Basketball Career
He began playing basketball in his home town Prijepolje for the team KK Elan. He began his professional career in Yugoslavia playing for KK Sloga from Kraljevo, and was immediately noted for scoring 27 points against KK Crvena zvezda. In summer 1986, he was the top star of the transfer season, signing for KK Partizan for DM14,000.
In the same year, at age 18, he debuted for the senior Yugoslavia national basketball team in the 1986 FIBA World Championship in Madrid, on invitation by the selector Krešimir Ćosić. However, the excellent rookie's performance was spoiled by the event in the semi-finals against Soviet Union. 45 seconds before the end, Yugoslavia had a comfortable lead of 9 points, but Soviets scored two three-pointers within a few seconds and cut the difference to 3 points. Yugoslavia tried to hold the ball for the remaining time, opting to continue the play with throw-ins instead of free throws following fouls, but with only 14 seconds left, Divac committed a double dribble, the Soviets were awarded the ball, and tied the score with another three-pointer. In the overtime, the Soviets easily prevailed against the shocked Yugoslavs, who had to be content with the bronze.
The next year, Divac participated in the team that took the gold at the FIBA Junior World Championship (since split into separate under-19 and under-21 events) in Bormio, Italy. That event launched the young generation of Yugoslavian basketballers, also featuring stars like Dino Rađa and Toni Kukoč, regarded as likely the best in history. Before the breakup of Yugoslavia, they would also take the titles at EuroBasket 1989 and the 1990 FIBA World Championship in Argentina, where they were led by Dražen Petrović, as well as the EuroBasket 1991 title, with Aleksandar Đorđević at point guard.
In 1987, with Divac, Đorđević, Paspalj, Obradović, and Dušan Vujošević at the helm, Partizan had a "dream team", which took the Yugoslavian league title, but failed to reach the Euroleague top the next season, having lost to Maccabi Tel Aviv from Israel in the semi-finals in Belgian Ghent. Jugoplastika with Rađa and Kukoč was a stronger team in the subsequent 3 years, reigning both in Yugoslavia and in Europe.
Divac had an unusual style for centers of the time: despite the height, he possessed good mobility, had good control of the ball and was a good shooter from distance. On occasion, he would also act as a playmaker. His trademark moves included a midrange shot at the top of the key and flip shots around the rim while facing the complete opposite direction. His quirky moves complemented how he liked playing gags on the field: in the 1989 Eurobasket, he lifted teammate Zoran Radović for a slam dunk. In just 4 professional seasons in Europe, he became the most sought-after tall player in the continent after Arvydas Sabonis.
When Yugoslavia won the gold in the 1990 FIBA World Championship, fans rushed the court. One of them was holding a Croatian flag, one of the six republics that made up Yugoslavia. Divac claims that he told the man that he should not be waving that flag, since this was a win for Yugoslavia. Divac claims the man made a derogatory remark about the Yugoslav flag, at which point Divac took his flag from him. This happened during a very tense time where nationalistic pride was threatening to tear Yugoslavia apart and ignite a war. The taking of the flag made Divac a hero to Serbs, and a villain to Croatians. Divac has stated that he did not mean it as an act against Croatia and he would have taken away a Serbian flag if a Serb fan had done the same.
This action, along with the Yugoslav Wars, alienated Divac from many of his former Croatian friends, particularly Dražen Petrović, whom he considered his best friend. When Yugoslavia won EuroBasket 1995, and Croatia won bronze, Croatia, still at war with Serbs from Croatia (sponsored by Yugoslavia), walked off the podium during the medal ceremony. The teams never faced each other in the tournament.
Read more about this topic: Vlade Divac
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