How Dražen Petrović Sparked the NBA's Euro Revolution

Rewind a generation and the barrier to entry for foreign players to the NBA was at an all-time high--considered “soft” and unable to keep up with American competition, European players carried a stigma. But when Dražen Petrović arrived to the NBA and team Croatia went toe-to-toe with the Dream Team in the 1992 Summer Games Finals, the outlook for Dario Šarić and a new generation of European players changed forever.
Narrated by A$AP Twelvyy.
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[@mihaelsteficar777]

Svašta smo prežalili kao narod, ali Dražena nismo i nikada nećemo. Život leti Kapetane...

[@Antilluminati]

Đžordan je naručio ubistvo. Ko sto je Kobija odradio is svog oca.

[@IblewuponyourfaceIII]

Drazen Petrovic scored 44 points on Michael Jordan & scored more points than anyone on the Dream Team in 92 Finals

[@akiltrojani693]

@bongo155 but still, he scored more than jordan. I belive he make jordan look an avarege on those games than. the only reason Croatia couldn`t beat dream team was that the rest of Croatian team exept Drazen, gived up before the match started....Drazen was a true`Gladiator`......he trays to beat dream team on his own......

[@orahovavucichitlerdacicgoe7223]

Dražen nad never give up attitude,I believe Jordan and Drazen had that same DNA if you hit them they hit you back even harder I mean that in basketball terms.

[@sergiobrito7331]

@@akiltrojani693 kukoc was there too

[@Antilluminati]

Thats why MJ had him killed... And Kobe.. and MJ's father.

[@IblewuponyourfaceIII]

@@Antilluminati you think so?

[@aidenfoster7459]

I grew up in Portland and was sad to hear when Drazen died. Man, the Blazers always got rid of good players and he was one of them. We passed on Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant, everyone leaves and gets to the Finals. Drazen ate the league up with the Nets. Man we lost a legend.

[@carboy101]

This series the best thing Vice has ever put together.

[@jamessum825]

Dr0pkidd hvnds dxwn

[@jpmnky]

That hit me when he said “Everyone remembers where they were when hearing about Drazen”. I do too. I was 12 and watching the morning SportsCenter.

[@allen2333]

The crazy thing is over 90 percent of people in Croatia play soccer.

[@LuckyBird551]

Same in Argentina, and they still produced a player like Ginobili and won Gold in 2004. If we have to get more into details, one could also argue that Basketball is the second most popular sport in the USA after Football.

[@Hajduk-Kralj]

Handball, waterpolo, tennis, discus, MMA, karate, BMX

[@SilvanOgnjeni]

@@Hajduk-Kralj u svemu tome najbolji Srbi komšija ;) bez ljutnje

[@Hajduk-Kralj]

​Lets not go there bro :) Novak is one of the best ever for sure. Croatia won the Davis cup? The handball was disappointing. To many fuck ups right at the end.

[@joshualogan6655]

@@SilvanOgnjeni Srbi u rukometu,MMA, karateu i BMX hahahhhahaha kako si smiješan

[@tej5371]

i met Dražens mother in his museum, it was a school trip in 7th grade. she is a great and strong person.

[@PR-nl7kn]

I fell in love with football watching the gr8 98 Croatian team with suker. I hope they can do even better with the Croatian basketball team too & give more players to the nba. Love from nepal 🇳🇵

[@bertramattles1695]

I remember Drazen very well in the NBA and this guy was a beast he could shoot from anywhere and was a fantastic player to watch

[@Unknown-nc4jq]

4:36 Dario's mom: ''he learnt how to bully his opponents from me and the jam shot from his father'' LOL!!!

[@stephencurry8468]

Drazen petrovic is a legend for Europe basket and nba drazen forever

[@truthsterwakeupworldplease8875]

I've seen him play, when he played for the New Jersey Nets. He's a great all around team player.

[@iMAKEbeatsPEOPLE]

I was 9 when Drazen passed and I was really sad and cried. I thought he was a great player (still do). He would do whatever it took to win and he'd shoot the lights out.

[@dionysise5008]

Young people cannot understand how good Drazen was. Best shooter in the world in his prime

[@nalimlattarai2873]

dionysis e L

[@hoodiejayy304]

@@nalimlattarai2873 wym dude was dropping 50 without an 3 point line

[@user-ny1bm5uy2h]

Drazen was way more than a great shooter, he was an all around basketball player

[@marinerovrataric4979]

i remmember day when Drazen die in car accident. i was kid 13y old , but never feel so stress like that day. Drazen was a good, nice , golden kid. all CROATIA CRY DAY HE PAST I REMEMBER and newer forget. R.I.P. Dražen

[@elcanaldejohnbo-linemanpue3143]

Mi eterno jugador favorito... En la época de Jordan ,los juegos de Petro me emocionaban más... En las olimpiadas llegué a pensar que Croatia vencerá a USA. Drazen fue parte de mi infancia. Love n respect 🇵🇷

[@antonijajelic2575]

Dražen Petrović was born in my city, beautiful Šibenik. Toni Kukoč 70 km away from Split 🇭🇷🌞

[@Tobias.Harris]

The GREATEST! I don’t wanna watch this cause i know this is gonna make me shed a tear

[@marcellodelmonte9894]

To put Dario Saric in the same movie with Drazen Petrovic is outrageous

[@NERO2810]

Croatia, Spain, France, Slovenia, Turkey, Serbia, Russia, Greece...all countries with great basketball players and teams. Americans should show some respect to the Euroleague

[@SuperStrik9]

Petro's awesome. My favorite European player of all time.

[@NBAInsider]

Very interesting history!

[@richardnunez3474]

NBA Insider now wth are you doing here? I know what im doing here, im subscribed to both of you. 😂

[@dzonikg]

And totally wrong ..it has nothing to do with Croatia but Yugoslavian basketball school ..Drazen Petrovic was rising trophies only with Yugoslavian team (euro championsh 1989 ,1991 and world champions 1990 ) ..With out the rest off ex Yugoslavia Croatia did not won single medal since 1995...And Serbia played in last finala and in world championship 2014 and in Olympic 2016 against USA...last euro championship final in 2017 was Slovenia-Serbia ..2 ex Yugoslav republic but not Croatia.

[@Molekulasti]

​@@dzonikg God God, will you Serbs stop hounding people around you? No wonder everybody hates you.

[@karlocmreki986]

@marko marko pa ima pravo vi samo serete I govorite da ste u svemu najbolji I mislite da je she na svijetu srpsko samo serete na videima u kojima se hvale hrvati

[@karlocmreki986]

@marko marko nauci pisat nista te Nisan razumia

[@iVince905]

Imagine an all Yugo Olympic team. Doncic, Jokic, Bogdonovic, nurkic, Saric, teodosic and I’m leaving out so many more...

[@SnappedNeck]

dragic

[@philboucher7698]

All Yugoslavia basketball, and all yugo soccer would be beautiful.

[@batuhanaydn6201]

You forget the best one SEX DRUGS BODIROGA

[@SerbianRaven]

Satoransky is czeh. Not ex yugo.

[@pepito309]

People forgot about Kresimir Cosic

[@twowheelseatingmeals-motoj8080]

To talk of your dead child takes a lot of heart. No parent ever wants to live longer than their kids.

[@dustinpictou1927]

awesome video... drazen was legendary i remeber discovering him about 12 years ago... too bad his life end tragically .. wonder how many 3s he wouldve had... also did u see how that tough man willis reed broke down ?? that was so real .. heartfelt.. very sad but cool to show u what he meant to that team

[@SuperStrik9]

Lithuania is another small European country that's a bball powerhouse.

[@wearethe9947]

It really is, we always had tough fucking games with you guys. Greetings from Serbia :)

[@interfear1]

Do hope Lithuania is covered in season two.

[@bubs_1256]

SuperStrik9 lol

[@ceegun]

there was 3 big schools of basketball in world before The Cold War ended, USA(West block), SSSR(East block) and YUGOSLAVIA (Independent block). After the SSSR and Yugoslavia fall apart imidiatelly was shown were in those ex countries were the focus of talents. In SSSR that was Lhituania and in Yugoslavia it was Croatia. Unfortunatelly in Serbia there was more good coaches and in Croatia there was more talented players. So after end of that last Yugoslavian generation in Croatia basketball stop to be popular (everybody wants to play soccer,handball or waterpolo and in Serbia good coaches continued to make good teams and in Croatia there was only pure talent players. So that is way today Croatia has 6-7 players in NBA and we suck at national team...

[@antonijajelic2575]

That is true and everyone knows it. Drazen was born in Sibenik. Šibenik is an old Croatian Mediterranean royal city from at least 9 centuries, with 2 National Parks and about a hundred islands.

[@RudieObias]

Great player! As a young Cavs fan, it always seemed like Dražen Petrović played harder against Cleveland in the early 90s. In fact, three Cavaliers (Brad Daugherty, Mark Price, and Larry Nance) took up roster spots in the NBA All-Star Game in 1993 and coaches left out Petrović. It seemed like he resented that.

[@ivan9984]

He did actually, but not because he was jelous or anything like that, he just liked to compete and give 100% of himself, that was Draz, always giving 100% in everything he did. R. i. P. our eternal captain!

[@pitakafoa1214]

Man im really loving this series

[@mariamajetic2523]

Drazen je uvijek inspiracija! Drazens life is inspitation!

[@sj3695]

Pocivaj u miru ❤️❤️❤️such a legend of his time we miss you down here!! Made Croatians so proud❤

[@robert-alankucko2561]

DRAŽEN,najveći ikada!!

[@UKBornin1971]

Drazen, the first great European player. He was a very tough cover for Jordan back in the day. #RIP🙏🏾

[@cripdrip8684]

Drazen was so cool and chill,my cousin played on the Nets w/him.RIP!!

[@EKI295]

Dario Saric is good don't get me wrong but you can't compare him to Petrovic.. Drazen was on another level

[@robertstanoev8148]

so true

[@LeonVuksic]

I grew up in that blue skyscraper where Drazen used to play basketball. As kids, we were shooting hoops all day everyday!

[@FashionRoadman]

European players are good enough.They can play all positions, have great fundamentals and can shoot. They just need the right system and playing time.

[@dontsearchdocumentingreali9621]

The Fashion Archive * Eastern Europeans

[@FashionRoadman]

Dante Alighieri what about France, Italy and most importantly SPAIN 🇪🇸?

[@dontsearchdocumentingreali9621]

The Fashion Archive spain yes, but other western european states don't even know what basketball is.

[@FashionRoadman]

Dante Alighieri depends where you’re talking about, basketball is rising rapidly where I’m from (London). When I was younger I was one of the few that played, now literally everyone plays football (soccer) and basketball. There are more and more players from here going D1 and playing in the G league, Euroleague & Good European D-1 teams

[@orami27shygone48]

B-ball is a mind sport.. but hey...so many lack brain

[@wazzup233]

Without him then basketball will never be popular in Europe right now. Thank you Petrovic & we'll really miss you. Too sad your life was cut short due to a car accident, if he didn't died then he'll become a legit NBA Superstar around the 90s & early 2000s & might get a chip or two before he'll retire & inducted to the HOF.

[@RR-vu3ol]

When they said Saric was carrying the torch from Petro I'm almost stopped watching. The only thing they have in common is being from the same country.

[@georgegurdjieff3854]

Same city and same school...and that's it...

[@antonijajelic2575]

Dražen and Dario Šarić were born in Šibenik. Šibenik is an old Croatian Mediterranean royal city from at least 9 centuries, with 2 National Parks and about a hundred islands.

[@HeresTheThingOfItYoutube]

I was blessed to see him play many times, I was at the game 3 against the cavs, the place was electric!

[@JohnDoe_88]

One thing is forsure, the second Petrovic entered the league he was to become a legend.

[@A-small-amount-of-peas]

How? He was drafted by Portland

[@mr.4leafclova866]

Very Good Doc.. Learned allot bout them BOYS.. RIP DRAZEN

[@JT-ri8le]

What I love most about team sports especially, football and basketball is how it transcends race..u make people of different color brothers for life..I hope basketball returns

[@lorencpepdjonovic63]

Mocart košarke počivaj u miru legendo🏀

[@IceManLikeGervin]

He was extra chilly most from coast II coast!! RIP

[@interfear1]

I loved the series, Vice Sports. Do hope there is a season two of this because, as happy as I was that it covered Croatia, I was sad that Lithuania was not mentioned.

[@xerceulis]

Drazen Petrovic was the best shooter ever !!! R.i.P

[@crimnvL]

this video was so beautiful!! 😭 i love sport

[@cruzada07]

i love this series keep it coming!!!

[@johnwall363]

Dont let em fool you dario saric is a solid stretch big with unfilled potential

[@moro8926]

I love this series...I hope you guys have one on Australia in the works, considering that we too are a small country... and have little competition close geographically to play against, yet we have ten players in the league including the reigning ROTY...

[@michealkelly9441]

Quality content , great video!

[@antonijajelic2575]

Drazen's city is Sibenik. Šibenik is an old Croatian royal town from at least 9 centuries, with 2 National Parks (Krka and Kornati) and about a hundred islands. Šibenik is the first city in Europe to receive electric lighting, and the second in the world 🌞 🇭🇷

[@igorsvacic217]

Dražen really was like a damn pop star here in Croatia, Yugoslavia back then. His popularity exceeded WAAAAY out of normal athletes. Way out. Actually beside him, I know only one another athlete that was that loved all over Yugoslavia, and thats also late boxer Mate Parlov. Perhaps, only perhaps, football player Dragan Piksi Stojković was close also. But than again, the mere fact that he came from football says he wasnt loved that much and without any hesitation across whole country. Since football is really something different here, something that brings an ocean of emotions, so, him playing for Red Star is just too big of an obstacle to be loved by the supporters of Hajduk, Partizan, Dinamo etc. Dražen Petrović and Mate Parlov, (Dražen being more popular) were only two guys loved all across Yugoslavia. I was 13 when Dražen died, and I, as a kid that young, on top of that one who didnt liked basketball that much, remember also exactly where I was and all that sorrow, shock, and unbelievement all over the country. Life flies by captain, rest in peace

[@BobSaint]

Sorry, but Dražen was never near the popularity Kukoč had across Yugoslavia. There's a video on YT where on the burst of civil war Toni gets a standing ovation from Belgrade fans. Dražen though, we loved to hate him.

[@Undrafted_Jkyle]

It broke my heart seeing Vlade visiting Dražen's grave in that 30 for 30 documentary.

[@xtiantv6631]

Talent makes up only 1% and all the rest work work work , ahh drazen you make me motivated you're truly a LEGEND not for croatians but to those people who really work hard to achieve their goals 🙏

[@colincowherdfs1556]

Amazing job VICE sports on this over-seas basketball piece

[@bdl2546]

Fuck off Colin you know nothing about basketball unless its about lebron

[@dragonfilms7527]

dragin was a genius basketball player... tough as nails too.

[@yukosarka6559]

VICE Sports pozdrav dali možda imate kakvih rijetkih videozapisa od stare ex yu košarke od šibenke

[@vubala2]

Great Video !

[@senadbytyqi8470]

Nazalost nema kapetana i najboli igrac svih vremena

[@indianviking6940]

thank you vice ❤

[@karlmarapao6912]

They should do a story for Basketball in the Philippines since we have an NBA pro in Jordan Clarkson representing the Philippine National Team. I think basketball is a way of life in the Philippines.

[@ibeg1951]

How great was drazen??? Imagine 17 year old lebron that is playing for cleveland in the finals of nba against celtics or lakers and he has 2 free throws in the last second..the score is +1 for celtics...he needs to score both to win the championship. Would he make it? Would todays lebron make it under such pressure. Well 17 year old drazen made those free throws. That was just the begining of his legend In todays game drazen would avarage 40 points no problem.

[@marks4553]

15:48 Didn't know his dad Jack BLack

[@milosobrenovic1241]

Drazen wasn't just a player that changed NBA forever, he was the player who after only two years of playing set some NBA records and made greatest NBA superstars sweat when play against him. USA arrogantly takes the position of the world in basketball but out of the USA it was Drazen Petrovic who was the world before MJ. Everybody wanted to play basketball because of him. Today kids don't know that.

[@lukaja1506]

Mozzart of basketball

[@leovigildosalom317]

I love this guy he dropped 31 on Jordan

[@intersanctum]

44

[@tubenachos]

He was the Croatian version of Kobe Bryant

[@tubenachos]

Before he died at 28 I already had him the 3rd best SG behind Jordan and Drexler. He played only 4 NBA seasons, he was that good.

[@lorencpepdjonovic63]

niko ne priča za Bojana Bogdanovića , ja mislim da je on najbolji Hrvat trenutno u NBA ligi

[@deadarmd]

Miss Dario in Philly :(

[@CkbetterTV]

this one is fantastic

[@heyjorn2461]

It's hard to be better than Petro

[@high-defRJ]

The way Drazen is portrayed in his home country is just like MJ is in USA. No wonder why Jordan loved going against him and also hated to go against too.

[@andyvelasquez9488]

Dario is good but not Drazen good!!!

[@republikadugave420]

Drazen was a pure scorer and a killer while dario is all around player...better defender, better passer...

[@combatenthusiast6297]

Different platstyles, Drazen was a shooter

[@gospaironija2762]

hahaha i am not Croatian but to even talk about Saric as he is anywhere close to Drazen is beyond me!

[@republikadugave420]

@@gospaironija2762 saric has same stats as toni kukoc in his second year... Dont hate... He could average 20 and 10

[@dzonikg]

Dario would not be in first 12 if Yugoslavia is together..so many better players

[@thciswack99]

Dope narrating job from 12y

[@pallmeezy1461]

Real hoop fans know ab Drazen, he was going to be a legend!! Absolute bucket

[@kataotr3816]

Greatness...

[@Valentin_Vranjes]

Older generation of Croatian basketball players had commitment to give back something to nation. But newer generation, not so much. Yes, its nice thing to have many Croatian players in NBA, but that's nice only for them. It's blame and shame how national team played in last 20 years on each and every competition. Each player has own goals considering his career, don't give too much fuck about national team. And I'm not talking about playing for national team, I'm talking about effort while playing for national team.

[@senadbytyqi8470]

On je bio najveci ko letici avon voleo sam njegov stil i njegove trice

[@draneel009]

is this a re-upload? cuz i swear to God I watched this video like a couple of years ago.

[@gabrielv92]

It's narrated by asap twelvyy

[@J_ro_shows]

The music that starts at the 3:00 link it

[@dixienormus6167]

Perfect timing for the start of the season 76rs vs Celtics tonight!!

[@delprieststokes5502]

The original Lucka Doncic

[@wiseogjc370]

I love this documentary, so well made and such a great story. Drazen Petrovic is a legend, not mythical, but a prominent and storied figure of Croatian basketball. I recommend also watching the documentary "Once Brothers" from the 30 for 30 ESPN series.

[@unknownguy1147]

PG:Dražen SG:Divac SF:Kukoč PF:Šarić C:Rađa

[@zagrepcanin82]

do not forget that greatest basketball club in the history of the sport is from Croatia!

[@elfenomeno6883]

not just in basketball, we are vice champions of the world in football too ( Russia 2018) ,so you have to love us ;)

[@cediemina4528]

you can see Drazen in the image of LUCA DONCIC in today's NBA

[@pacman911]

They just need play8ng time,same thing happend with Sarunas when they give him time he put good numbers,he would be better if they give him the time to play since he got to nba

[@babobereta]

Great video about basketball in Croatia, just one thing you missed, no mention of Bojan Bogdanović, by far the best Croatian player of the 21st century (for sure better than Dario Šarić) and his playing style is much more similar to Dražen Petrović. Šarić is more of an all around type of player ( even though he is not elite in any of these categories he can rebound, he can pass, he can shoot and is a big hustler, he is kind of a glue guy for the team who can do a bit of everything and always gives 100%) while Bogdanović is a great scorer (just like Dražen was) and is a 3 point sniper (just like Dražen was).

[@akvalues]

I WISH YOU YOUNG GUYS COULD HAVE SEEN HIM.. EVEN JORDAN HAD HIS HANDS FULL WITH THIS CAT!

[@krunoslavbrekalo3792]

Dražen is no 1 👍

[@nikolamadunic4691]

Najveci

[@senadbytyqi8470]

Ja sam bio klinac kad je igrao car kosarke drazen

[@galehess6676]

Every Croatian and Serb I know is a gamer, hardest working athletes and business people on the planet. Maybe they survived years of losing family to ethnic murders, maybe we should live a little differently in the US

[@giobronskij8249]

Imagine what would happen to global sports if the former Yugoslav republics were to play as one national team

[@shaunibabe1]

They would be third behind USA and greece

[@hugoking9778]

This is the future of basketball players and coaching, position-less.

[@jurefrancetic9964]

Saricu svaka cast imas uspjesnog sina , ali nemoj NIKADA ga stsvljat u istu recenicu sa drazenom jer ti se ljudi smiju. On je prosjecan igrac i ja ga volim ali budimo realni drazenu nemoze ni lopte skupljat

[@osamabindom3607]

Twelvyy!