It was 30 years ago today that Croatia’s legendary basketball player, Dražen Petrović, was killed in a car crash in Germany. This week, Croatia has been remembering its sporting hero, with 3x3 tournaments across the country and a commemorative mural unveiled in Karlovac.
Twice an Olympic silver medallist, once for Yugoslavia and for Croatia in 1992, the Šibenik-born shooting guard was contracted to New Jersey Nets at the time of his death at 28. A statue of Petrović stands outside his own museum in Zagreb, alongside the Cibona club where he played before going to Madrid. Flowers have also been laid at the statue of a young Dražen Petrović in Šibenik, where the final of the 3x3 tournament will take place in August.