One story, one career: Vlade Divac
The King's goodbye - You can do it too!
We spent the nights with NBA matches, crying and cheering each point
achieved in the golden era of our national basketball team, former
Yugoslavia,
today Serbia. Those things are unknown to today's kids, because to
be together with the biggest world basketball stars, to pave the way
for the Europeans and non-Americans to the NBA, and even to be one
of the idols of world audience among the players whose greatness makes
you get goose-pimples. Not everyone can do that. Only the chosen ones
can. Vlade Divac could
By MILOS JEREMIC
from Belgrade, SERBIA
Vlade Divac was born on 3rd of February 1968 in Prijepolje, Serbia.
He started his basketball career in Kraljevo's Sloga and continued
in Belgrade's Partizan. In the year of 1989 he went to the NBA, set
sails in 'the city of angels', continued in the Charlotte Hornets,
became one of the Sacramento Kings, so that he could take his finals
basketball steps in the place where famous Magic Johnson showed him
how to fight against the black skinned magicians with the orange ball
almost 20 years ago - in Los Angeles.
He says that his dearest medal is the one from Indianapolis from the
World Championship 2002. Just at the place where basketball was invented
by the end of 19th century, the former Yugoslavia won a golden medal
and left behind, in golden dust, such great players as teams from
Argentina, Spain and the home team USA.
Actually,
the main hero of this story played only one game properly. Even if
he had done nothing else in his career but that quarter-final
game against the hosts, it would have been more than enough. Never
before or after that beautiful evening in the arena Conseco Field
house had we seen Divac in such an appearance. He made the opponents
go mad, flew all over the court, caused fouls, filled the basket of
the Americans in the first half-time, so the cold-bloodedness in the
final penal-roulette was only a logical and expected execution.
A great sport player has left, a greater man has
returned. By his humanitarian activity 'You can do it too', held in
the capital of Serbia - Belgrade, and Prijepolje - the place of birth
of Divac, the end of a shining career was marked. And speaking of
the great basketball players present - Lithuanian Marciullonis, former
Sacramento players Greg Pollard and Chris Weber, Glen Rice and famous
coach Greg Popovich, Yannakis and Fassoulas, together with the 'dragons'
of Yugoslav basketball Toni Kukoc, Aleksandar Djordjevic, Predrag
Danilovic and Zarko Paspalj. They came to honour the great person.
Because Vlade Divac has earned that.
As well as all of us who spent the nights with NBA matches, who cried
and cheered each point achieved in the golden era of our national
basketball team, former Yugoslavia, today Serbia. Those things are
unknown to today's kids, because to be together with the biggest world
basketball stars, to pave the way for the Europeans and non-Americans
to the NBA, and even to be one of the idols of world audience among
the players whose greatness makes you get goose-pimples- Jordan, Johnson,
Jabbar... Not everyone can do that. Only the chosen ones can. Vlade
Divac could that.
(Published: 10.10.2007.)
Send your comments
