Vlade Divac, Serbia | Player Profiles by Interbasket (original) (raw)

InterBasket > Player Profiles > Vlade Divac, Serbia >talk From Nba.com: Vlade�s wedding to Ana was attended by over 1000 people. Vlade and his wife have two sons and an adopted daughter from Belgrade, Yugoslavia, his hometown. They founded the "Divac Fund" through the St. John Foundation to help raise money for children affected by the war in Yugoslavia. He enjoys music, his favorite groups being the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Rolling Stones. Divac was a guest on Larry King Live, a popular TV-talk show in the US, and The Tonight Show in 1999. He has appeared in the movies "Eddie" and "Driving Me Crazy" and the TV shows "Coach" and "Married With Children." Divac has appeared in numerous television spots and this season, 2003-4, will appear in an international television commercial promoting TNT on NBA broadcasts. Although he never played college ball, Divac put in five pro seasons in his home country before joining the Lakers in 1989. He left home at age 12 to pursue a basketball career, and at 16 he had signed a professional contract with Sloga, for whom he played two years.

In the 1988 Seoul Olympics, he averaged 11.7 points and 6.5 rebounds as a Yugoslavian team that also featured Drazen Petrovic, Dino Radja, and Toni Kukoc took the silver medal. He competed against the Boston Celtics in the 1988 McDonald's Open. At 16 he had signed a professional contract with Sloga, for whom he played two years. He moved on to Partizan and averaged 20.0 points and 11.0 rebounds over a three-year stretch. Divac led the Yugoslavian Junior Team to a gold medal at the 1985 World University Games. The Lakers made Divac a first-round NBA draft pick only days after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played his last NBA game. Needless to say, Los Angeles needed immediate help at center from its Yugoslavian rookie. Divac responded with 8.5 points and 6.2 rebounds in 19.6 minutes per game, shooting .499 from the field. For his efforts, he was rewarded with a berth on the NBA All-Rookie First Team. An iron-man even in his senior basketball years, Divac and A. C. Green were the only Lakers to appear in all 82 games in 1989-90. He scored a season-high 25 points against the Sacramento Kings on January 15 and had a season-high 14 rebounds versus the Miami Heat on January 7. He is now a key member of the Sacramento Kings.

Владе Дивац Profile

Name: Vlade Divac (VLAH-day DEE-vats)
Nickname: Vlade Dadi
Born: February 02, 1968
Status: Retired
Origin: Prijepolje, Yugoslavia
Height: 7'1/2,16m
Weight: 260lbs/117,9kg
Schools: N/A
Drafted: 1989, First Round, 26th pick by the Los Angeles Lakers
Languages: Serbian, English
Website: Divac.net & InterBasket
Teams (jersey): Yugoslavian National Team (12), Sloga Kraljevo, KK Partizan Belgrade, Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte Hornets (12), Sacramento Kings (21), IBN Dream Team (First Team)
Ibn Notes: Ibn Facts: In 1991, FIBA listed their 50 Greatest Playersand Vlade Divac was included on this list. He found himself alongside other international basketball legends Arvydas Sabonis, Nikos Galis, Dino Meneghin, Juan Antonio Corbalan, Oscar Schmidt, Andrew Gaze, Teo Cruz, Sergei Belov, Drazen Petrovic, Modestas Paulauskas, Toni Kukoc, Alexander Volkov, and Fernando Martin among others... Only one of three NBA players, along with legends**Hakeem Olajuwon**and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, as the only players in NBA history to accumulate 13,000 points, 9,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists and 1,500 blocked shots.

From Fiba.com: "In 1989, the Yugoslavs assembled all of their �golden generation� in what would turn into a 3-year dominance of world basketball (European titles in 1989 and 1990 and a World Championship in 1991).

Coached by Dusan Ivkovic and led on the court by Drazen Petrovic, Yugoslavia also counted on Predrag Danilovic, Vlade Divac,Toni Kukoc,Stojan Vrankovic, Zoran Radovic, Juri Zdovc,Zarko Paspalj, Z Cutura and M Primorac in what was an embarrassment of basketball riches.

The championship was reduced from 12 to 8 teams, but as Drazen Petrovic predicted before the championship, the only team that could beat Yugoslavia was themselves.

Yugoslavia had little trouble progressing to the semi-final stage and in fact the interesting action came from the other group. Champions Greece were under pressure to show that they could perform outside their home country and they did so in style in the semi-finals. As in 1987, the Soviet Union stood in their way and once again, they beat them by 1 point, 81-80.

There was really only one way the final could go and that was victory for Yugoslavia. The home side had little trouble beating Greece and the 98-76 scoreline reflected their dominance. Petrovic finished the game with 28 points and was also elected tournament MVP."