 3 point drills with Drazen at a blazer’s summer camp once. I got to feed Drazen passes as he ran to different spots around the 3 point line. That guy was a f’n machine, definitely one of the highlights of my life.
@@Stolencamaro Ocito ne kuzis kako radu geni, to sto je roden u Jugoslaviji ne znaci da je Srbin, mater mu je Hrvatica, a otac Bosanac. Znam da volite krasti tude sportase kada nemate svoje, pogotovo u vecim sportovima
Thak you for this documentary. It is really good. It is impossible to express what an inspiration he was for kids in the region. We would run oudside after the game and play basketball, screaming his name when we would score, talk about the game.
He only played 12 minutes a game in Portland but what a 12 minutes it was. He could easily back up Clyde. I was sad to see him go to the Nets but I was happy that he got to shine there.
@@kinidiosodlosios6892 definitely agree. But I'm agree that people says that he isn't even better player than Drazen, not shooter, people think tgat he will never be player like Drazen. I adore Drazen and he is one of the best european players who ever lived, but Doncic will be better than him.
Luka is very good, but surely not better than Drazen. Luka is good, but not good enough to be crucial carrier of the team when leverage is on steak. Drazen was. He alone could carry entire team to victory because he WAS leverage...
props for making the best video about Drazen out there! You did your research. as a croatian I could understand those old inverviews with him and Pervan where he said euro players didnt lift weights as it was belived it would affect their shot. Thats the biggest difference maker. His mentality and work ethic is like jordan, kinda "psyho like" as coaches said he can't sit still or do nothing at home, always had to excercise or shoot. Also per report (there is a long great article on him that mentions rick carlisle as his assitant coach), Dražen was stubborn when he came to the nba. He didn't really want to work on his defense as he belived he had the best offense. One 1on1s with Drexler he would loos becuase he was physically weaker. NBA was more physical then than now. But he was the hardest worker on the team. He is one of the few that really wanted to go at Jordan. If you watch the olympic games, they faced 2 times. He drew a couple of fouls on mj and played physical. As a bull mj had him in their duels, his atheticism and quicknes were too much. He would be one of the best players today. He is like a Klay Thompson, with a more complete game (Drazen drives a lot to the basket, fast breaks, it's a misconception he only shot 3s) and is 100% driven.
To add an Euro stat: In the final of Eurobasket '89 Yugoslavia-Greece he scored team high 28pts, 3/4 (75%) - 3 point, 7/9 (78%) - 2 point, and 5/5 free throws. 92% true shooting .
Met him when he played on the Nets at the Croatian church. Nice guy but shy. Did so much to help in the Croatian community in NY. Will forever be missed.
@@rutokelavra819 I only have one jersey multiple cards though. My dad was born around his area and got to see him play and when he moved to America he saw him play while he was on the nets and after he passed he found the signed stuff and we love basketball and he always told me about the legend of drazen
Thank you for this Great video... God bless you. I will only add to this: Dražen moving on the field, his moves... Its like Muhammad Ali in that ring, or Maradona. Dražen was freakin amaziing. Thank you my friend and lots od love from Croatia
I watched a documentary about Drazen's life and it was heart breaking experience to his friend Vladie Divac not able to go to his burial because of their countries rivalry.
Hahahahaha...yes yes Dražen was serb (born in Šibenik Croatia) ,Tesla was serb God was serb hahahahaha...Cijeli svijet zna da kod vas ima najviše muljatora tako da đabe provociraš znaju vas svi zato su vas i častili 99 od Nato_a 😂😂😂😂
He was so freaking good. One time he scored 112 points in a game in the jugoslavian league. That's how much better than everyone else he was. Today he would be like Luka if not better
@@ivanmaras6566 yeah, I think ok, he still isn't better than him, but when he end his career he would have much better career. Yeah, Drazen Petrovic died when he was 28 years old, but Doncic has a chance to become youngest MVP player of all time, Drazen Petrovic never did it and maybe he would never win MVP in his career. Doncic will win many titles and MVPs in NBA, but yeah, Drazen has more titles in other leagues and competitions, but in NBA yeah, Doncic is better NBA player than Drazen.
@@hristijandimitrovski8664 It is not smart to compare 90s NBA with todays NBA. Nowadays they let European player to be franchise player, then they would have never done that. And let's not forget he didn't play much in Portland because he played on the same position like Clyde Drexler
Luka better? Luka who plays this new age soft rules? Luka who shooting 3s 20% Drazen played against Studs early 90s when they smack you to the ground and defence was played seriously with no fouls given like today's. Petro would killing today 30p minimum
He is one of the reasons why the stigma of Europeans being low level players are not entirely true. For every Darko Milicic and Dragan Bender, we get the likes of Lauri, Dirk, Luka, Dragic, Porzingis, etc.
GREAT video, I was sad and crying when I heard about his death. he's still on my Nets team on 2K10, my FAVORITE BBGame of all times. I Love rivalries, and I always make the best of that team's rosters to compete of all of my basketball games. I am finishing up my final roster released of these soon. I call them "The World's Greatest Starting Fives". Why??? because I reprogram the teams to PLAY as if we were watching them live, if not I can't watch them, my carpool tunnel stopped my playing years ago. Great video. Thank you.
Absolutely. He was the World Cup MVP in 1986 representing Yugoslavia and won almost everything with the national team that's considered the best non-American team of all time.
God I cried so much when I heard a news of his death I was that time in serb concentration camp at that time I wished I dead as well he was more than just another basketball player he was a hero,more than 30 has gone by I still cry every and each time I come a cross a video of him aldo I never met him but I love him just like my brother, RIP Captain I wish I died insted of you..
While Jordan is the best player of all times, Drazen was, and still is, the best European player of all times. The fact they both played in the same era, means basketball was on its apex during those times. Since then, it went downward. And today we have a watered down version of the sport. If youngsters today could somehow relive the basketball of those times, no one of them would even consider to follow it today. Videos on RUclips can give some taste of it, but can't present true feelings and overall atmosphere.
so true man but people keep saying that today basketball is better and more advanced. im from Croatia and in those times we used to get up in 2 or 3 am to watch NBA but now its just boring
My top 10 Greatest shooter ever list? 1) Michael Jordan 2) Drazen Petrovic 3) Steph Curry 4) Klay Thompson 5) Larry Bird 6) Ray Allen 7) Kiki Vandeweghe 8) Mitch Richmond 9) Chris Mullin 10) Dirk Nowitzki
He would average 35-40 points a game in today's game. He was unstoppable and yet also unselfish with the ball. Memory eternal. Love that man's game and I do have his throwback Mitchell and Ness jersey and shorts.
drazen is one of the players when you watch maked your jaw dropped because it is entertaining to watch because of his style of playing just like dr. j, bird, magic, barkley, kidd and penny hardaway just to name a few
I remember Petro back in the days though I wasn’t a nets fan but sometimes would watch their games since it was on local tv in nyc area. Was a Knicks fan and now nets are in Brooklyn. Who would’ve thunk. But he sure was a pure shooter with quick release like ray allen or Reggie miller
Who should we do a video on next?
“How Good Was Patrick Willis Actually?”
Something about Sun Mingming
muggsy bogues!
How good was elgin baylor actually?
Pau Gasol
Jordan’s mentality
Kobe’s work ethic
Currys shooting. That’s all you need to know about this man.
He had such a work ethics every da 7-8 even when he was on holiday,I miss Drazen so much I 😭 when he passed away..
Curry learned shooting from draz, not the other way around..
People forget in one of his last NBA games he dropped 40 on prime Jordan
@@rutokelavra819 He learned from his dad sharpshooter dell curry
@@duantae If you look at Steph's shooting form, you can tell he's modeled some of his jump shot on Draz. I have no doubt his Dad would have encouraged that too, on top of being a great shooter in his own right.
I was born shortly after he died and my Dad was a huge Petrovic fan and ended up naming me Drazen
Tako je imenjace! 😁
Same here bro
I remember the shock then, Drazen iz what, dead? No way, we were i elemenntary school, he was our legend
Great!
Hahaha, me too
Drazen was my neighbour in Sibenik (Drazens hometown in Croatia) in the late 80ies. I remember him standing outside of his fam house on the street after he came back from Barcelona losing to the real Dream Team in Barcelona Olympics. He had the silver olymp medal hanging around his neck .. I was 10 yrs old, he was our superhero and gave us the feeling that we can achieve anything in the world even when you are from a small town in the middle of the mediteranean and even during a war! There was no ceiling for this guy I still belive he would have had the best percentage off all time if he didn’t die so tragically in that accident! our hero is still missed to this day! “Zivot leti, kapetane” (time flies, Captain) is a famous song dedicated to him!
Wow, what a great memory.
drazen je legenda nasega grada
wow ....thank you for this memory
he's still missed in Italy too 🇮🇹
we love Petro ❤🙏
Wow....I'm not surprised.... He was gonna be the Man Next level...He was on his way!
I used to be drazen baby sitter. I would make him formula because his mom worked hard as well as his dad. He was a talented young boy. He would shoot his bottle in the trash after downing them. I would call him Baby Petroswish
He was ahead of his time. Put him in today's NBA and he would fit right in.
For sure... back then coaches told Drazen to shoot less 3s cause it was a "bad shot"... yeah... bad shot my ass.. the man was sinking them left and right... in today's NBA he would be averaging EASILY over 30ppg with his eyes closed...
Cap
@@sportschool3537 he would avg 30 even without 3s in today nba easy+3pt shoot is good only if u shoot like drazen:)
No, he was great in his time and im a big Euroleauge fan and i know what kind of a beast he was, if he wouldn't died he could be top 10 of all time
@@tulyyy1912 shut up you’re like 5 years old
Drazen Petrovic is the only player in NBA history to average 20 pts per 36-minutes, shoot 50% overall and 40% from distance for a career.
Thanks for the stats
43,7% 3pt% Drazen
Momentary Curry 43,1% in career
And He was a Serbian not a Croatian, He did played for Croatain representation after the war and collapse of the SFRY. But His father JOLE PETROVIC is Serbian 100%. and his brother live in Serbia. Similar thing is with Luka Donicic, again another Serbian dude with Slovenian passport.
@@antidogmatic6298 He was great but the 1st player from Yugoslavia that should go to NBA was PASPALJ ZARKO. He was drafted as the better talent then Drazen and all others according to talent scouts, but due to some reason things messed up so He ended up in the GREECE. There Paspalj became the legend of European Basket Ball.
Strange thing is that Drazen Petrovic close relative DEJAN BODIROGA is well known as ''Mister MVP'' and he have stayed in Europe. Moreover, He is also a huge legend and an amazing shooter. All 3 of them were similar height, skills and deadly precise shooters.
BODIROGA and PETROVIC grandmother and grand father are brother and sister aka siblings, that is another cool fact that you won't find on the YT.
So from a small portion of Europe/Balkan in the last 30-ish years there were a several huge Basket B stars and players, more then 10 far as i know. That is size of NY for example when it comes to size lol,
@@sisajtegabre 😂😂😂😂
I am from croatia and i will never forget how was he one of the best shooters ever rip. Dražen
For some Americans, he was the greatest shooter ever. For many Europeans - the greatest player ever.
Kukoč !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@@garywhite7886 Can see you arent European buddy
@@milosobrenovic1241 Ti si glup !! buddy
@@garywhite7886 To mi je kompliment od tebe, Gary White Srbine
@@milosobrenovic1241 Eto vidiš da si glupan! TURČINE.
I actually knew Dražen personally as a kid. My grandpa had a vacation house at the seacoast and Dražen's family had his/their house, few houses down the street, so all of us kids played with him and swam in the Adriatic sea with him, hung out. We were much younger. He was already a b-ball star in Croatia, well, back then it was still Yugoslavia. But he always found time for us kids, even used to buy us ice cream etc. Regular modest and humble guy. I lived in the capital and when I told my classmates from my elementary school that I know him, I got ridiculed and laughed at, called a liar. Funny thing, my school was right across the Cibona basketball club, and I literally ran there during our big recess, as an 8 year old kid (2nd grade I think it was, perhaps 3rd), crashed his training and kinda "complained" that no one believes me that I know him. And I kid you not, he took me by my hand, all sweaty from the training session, still in his jersey and went with me to my class and like : "My good friend Ivan told me you guys want to meet me". He never said anything bad or scolded them for calling me a liar. But I was never called a liar in school again. I could have told them all my father was a NASA astronaut and the would probably believe me, lol. When he died in the car wreck I cried like rain.
BOLESNA PRIČA :)
I met Drazen a few months before he passed away at a signing. Incredible player and very humble when I met and spoke with him for a couple minutes. I still have his signings and a pic with him.
This might be weird but do you have a instagram so you could show me
Excellent video! I'm from Croatia and Dražen's career happened in my teenage years so I remember it vividly. His death devastated us all, he was a national icon and hero, even today it is still hard to accept why he had to end like that :( And what's even more bizarre is that they were hit by the truck from the opposite side of the highway, which smashed through the barricades that separate opposite traffic lanes, what are the odds of something like that happening :( He was simply incredible and it is probably the greatest unfinished story in basketball history!
what a special player!! amazing shooter with unique style of dribbling and hesitations loved him so much in the euroleague games.
so him in many games here in israel against macabi tel aviv.
the best European player i have seen. and for sure the most talented one.
a basketball legend Rip
drazen and sabonis must have basically been the bird vs magic rivalry but in europe
Sabonis was one of best players in the world before he got injured but at that time Yugoslavian teams were dominating Euro leauge and won 6 titles
It was more like jordan against malone. Sabonis didnt stand a chance
Petrovic vs Sabonis vs Galis...
I just made a video about that
Galis was better than both of them
In 93 season Drazen was 11. scorer in the legaue but he missed 12 games because he torn his knee. He was only one among first 13 scorers who was not invited to all star. And he was only one born outside Usa.
He was the definition of I LOVE THIS GAME..that was reason why he was so good.
100%
Best player ever! R.I.P. Dražen ! You are the legend, we still talk about you in 2021!!! LEGEND!
One of my favourite players of all time
Thank you for making this video. Atcually i am from Croatia. And i think people do not understand that he was our legend. And if he lived. I belive he will be yours to.
We do dont worry it's just we have new one docic
I am big fan of Luka, but its not the same. Whatever anyone think, Slovenia, Serbia or Croatia is not the same thing
He is my legend dont worry. American here.
Javljaju se polako Grci... Njihov kompleks bal... Galis i Giannakis da su bili bolji od Dražena i Tonija... 😂🤣😂🤣
I was born in Seattle in 1973, where I grew up. Sonics and Blazers fan. Japanese-American. I have a NETS 3 PETROVIC Jersey. At shootaround, I made 4 Drazen Petrovic FIBA 3-Pointers. If I were younger (I was handsome from 20-27, but started to get fatter and uglier at 28), I would try to find a Croatian girl to marry! Maybe, some Croatian girl would have wanted to come to America. I am SO impressed with how well many Croatians speak English!
Still remember finding out when Drazen died, that was a sad day.
he died like 30 years ago and your what 12
@@timedimes ur dumb
@@joemomma9152 L stfu
@@timedimesL stfu
@@joemomma9152 L stfu
thank you for this video.. he was a real hero to our country at the time his country needed him to put croatia on the map he did it. there are alot of haters who say that drazen isn't even in the top 20 european players of all time in nba... i can't really stand that talk. he was one of the best my country had to offer. I hope he is at peace.
@KartelOfficial a neznam toliko o tadašnjim igračima nisam ni rođen onda. ali drago mi je čut da smo imali dobre igrače. pozz
One of the more complete videos on Dražen here on youtube. Thank you for this one!
I’m from Greece where at the time basketball was huge. I was a student. I still remember that morning..I was ready to go to my school, and I listened to this sad sad sad news from the radio.I was really shocked. I remember that I couldn’t think anything else that day… So unfair……
Nikos Galis
When Dražen died, Croatian basketball died in some way and we were never same as before even with the fact that after Football/Soccer it is seconmd most popular sport in the country.
Croatian legend. Rip captain.
Best Serbian player ever
@@tomixtomix8532 lol he was Croatian, or Ex-Yugoslavian.
@@markobakovic627 I'm from Finland but my father play basketball for South Africa, and he is still what he been before...
Petrovic is Serbian by orgin and he played for Croatia.
@@tomixtomix8532 Strong Serbian genes. His father Jovan was Serbian.
@@hunter1211 mother Croat like djokovic
Best Croatian Athlete of 20'th century. Pioneer of eurostep and legend during his life. Cultural and sport phenomenon.
Idk you guys had a great football team but yeah Drazen was special. I'm from New Jersey so.i got to see him play. I still have an autographed Jersey of his on my wall.
Idk bout being the "pioneer of the eurostep", Even though there's limited footage of him, the eurostep wasn't really part of his game. I've seen some step back/fadeaway jumpers, hop steps and behind the back lay ups but the eurostep wasn't really part of his layup package. He was physically limited with a limited layup package and also had average handles but he always played his heart out on both ends of the court. I'd even go as far and say that his scoring game was sorta basic yet incredibly effective and efficient similar to Klay.
I'd say his deadliest attribute was his shooting and his awkward ball fakes that caught his defenders off guard. He was like a Klay Thompson type player playing in the 90s, deadly off ball but not really on ball but as a ball handler he had such a unique style that defenders couldn't adjust to and he made some insane shots like his runners and floaters(layups and jumpers).
He had a deceivingly quick first step kind of like Paul Pierce with Luka's fundamentals especially with the triple threat and his own unique way of shooting while in the jumpstop where he was very crafty with his fakes and his pivot foot. He also was way more flashier than Klay especially with his behind the back package, slightly better passer but risked/gambled his passing and dribbling more often than Klay that led to TOs who had some tunnel vision issues as well.
It's quite ironic that he had such a predictable yet unpredictable style that defenders had a hard time guarding him. He's certainly a pioneer of European fundamental basketball in a way but calling him the pioneer of the eurostep is a reach cuz he rarely used it.
Finally, someone to do a good video about Drazen.
Been on this channel since 10.000 subscribers and I've got to say it's insane how much your channel grew and evolved in the last months. Keep up the great work!
One of the best shooter of all time. Indeed. Great video, man.
The player who opened the doors for all European players the best shooter ever
Curry?
@@stephenabeles8460 Not overall.
Lmao im the best shooter ever
@@liamnelson6573 faxx
💪👍
Woow....what a great video....best video of Petrović I saw...pure facts
i was born and lived in Yugoslavia for 19 years and i can tell you i was his fan since the start of his carrier to the tragic end of his life. I still has wonderful memories of his plays. Best shooter in history yes thats true
Back in the Euroleague, I remember watching Drazen seemingly single-handedly destroy my home team, Maccabi Tel Aviv, who at the time were perennial contenders.
As a Croatian. I salute you. Very well put together. Hvala ti brate.
Yugoslavian league was best national basketball league in 80s outside NBA ..i miss that times..it with fantastic atmosphere on games
jugoplastika split 💪💪💪
Always nice to see some Drazen love, thanks!
Greetings from Vienna
I am also from Vienna and I Love drazen petro
this is a game-changer for me because I am doing a biography on Petrovic
can you dm me when you finish it?
Yeah same here
I'm from his home town, he is a big legend here, a huge town hero.
Here is fact...Dejan Bodiroga, Drazen and Milenko Savovic are very close cousins, from one village in Trebinje
javite se kad zavrsite drazen je bio u europi potpuno isto sto i jordan on +4 igreca najbolja kosarka.zao mi je sto je tog prokletog jutra 1993 poginuo jer cuo sam od brata da bi vjerovatno presao u knikse sa patryckom ewningom bilo bi zanimljivo jordanu i bullsima jer on je bio jedina osoba koja je bila sposobna svojim talentom otet bullsim koji naslov i u iducoj sezoni siguran sam da bi imao za cilj sebi zabit 50,60,70...jer je sam sebe stavljao na ispite .....pozz
As a kid I was watching Drazen as a superhero. Once after the game in Zagreb people chanted Drazen, Drazen until they turned off the lights in the hall. It was insane!
He literally breathe and sleep basketball. Legend rip💯
Dražen probably was Kobe's all time favorite with that work ethic
I grew up in Portland and played high school basketball there in the early 90’s. I got the chance to run some 3 point drills with Drazen at a blazer’s summer camp once. I got to feed Drazen passes as he ran to different spots around the 3 point line. That guy was a f’n machine, definitely one of the highlights of my life.
The z in Drazen is like the j in Rajon Rondo.
Nice how you put it
this is Ž ..like Jean ( Žan) or voyage ( vojaž) Dražen mean charming,dear,darling...
CROATIAN PRIDE🇭🇷❤🏀
R.I.P. MOZART
Kakav hrvat on je bio 💯 srbin jeste smjesni
@@Stolencamaro Pricas Hrvatski, smijesan si🤣🤣🤣😜😜
@@Stolencamaro Ocito ne kuzis kako radu geni, to sto je roden u Jugoslaviji ne znaci da je Srbin, mater mu je Hrvatica, a otac Bosanac. Znam da volite krasti tude sportase kada nemate svoje, pogotovo u vecim sportovima
Real Madrid Fan here. Never in my live I felt so sad after the death of someone that is not part of my family or a friend.
Thak you for this documentary. It is really good. It is impossible to express what an inspiration he was for kids in the region. We would run oudside after the game and play basketball, screaming his name when we would score, talk about the game.
We need a How good was dirk nowitzki
I think we all know how good he was
If you don't know how good Dirk is, don't consider yourself a fan of basketball
@@anarky305 fr he lost
@@anarky305 just want to see a video about him. Dirk is my favorite player
2nd best power forward all time. Top 15 player
He only played 12 minutes a game in Portland but what a 12 minutes it was. He could easily back up Clyde. I was sad to see him go to the Nets but I was happy that he got to shine there.
I remember him breaking Jordan off a big piece of baller pie...
It's a shame he's always looked over.
Don't need to watch the video to know the answer: Best Shooter in the world.
Nikos Galis
Basketball Mozart Dražen Petrović ❤️❤️🇭🇷🇭🇷
This was Luka before Luka
Hm you need ticonsider that he was one of the first European in NBA and it wasnt easy for them, nowdays is diferent story
Man i think Luka got chance to be top 10 All time and best European player ever but he will never be shooter like Petrovic not even close
@@kinidiosodlosios6892 definitely agree. But I'm agree that people says that he isn't even better player than Drazen, not shooter, people think tgat he will never be player like Drazen. I adore Drazen and he is one of the best european players who ever lived, but Doncic will be better than him.
only way better
Luka is very good, but surely not better than Drazen. Luka is good, but not good enough to be crucial carrier of the team when leverage is on steak. Drazen was. He alone could carry entire team to victory because he WAS leverage...
Drazen Is the God of basketball. None can be ever like him in no era.
props for making the best video about Drazen out there! You did your research. as a croatian I could understand those old inverviews with him and Pervan where he said euro players didnt lift weights as it was belived it would affect their shot. Thats the biggest difference maker.
His mentality and work ethic is like jordan, kinda "psyho like" as coaches said he can't sit still or do nothing at home, always had to excercise or shoot.
Also per report (there is a long great article on him that mentions rick carlisle as his assitant coach), Dražen was stubborn when he came to the nba. He didn't really want to work on his defense as he belived he had the best offense. One 1on1s with Drexler he would loos becuase he was physically weaker. NBA was more physical then than now. But he was the hardest worker on the team.
He is one of the few that really wanted to go at Jordan. If you watch the olympic games, they faced 2 times. He drew a couple of fouls on mj and played physical. As a bull mj had him in their duels, his atheticism and quicknes were too much.
He would be one of the best players today. He is like a Klay Thompson, with a more complete game (Drazen drives a lot to the basket, fast breaks, it's a misconception he only shot 3s) and is 100% driven.
Dam imma start saying drazen when I shoot
I said the same thing lol💪🏼💪🏼
One of ...few
All the best from Cr🌞atia
Thank you Drazen😊
To add an Euro stat: In the final of Eurobasket '89 Yugoslavia-Greece he scored team high 28pts, 3/4 (75%) - 3 point, 7/9 (78%) - 2 point, and 5/5 free throws. 92% true shooting .
I am huge Petrovic fan...and even more as time passes!!!😢❤
damn thats so sad every time i watch something about him i got fckin tear in my eye such a great guy and athlete
Met him when he played on the Nets at the Croatian church. Nice guy but shy. Did so much to help in the Croatian community in NY. Will forever be missed.
Favorite player of all time I have signed jerseys and cards of his.
u like to sell a Jersey?
@@rutokelavra819 I only have one jersey multiple cards though. My dad was born around his area and got to see him play and when he moved to America he saw him play while he was on the nets and after he passed he found the signed stuff and we love basketball and he always told me about the legend of drazen
@@Niqstory pm me pls.
@@rutokelavra819 I don’t know how to start one so you would have to
I have a signed blue Drazen nets Jersey too!
Thank you for this Great video... God bless you. I will only add to this: Dražen moving on the field, his moves... Its like Muhammad Ali in that ring, or Maradona. Dražen was freakin amaziing. Thank you my friend and lots od love from Croatia
mozzart of basketball euro m.j . maradona ,m.j ,mike tyson and drazen were my childhood heroes . best shooter ever
Lol...madonna?
@@F28aj 🤣😂🤣😂🤣 Armando Diego Maradona...
We shall never forget this personality and great player Drazen Petrovic
R.I.P.💠🙋👍
I watched a documentary about Drazen's life and it was heart breaking experience to his friend Vladie Divac not able to go to his burial because of their countries rivalry.
Our Legend and pride ♥️🇭🇷♥️♥️🇭🇷♥️
Best Serbian pleyer ever
Hahahahaha...yes yes Dražen was serb (born in Šibenik Croatia) ,Tesla was serb God was serb hahahahaha...Cijeli svijet zna da kod vas ima najviše muljatora tako da đabe provociraš znaju vas svi zato su vas i častili 99 od Nato_a 😂😂😂😂
Yugoslavian legend - all of us loved him.
A Croatian legend ❤️ RIP
Drazo srbin iz sibenika ne seri kakav cro pride
he will always be the best european basketball player ever!
Great video, a legend and a role model.
It is a great pity that such young has passed away, he was amazing player. Greetings from Serbia !!!
Drazen was a monster! Great video! BTW Ginobili is not European, he’s South American from Argentina.
He was so freaking good. One time he scored 112 points in a game in the jugoslavian league. That's how much better than everyone else he was. Today he would be like Luka if not better
Nah, Drazen was amazing player, but Doncic is better than him.
@@hristijandimitrovski8664 No
@@ivanmaras6566 yeah, I think ok, he still isn't better than him, but when he end his career he would have much better career. Yeah, Drazen Petrovic died when he was 28 years old, but Doncic has a chance to become youngest MVP player of all time, Drazen Petrovic never did it and maybe he would never win MVP in his career. Doncic will win many titles and MVPs in NBA, but yeah, Drazen has more titles in other leagues and competitions, but in NBA yeah, Doncic is better NBA player than Drazen.
@@hristijandimitrovski8664 It is not smart to compare 90s NBA with todays NBA.
Nowadays they let European player to be franchise player, then they would have never done that.
And let's not forget he didn't play much in Portland because he played on the same position like Clyde Drexler
Luka better? Luka who plays this new age soft rules? Luka who shooting 3s 20%
Drazen played against Studs early 90s when they smack you to the ground and defence was played seriously with no fouls given like today's.
Petro would killing today 30p minimum
I remember Drazen he was the man!! I think he was the best shooter ever until maybe a couple of years ago when Steph took that title from him. IMO
He is one of the reasons why the stigma of Europeans being low level players are not entirely true. For every Darko Milicic and Dragan Bender, we get the likes of Lauri, Dirk, Luka, Dragic, Porzingis, etc.
Darko had potential if he had the right attitude but that’s irrelevant ig
Forgot Sengun!!!
Thank you for this video he needs the respect
Croatian king of basketball ! ❤️🇭🇷❤️
GREAT video, I was sad and crying when I heard about his death. he's still on my Nets team on 2K10, my FAVORITE BBGame of all times. I Love rivalries, and I always make the best of that team's rosters to compete of all of my basketball games. I am finishing up my final roster released of these soon. I call them "The World's Greatest Starting Fives". Why??? because I reprogram the teams to PLAY as if we were watching them live, if not I can't watch them, my carpool tunnel stopped my playing years ago. Great video. Thank you.
His accomplishments with Yugoslavian national team had to be included here; anyway, nice video
Absolutely. He was the World Cup MVP in 1986 representing Yugoslavia and won almost everything with the national team that's considered the best non-American team of all time.
His shots were like ninja daggers on target, or like a Chinaman throwing stars in a 70's martial arts movie.
Petro forever!👼🏀
Keep going with these out of the box videos 💪💪
That DuDe was NICE in da purest form!!!😜😜😜
God I cried so much when I heard a news of his death I was that time in serb concentration camp at that time I wished I dead as well he was more than just another basketball player he was a hero,more than 30 has gone by I still cry every and each time I come a cross a video of him aldo I never met him but I love him just like my brother, RIP Captain I wish I died insted of you..
Best player ever he was loved by all Yugoslavians
I cry for entire video. My hometown club iz KK Cibona.
While Jordan is the best player of all times, Drazen was, and still is, the best European player of all times. The fact they both played in the same era, means basketball was on its apex during those times. Since then, it went downward. And today we have a watered down version of the sport. If youngsters today could somehow relive the basketball of those times, no one of them would even consider to follow it today. Videos on RUclips can give some taste of it, but can't present true feelings and overall atmosphere.
so true man but people keep saying that today basketball is better and more advanced. im from Croatia and in those times we used to get up in 2 or 3 am to watch NBA but now its just boring
@@igorperic6219 Nikos Galis was the best
@@elipav484 ok
@ٴ when they drop 112 in 40 minutes, maybe then. Maybe
Amazing video! Keep it up!
My top 10 Greatest shooter ever list?
1) Michael Jordan
2) Drazen Petrovic
3) Steph Curry
4) Klay Thompson
5) Larry Bird
6) Ray Allen
7) Kiki Vandeweghe
8) Mitch Richmond
9) Chris Mullin
10) Dirk Nowitzki
Forgot Reggie Miller?!
@@sctmprn Yes good catch he is anywhere between 6 and 11
@@sctmprn Damian Lillard should now be added
If Drazen Petrovic was still alive, he would have become an all-star!
I played professionally with him in 2018 on the hornets. Tough guy. Great all around skill.
My Brother, he was born in Yogoslavia. You cannot get things like that wrong bro, but it was a good video
Born in Sibenik,Croatia....Former Yugoslavia...
@@darijobubica3919 Bubice, samo ti pomalo
Do a how good was reggie lewis who dominated the early 90s and became an all star but died during the middle of his career due to a heart conditon
The guy who blocked 4,5 times Jordan in one game?
He would be great as well as Drazen. Petro scored 39p on him once
It's ashame he didn't get to finish and come into his own. What a player
That guy oh man...he was croatian Sniper in basketball.
P.s.
If you Will ever have chance to visit Croatia..then you need to stop at his museum
He would average 35-40 points a game in today's game. He was unstoppable and yet also unselfish with the ball. Memory eternal. Love that man's game and I do have his throwback Mitchell and Ness jersey and shorts.
Dam only 28yrs old had his whole life ahead of him so messed up
DRAŽEN PETROVIĆ 3 LEGEND NEVER DIE❤️🇭🇷
4:27 I lowkey thought you photoshopped the current nets classic jersey onto him, but I realized the jerseys were worn earlier.
Lol they reminded me on Drazen that's why I look up his name now
drazen is one of the players when you watch maked your jaw dropped because it is entertaining to watch because of his style of playing just like dr. j, bird, magic, barkley, kidd and penny hardaway just to name a few
Day 3 of asking “How good was Patrick Willis Actually?”
Extremely good
One of the best LBs of the late 2000s/early 2010s.
The real question is "How good was greg ostertag" answer: not very
I remember Petro back in the days though I wasn’t a nets fan but sometimes would watch their games since it was on local tv in nyc area. Was a Knicks fan and now nets are in Brooklyn. Who would’ve thunk. But he sure was a pure shooter with quick release like ray allen or Reggie miller