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Drazen Petrovic's final words to the NBA: 'I proved everything I had to prove'

Drazen Petrovic and Willow Bay stand, the Statue of Liberty behind them, in Hoboken, N.J. circa 1991. (Bruce Bennett-NBAE-Getty Images)

The following is an excerpt from "DRAZEN: The Remarkable Life & Legacy of the Mozart of Basketball," by Australian author Todd Spehr, a new book about the late, great former Portland Trail Blazers and New Jersey Nets guard Drazen Petrovic that hit bookshelves Monday, March 30. It's available for order here and here. On Monday, we shared a passage about a memorable matchup between petrovic and Indiana Pacers star Reggie Miller.

Here, Spehr looks at Petrovic’s final NBA game, an elimination playoff contest on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 9, 1993. Petrovic was playing with a 35 percent tear of the exterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, and with unresolved, dragged-out contract negotiations with the New Jersey Nets hanging overhead, the aftermath of Game 5 against the Cavs presented intriguing uncertainty about the next direction his career would take.

What happened in the moments following what would turn out to be Petrovic’s final NBA game shocked those who were present.

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The front and back cover of 'Drazen.' (Image via Todd Spehr)
The front and back cover of 'Drazen.' (Image via Todd Spehr)

Petrovic played little in the first half after picking up two quick fouls, and even in the second half, with a fresh start, he could not find the rhythm on his shot. His knee betrayed him first, and then, his jump shot. He simply could not get the space he needed against the defensive combination of Gerald Wilkins and Craig Ehlo (Petrovic attempted just six 3-pointers for the entire five-game series, a number that best outlined his lack of space). The two held Petrovic to just 2-for-8 shooting from the field through a large portion of the game. He did break free late, hitting two jumpers that dragged the Nets within eight with 90 seconds remaining, but it essentially did little more than tidy up his final line — 11 points on 4-for-10 from the field. Cleveland won by 10, claiming the series 3-2, and finishing New Jersey’s season.

Minutes after the game ended, the doors to the Nets locker room opened and the media entered. Petrovic was usually the first target of the reporters for two reasons: he was always quickest to shower and he was always honest with his comments. His candor with the reporters impressed John Brennan of the Record. There were, on occasion, nights even as the team was improving where the Nets reverted to being the Nets, and the players were often reluctant to talk. But Petrovic, Brennan felt, was always open and honest, sometimes while the rest of the locker room was silent.

The reporters gathered around Petrovic as he dressed. It quickly became obvious that his emotions — the contract and injury and frustration — finally reached a boiling point.

“I'm not staying in the NBA. Maybe this is my last game for the Nets,” he opened, shocking the writers, who were forced to adjust their line of questioning from the just-completed game to Petrovic’s future. Someone asked Petrovic about Europe. He said he was 95 percent sure he was going back. Another asked about his contract playing out.

Drazen Petrovic drives against John 'Hot Rod' Williams of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 1993 Eastern Conference Semifinals. (Lou Capozzola/NBAE/Getty Images)
Drazen Petrovic drives against John 'Hot Rod' Williams of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 1993 Eastern Conference Semifinals. (Lou Capozzola/NBAE/Getty Images)

“The Nets took their chance but they waited too long. It's about respect. I can't stand someone saying one thing and doing another. I was ready to sign last summer, in July. They came with an offer in early March. I was waiting seven months. That's too late.”

What was unusual about Petrovic’s comments, Brennan thought, was their timing.

“It was almost as if, as soon as the game was over, he was in off-season mode,” Brennan noted. “Some players take days or weeks to get there, and he was there in minutes. As soon as the game was over, he realized his American career, at least for a few years, might be over. Here we were, 15 minutes after the game, and he was venting about it, how unfair it was — it was utterly out of character for him. Not the intensity, or the bluntness, but just the topic, using those characteristics with that topic was unexpected and startling. I would’ve been less surprised had it happened the next day or after.”

Petrovic was upset and not finished talking. He had shown patience and passiveness all season long when pressed about his contract, but it seemed that he could no longer keep his feelings in check. He continued on by openly wondering who other than Derrick Coleman and Kenny Anderson would be back in New Jersey next season. He was critical of management’s past mistakes, such as trading Mookie Blaylock, not re-signing Terry Mills, and bungling Chris Dudley’s negotiations. He then spoke about how he sacrificed by playing hurt, even when his contract was up in the air and his bargaining power could have been compromised by poor play.

In the locker room that afternoon, Petrovic did not appear a man at peace with his NBA life.

“I proved everything I had to prove in the NBA,” were among his final words to the writers, before stopping himself, getting his things and walking down the hallway toward the team bus and out of Richfield Coliseum.

Drazen Petrovic, the league’s first great European player, was to never again set foot inside an NBA arena.