Basketball without borders: Vlade Divac unites former Yugoslavia through sport - NBA Update
The former Serbian and NBA basketball player Vlade Divac is a man on a mission, not with guns or mortar shells, but with basketball. The 43 year old NBA great has taken his greatness from the basketball court and on to his mission
of peace.
The Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, are hostile towards each other and the whole world knows that. However, Vlade does not believe that. Under his watch, they now play basketball together.
Divac said, "I'm very proud of the project. Having the camp here in the region that had a lot of conflict, and where basketball is the No. 1 sport, is a thrill."
Divac, who has helped make basketball a No. 1 sport in this region, said that he is proud to have a camp in this part of the world which had lot of tension earlier. Although Divac hasn’t won a Nobel Peace Prize for his extraordinary
efforts as yet, but because of his remarkable charitable work, government appointed him as an advisor on humanitarian issues in 2008. Later in 2009, Divac was elected as the President of the Serbian Olympic Committee for four years.
Even with his busy schedule in NBA, the veteran never showed detachment from his motherland. He was a part of the Yugoslavia’s national basketball team and Divac had good relations his colleagues. However after the tensions mounted,
the squad splintered off.
As a result of that Divac’s close association with late Drazen Petrovic came to an end and they never spoke with each other even after the war.
This really affected Divac and it inspired him to create a platform “Basketball Without Borders” (BWB) back in 2001. It was a platform, where young children from republics can play with each other and develop a good understanding.
The idea flourished quickly and basketball became the most favourite sport in the Balkans.
"We work with kids and try to show them it's more than just about sport, that it's about making your life better through education and leading a good life. But it is the sport that brought our people together." Divac said about
his project.
Divac was not just a pioneer in providing the BWB platform to the former Yugoslavia, but he also broke the cliché when he made it to the NBA that opened the doors for the other European players too. Divac played in the capacity
of centre for the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings. He had a great time in NBA, where he maintained a career average of 11.8 points along with 8.2 rebounds and 3.1 assist per game.
Divac is determined to carry on his project that is now leading the former Yugoslavian players to United States. The previous draft is fine example of that when two among the top 31 draft picks were from Yugoslav republics.
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