Remembering NBA star Drazen ‘Mozart’ Petrovic 30 years after his tragic death

The 7th of June marks the 30^th anniversary of which former European NBA star Drazen Petrovic passed away in a car accident aged 28.

Earning the nickname 'Mozart' for his artistry and flair on the offensive end, Petrovic was a trailblazer in European basketball and continued to wow fans for his short stint in the NBA.

The NBA wasn't like it what it is today, dominated by Europeans Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, and Luka Doncic. 'Petro' was the first modern European player to show America that European players can dominate at the highest level.

Before joining the NBA at the end of the 80s, Petrovic was the best player in Europe. In one game for Smelt Olympia in 1985, he scored 112 points in a 158-77 victory.

Petrovic's brilliance came around the time of the USA 1992 'Dream Team,' who stole the show at the Barcelona Olympic Games. Both can be credited for highlighting the sport on global bases and creating a blueprint for success in the NBA for Europeans.

In four seasons in the NBA, the Croatian averaged over 15 points a game in the NBA, and if it weren't for his premature death in 1993, the good he could have done for the global game would have been gigantic.

Portland Trail Blazers executive Bucky Buckwalter was formulating a vision inspired by the talent he had seen for international basketball stars from his time coaching the Brazilian National team.

Buckwalter shocked the NBA, drafting Lithuanian Arvydas Sabonis and Yugoslav Drazen Petrovic, selecting 'Petro' as the 60^th pick in round three.

When he eventually joined the NBA in 1989 after a spell with Real Madrid, Petrovic was part of the so-called 'Green Card Five,' possessing Petrovic and four Eastern European players Vlade Divac, Sarunas Marciulionis, Zarko Paspalj, and Alexander Volkov.

Each player brought their style of steely European basketball, possessing the skill, hard-nosed defense, and ferocity on both ends of the floor. The talent each showed helped birth the 'Euro Step,' a commonly used move today.

Drazen Petrovic wouldn't take long to reach the summit, playing in the 1990 NBA Finals for the Blazers in a loss to the Detroit Pistons. He averaged 12.6 minutes per game as a rookie, scoring 7.6 points per game on 46% from three-point range.

The highly skilled European had the objective of becoming a franchise player and decided to move to the New Jersey Nets in 1991 due to the lack of game time in Portland.

Petrovic became the franchise guy with the New Jersey Nets, averaging 20.6 points per game in the 1991-92 season, hitting 44% of his three-point attempts, showcasing a Steph Curry ability before Steph Curry.

His final season before his tragic death was the 1992-1993 season, where he jumped to a career-high of 22.3 points per game, helping New Jersey to their first winning season in eight years.

Across his four seasons in the NBA, his career three-point percentage was 43.7%, ranking the third-best three-point percentage in NBA history. According to The Athletic, NBA Hall of Famer Reggie Miller said: 'He was the best shooter he had played against.'

Petrovic died on a German Autobahn on the 7^th of June 1993, sparking an immense outpouring of grief in Croatia, where the people saw him as a national hero and symbol of pride during the war-torn years there.

His legacy in basketball still lives on, with four of the last five NBA MVPs being born in Europe and the game being so three-point heavy. Now, 30 years later, it's important to remember the 'Mozart' of basketball.