Historical questions, former Yugoslavia basketball geniuses!

In 1991, Croatia, one of the six republics of Yugoslavia, declared independence, which directly led to a war with Serbia. From a political and historical perspective, the reasons for this war are quite complicated, but from a sports perspective, this turmoil directly hit the national team hard, especially affecting the two basketball superstars.

Drazen Petrovic is a Croatian, while Vlad Divac is a Serbian. Both of them entered the NBA in 1989, but due to the influence of the war, the two of them gradually drifted away and lost the opportunity to rebuild the old. Peterlovic played for the Trail Blazers and the Nets during the NBA. He left the NBA after the 1992-93 season, but died in a car accident in June 1993 at the age of 28.

Now, players from the Balkans are gradually becoming the backbone of the NBA, with representatives headed by Jokic from Serbia and Doncic from Slovenia. Others such as Zubac and Saric from Croatia and Bogdanovic from Serbia, also have a very stable career.

Previously, there were also people such as Golan Dragic (Slovenia), Boban Maljanovic (Serbia), and they also chose to retire after spending a long time in the league.

For these players, they were either young when the war broke out or were born after the war. Unlike their predecessors, this generation of players seemed to have no previous grudges under the shared experience of the United States. Now there is no more division and discrimination between these players, but instead reflects a special friendship originating from the Balkans.

Previously, reporter Mike Singer published a biography of Jokic, which specifically mentioned that after entering the NBA, these players not only have no special barriers, but instead maintain contact with each other through various means, such as playing online games online, and a fixed dinner in the quarantine park in 2020, etc. Compared with the seniors who have broken relationships, the relationship between these junior players is particularly strong.

Chicago Bulls center Vucevic played for the 76ers, Magic and Bulls in his career. He is the core backbone player among the Balkan players of his time. He was born in Switzerland in 1990 and has Montenegro descent and is about to celebrate his 35th birthday. He had little memory of war, and even if there was, he was unwilling to talk about anything more.

In a post-match interview with a away game to Philadelphia, Vucevic was asked a related question by reporters, and then he directly stated:

"That is a sad history, a part of our history, and war never brings any good things. But as athletes, we never talk about that history, and we don't even recall it."

Before the interview, the Bulls defeated the 76ers 122-102, and a man named Dako Zeletovitch appeared in the Chicago Bulls' locker room. He was born in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but he lived in New York for 20 years. Because of his special identity, he also talked about the story of Divac and Petrovic in an interview with reporters:

"They grew up together and played ball together, but politics split them, causing them to be reluctant to talk to each other, and they were full of resentment during the war. Fans will comment: Why do you communicate with people from that hostile camp?"

And borrowed Vucevic's answer:

"It's different now, and there is a natural relationship between Balkan boys nowadays. Yes, I think this is special. From the Balkans to the United States and to the best basketball league in the world, this feeling is really unique. "

Vucevic, who played in the NBA for 15 seasons, has lived in the United States for 18 years. He lived in Belgium as a child. Later, he returned to Montenegro to start his basketball dream, then went to California Preparatory School, and then transferred to Southern California University to play college basketball for three years until he was selected by the 76ers with the 16th pick in the NBA draft in 2011.

Judging from the NBA trajectory, Vucevic's rookie season was not smooth. Under coach Doug Collins, his rotation position was quite unstable. Later, he became part of the four-party deal and was sent to Orlando, while Philadelphia received Bynum. The deal also became a turning point in Vucevic's career. After being traded, Vucevic has been able to contribute steadily double-double data every season. This season is his fourth full season with the Bulls, averaging 18.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per game, and a career average of 17.2 points and 10.5 rebounds.

Earlier in the 2015-16 season, Nikola Jokic ushered in his rookie season. When the two met in Denver for the first time, Jokic's brother arranged a meeting between them, hoping that Jokic in the newcomer stage could keep in touch with Vucevic. After all, the two came from the same region and had similar playing styles.

Now Jokic has won three MVP trophys and is constantly improving towards the future Hall of Fame. As for Vucevic, although he is gradually beginning to decline, he is still a crucial core link for the team and is the key signing target of many championship teams.