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The emotions keep on coming for Goran Dragic. He only just finished a historic and emotional feat of leading his country to its first ever major international championship with victory at EuroBasket. Shortly after, he announced his retirement from international play.
As a gift for Dragic’s achievement, the mother of the late Drazen Petrovic gave the Slovenian a New Jersey Nets jersey of his son. Dragic was clearly overcome with emotions, as he explained why to Slovenian site Siol (as translated by Sportando):
Article Continues Below“It is one of the most beautiful gifts I’ve ever received in my life” Dragic told Siol. “He was my idol. We all know what he did for Yugoslavia and the basketball world. It was a great honor for me to wear the jersey number three.”
Goran Dragic got a special present from Petrovic’s mother.
Drazen jersey no.3 of the Nets.
And Dragic broke in tears https://t.co/eMsLSI3Rbx pic.twitter.com/3gpwNFeiFl— Sportando (@Sportando) September 19, 2017
For kids growing up in the former nations of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, Drazen Petrovic was basically Michael Jordan. He was an outstanding player who made it all the way to the NBA. He averaged over 20 points per game in his two full seasons with the Nets and shot a terrific 44 percent on three-pointers.
Sadly, Petrovic died in 1993 in a car accident in Germany while driving back from EuroBasket. However, his memory has lived on through the likes of Dragic, who wore Petrovic’s No. 3 for Slovenia during their championship run at this year's EuroBasket.
With his achievements at this summer's tournament, though, Dragic now deserves to be placed alongside his boyhood hero as one of the basketball greats of the region.
