Welcome to LWOS Basketball department “NBA Time Traveler Series,” the column that imagines which retired player from an NBA franchise one would most want to travel back in time to see them play again in their prime. The LWOS Basketball department will review each of the 30 NBA franchises and which retired player would be their “NBA Time Traveler Player.”
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Time Travel to See Drazen Petrovic Play for the New Jersey Nets Again
Drazen Petrovic only played three seasons for the Nets, but he has gone down as one of the most memorable and exciting players in their franchise’s history. Petrovic was an elite three point shooter filled with bursting energy, which was much harder to find in the early ’90s than it is in today’s game. Before coming to the NBA in the late ’80s, Petrovic was a very successful player in Europe, where he won two silver medals and one bronze medal in the Olympics. Once he announced that he was leaving Europe for the NBA, pundits were skeptical as to how well his game would transfer over. After two subpar seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers to kick off his career, there was little proof that Petrovic could thrive in the NBA. However, once he arrived in the swamps of New Jersey, Petrovic immediately became a fan favorite and a star in the making. In his first full season as a Net, he averaged 20.6 points per game while shooting 50.8% from the field and 44.9% from beyond the arc. The next season? Even better. He averaged 22.3 points per game on 51.8% from the field and 44.9% from three point territory. In both of those seasons, he helped lead the Nets to playoff births. There was no doubt that Petrovic was a star on the rise. He had an infectious energy and enthusiasm on the court that always ignited the crowd. Imagine Klay Thompson playing in the ’90s, but with a European flavor and much more personality on the court. There are plenty of Nets fans that claim the only reason they watched the team in the early ’90s was because of him – he was that much fun to watch. The most memorable image that best defines Petrovic is the photo him running back on defense with both arms raised miraculously in the air, which he often did after nailing a three pointer.
A former teammate of Petrovic, Sam Bowie, once said, “Even if you were a fan of another team, you couldn’t root against him, you had to be impressed by him.” That quote speaks for itself – Petrovic was a lovable character in the NBA.
After so much success the previous two seasons, Drazen Petrovic, who was still just 28 years old, figured to have an extremely bright basketball career ahead of him. To the disappointment and shock of basketball fans in Europe and the United States, Drazen Petrovic had died in a fatal car crash on June 7, 1993. He was in Germany visiting his girlfriend when a truck crashed into the vehicle he was the passenger of. Basketball fans would never have the privilege of watching Drazen Petrovic play again, nor would Petrovic ever be able to bring his contagious level of energy and passion to the basketball court again, which was an extremely tough pill for basketball fans to swallow.
His #3 will hang in the rafters of Barclays Center forever, just as he will always remain in our hearts.
Rest in peace, Drazen Petrovic.
Main Photo via Getty Images
