The death of Drazen Petrovic?

Question

My dad was a big Petro fan when he played for the Nets. I was only 5 when Petro died, so I really can't remember off-hand what it was like in the NYC metro area. My dad said Willis Reed couldn't even mention Drazen's name without breaking down.

My question is, what was the reaction for NBA fans(especially Nets fans), players, and coaches when Petro passed away?

Answer 1

Petro was a beast in Tecmo Super NBA Basketball back in the day!...lol

Seriously, it was sad that he passed away at such a young age. He could be one of the best international players ever to play in the NBA.

Answer 2

Pretty Sad, he was a great shooter and was becoming a

star in the NBA. But tragedy happens. NBA fans were

all sad. Even Divak cried about it.

Answer 3

It was a thrill to play against Drazen. Every time we competed, he competed with an aggressive attitude. He wasn't nervous; he came at me as hard as I came at him. So, we've had some great battles in the past and unfortunately, they were short battles. ”

—Michael Jordan

You know, there is a saying that we have about JFK, John F. Kennedy - "You know, Johnny, we never got to know you." And I kind of feel that way about Drazen. I felt that the whole year that I was with him went by too fast and I really never got to know him the way I would have liked to. ”

—Chuck Daly



Drazen and I were very good friends. I was one of those people who welcomed him to Portland when he came from Europe. We talked about his family a lot in his restaurant, and he enjoyed his friends and he enjoyed the game of basketball. I really respect him because he worked very, very hard. Each and every day in practice he would be the first guy to come and the last guy to leave the gym. So anybody with that kind of dedication...you have to have a lot of respect for him. ”

—Clyde Drexler



Drazen Petrovic was an extraordinary young man, and a true pioneer in the global sports of basketball. I know that a lasting part of his athletic legacy will be that he paved the way for other international players to compete successfully in the NBA. His contributions to the sport of basketball were enormous. We are all proud of the fact we knew him. ”

—David Stern



It's hard for you to imagine here in America, because you have so many great players, but we are a country of four million; without him, basketball takes three steps back. ”

—Aleksandar "Aco" Petrović



He Was Destined To be a good player he had great skills was to young and talented to die though