Vernon Maxwell, a two-time NBA champion with the Houston Rockets, still has nightmares about guarding an all-time Nets great from the 1990s.
One matchup throughout Maxwell’s 13 years in the league presented more problems than even the GOAT could. 1984 Florida Mr. Basketball says Nets legend Drazen Petrovic, who played in New Jersey from 1991-1993, was the decade’s impossible assignment, harder to contain than any other Hall of Fame guard of his time and the most underrated player he ever faced on the hardwood.
“Never seen nothing like him before,” Maxwell said during a recent episode of All The Smoke. “I’d rather guard motherf***** Black Jesus, Michael Jordan, than guard [Petrovic].”
Maxwell admitted the frustration of guarding Petrovic was uncontainable, as the Croatian crafted his skill down to a virtually unstoppable science.
Much of Petrovic’s trickery haunts Maxwell at the mere thought, especially his iconic ball fakes.
“He had that sh*t down to a tee,” Maxwell recalled. “He would f*** you up with that. He was killing my a** with that."
Petrovic played four seasons in the NBA before his life tragically ended in a car accident on June 7, 1993, at the age of 28. Later that same year, his No. 3 jersey was retired by the Nets.
Petrovic, a 1992-93 All-NBA selection, was posthumously added to both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2002) and the FIBA Hall of Fame (2007), acknowledged for his remarkable influence as an elite international sensation.
Drazen Petrovic notable career achievements
- All-NBA Third Team (1993)
- 2× EuroLeague champion (1985, 1986)
- EuroLeague Finals Top Scorer (1985)
- FIBA World Championship MVP (1986)
- FIBA EuroBasket MVP (1989)
- Best Athlete of Yugoslavia (1985)
- Yugoslav Sportsman of the Year (1985)
- Croatian Sportsman of the Year (1985, 1986)
- FIBA's 50 Greatest Players (1991)
- 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors (2008)
- No. 3 retired by Brooklyn Nets
- No. 10 retired by Cibona
Petrovic also won the Euroscar European Player of the Year Award four times (1986, 1989, 1992, 1993) and received the Olympic Order in 1993, an individual honor given to those who embody the Olympic ideal and contribute to the overall development of sport.
Drazen Petrovic NBA career statistics
- Games: 290 (149 starts)
- Points: 4,461 (15.4 ppg)
- Rebounds: 669 (2.3 rpg)
- Assists: 701 (2.4 apg)
During the 1992-93 campaign, he posted career highs in points (22.3), assists (3.5) and steals (1.3) per game, in addition to free throw attempts (5.2), field goal attempts (16.2), free throw percentage (87%) and field goal percentage (51.8%).
Petrovic averaged 19.5 points, 2.9 assists and 2.8 rebounds through 195 appearances with New Jersey, all 149 of his NBA starts on the Nets.