Drazen Petrovic

Enshrined 2002
Born October 22, 1964
Sibenik, Croatia
Died June 7, 1993

Drazen Petrovic had such artistic skills on the basketball court that those who saw him play called him the "Mozart of the Parquet." An offensive force with limitless range on his perfectly-released jump shot and explosive moves to the hoop, Petrovic once scored 112 points in a 1985 Croatian League game by hitting 40 of 60 shots from the field. Petrovic was a dominating player in international play. He starred in the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games and led BC Cibona to the European Cup (1987) and National Cup (1988) Championships. He also guided his Real Madrid Spanish league team to the European Cup Championship (1989) and led the Yugoslavian National Team to victory at the European Championships that same year. Petrovic's skills propelled him into a brief career in the NBA, cut short by his tragic death at the age of 28 in a car accident in Germany. He began his career with the Portland Trail Blazers in 1989 before he was traded to the New Jersey Nets in 1991. In his final NBA season (1992-93), Petrovic averaged a career-high and team-leading 22.3 ppg on 51.8 percent shooting from the floor, including 44.9 percent from three-point range.