The Yugoslav and Croatian basketball legend Dražen Petrovic was born 22 October, 1964 in Šibenik, Yugoslavia. The 195-centimeters-tall shooting guard was one of the greatest scorers in basketball history, winning multiple Top Scorer awards at the major tournaments. Petrovic played for Yugoslav teams – KK Šibenka (1979-1983) and Cibona Zagreb (1983-1988), as well as fo the Spanish side – Real Madrid during the 1988/89 season.
Petrovic had a short, but very successful EuroLeague career. He played just two seasons as a member of Cibona, but on the both occasions, he became the EuroLeague champion (1985, 1986), as well as the EuroLeague Finals MVP in 1985 and twice – EuroLeague Top Scorer (1985, 1986). In total, Petrovic played 29 games in the EuroLeague, scoring 966 points and averaging 33.3 points per game.
He also enjoyed a great success in the FIBA Sporta Cup, winning the competition twice (1987, 1989), and being the Finals MVP both times. Petrovic reached the FIBA Korac Cup Final three times, but he failed to win the trophy in all three occasions. After a successful career in Europe, Petrovic went overseas to play for Portland Trail Blazers (1989-1991) and New Jersey Nets (1991-1993) until his tragic death in 1993.
Internationally, Petrovic represented Yugoslavia and Croatia during his career, winning the FIBA World Cup (1990) and Eurobasket (1989), as well as reaching the Final of the Olympic games in 1988 and 1992. In his EuroLeague, Saporta Cup, Korac Cup, and international games from 1981 to 1992, Petrovic scored 3734 points in 141 games.
ACCOLADES
EuroLeague champion (1985, 1986)
EuroLeague Finals MVP (1985)
EuroLeague Top Scorer (1985, 1986) FIBA Saporta Cup Finals MVP (1987, 1989) FIBA Saporta Cup Top Scorer (1987, 1989)
FIBA Saporta Cup (1987, 1989)
FIBA Korac Cup (1982, 1983, 1988) NBA (1990) Olypic Games (1988, 1992)
Olympic Games (1984) FIBA World Cup MVP (1990) FIBA World Cup (1990) FIBA World Cup (1986) Eurobasket MVP (1989) Eurobasket Top Scorer (1985) Eurobasket (1989) Eurobasket (1987) Yugoslav League Top Scorer (1985, 1986, 1987, 1988) Yugoslav League (1985) Yugoslav League (1983, 1986) Yugoslav League (1987, 1988) Spanish League Top Scorer (1989) Spanish League (1989)
Year
84/85
85/86
TOT
Team
Age
21
22
GP
15
14
29
PPG
30.7
36.1
33.3
PTS
460
506
966
RNK
FIBA SAPORTA CUP STATISTICS
Year
86/87
88/89
TOT
Team
Age
23
25
GP
8
11
19
PPG
33.8
33.3
33.5
PTS
270
366
636
TRK
FIBA KORAC CUP STATISTICS
Year
81/82
82/83
87/88
TOT
Team
Age
18
19
24
GP
9
9
8
26
PPG
20.9
20.1
37.8
25.8
PTS
188
181
302
671
TRK
YUGOSLAV & SPANISH LEAGUE STATISTICS
Year
79/80
80/81
81/82
82/83
84/85
85/86
86/87
87/88
88/89
TOT
Team
Age
16
17
18
19
21
22
23
24
25
GP
16
20
24
31
20
21
21
19
47
219
PPG
0.8
2.0
16.3
24.5
32.0
43.1
37.1
38.0
28.2
25.5
PTS
13
39
392
758
640
905
779
722
1327
5575
TRK
8
4
QF
OLYMPIC GAMES STATISTICS
Year
1984
1988
1992
TOT
Team
Age
20
24
28
GP
8
8
7
23
PPG
17.5
18.6
24.6
20.0
PTS
140
149
172
461
RNK
9th
4th
5th
FIBA WORLD CUP STATISTICS
Year
1986
1990
TOT
Team
Age
22
26
GP
10
8
18
PPG
25.0
18.4
22.1
PTS
250
147
397
RNK
3rd
11th
EUROBASKET STATISTICS
Year
1983
1985
1987
1989
TOT
Team
Age
19
21
23
25
GP
5
8
8
5
26
PPG
13.4
25.1
23.3
29.8
23.2
PTS
67
201
186
149
603
RNK
38th
6th
2nd
Description for statistics
FIBA Saporta Cup is the same competition, as FIBA European Cup Winners’ Cup, ULEB Cup or EuroCup, a 2nd-tier European Cup competition. FIBA Korac Cup is the same competition as FIBA EuroChallenge, a 3rd-tier European Cup competition. GP – Games played PPG – Points per game PTS – Total points RNK – Individual scoring ranking TRK – Team ranking