https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/kings/why-kings-vlade-divacs-hall-fame-enshrinement-long-overdueThe Serbian-born 7-footer is one of just seven players in NBA history to record more than 13,000 points, 9,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists and 1,500 blocks. The other seven players are either in the Hall of Fame, or likely will be heading there when they become eligible.
Divac concluded his 14-year NBA career following the 2004-05 season. He averaged 11.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists over 1,134 regular season games.
While his NBA totals are very good, they only tell a small portion of Divac’s impact on the sport.
As a teenager, Divac joined a talented group of young stars on the Yugoslavian National team in 1988. Prior to the split of Yugoslavia, Divac, along with Dino Radja, Toni Kukoc, Drazen Petrovic and Zarko Paspalj, took the international stage by storm.
“It was a great group of guys that each other better,” Divac told ESPN on Saturday following the announcement. “A lot of those guys made it to the NBA.”
Yugoslavia made it all the way to the gold medal game in Seoul, Korea, before falling to Arvydas Sabonis, Sarunas Marciulionis and their Soviet Union teammates by a final of 76-63. This was only the beginning for this squad.
Over his time playing for either the Yugoslavian or Serbian national teams, Divac took home EuroBasket gold medals in 1989, 1991 and 1995, as well as gold medals at the FIBA World Championship in 1990 and 2002.