Vlade Divac (Serbian Cyrillic:Владе Дивац,pronounced[ʋlǎːdedǐːʋats]; born February 3, 1968) is a Serbian professionalbasketball executive and a former player who was most recently the vice president of basketball operations and general manager of theSacramento Kings of theNational Basketball Association (NBA).
At 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m),[1] Divac playedcenter and, unlike many centers, was known for his passing skills. He was among the first group of European basketball players to transfer to the NBA in the late 1980s and was named one of the50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors.[2] He is one of seven players in NBA history to record 13,000points, 9,000rebounds, 3,000assists, and 1,500 blocked shots, along withKareem Abdul-Jabbar,Hakeem Olajuwon,Shaquille O'Neal,Tim Duncan,Kevin Garnett, andPau Gasol.[3][n 1] Divac was also the first player born and trained outside the United States to play in over 1,000 games in the NBA. Divac was named to theFIBA All-Time EuroStars Team in 2007. On August 20, 2010, he was inducted into theFIBA Hall of Fame in recognition of his play in international competition.[4] He was elected to theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.[5]
Divac is ahumanitarian, helping children in his native country of Serbia and in Africa.[6] In October 2008, he was appointed as government adviser in Serbia for humanitarian issues.[7] In February 2009, he was elected President of theSerbian Olympic Committee for a four-year term[8] and re-elected in November 2012.[9] In 2013, Divac received an honor from the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame.[10]
Divac began playing basketball in his home townPrijepolje for the team KK Elan. He began his professional career in Yugoslavia playing forSloga fromKraljevo, and was immediately noted for scoring 27 points againstCrvena zvezda.[11]
In the summer of 1986, Divac was the top star of the basketball transfer season, and he ended up signing withKK Partizan forDM14,000.[11]
In the1986-87 Yugoslav First League season, with players like Divac,Aleksandar Đorđević,Žarko Paspalj,Željko Obradović, and withcoachDuško Vujošević at the helm, Partizan had a "dream team", which won theYugoslavian League title. In the subsequent1987-88 FIBA European Champions Cup season (now called EuroLeague), the club failed to reach the top of theEuroLeague, after having lost toMaccabi Tel Aviv inthe semifinal in Ghent.[12]Jugoplastika, withDino Rađa andToni Kukoč, was a stronger team in the subsequent three years, reigning both in Yugoslavia and in Europe.
Divac had an unusual style compared to most othercenters of his generation: despite his height, he possessed good mobility, had good control of the ball, and was a decent shooter. On occasion, he would also act as aplay maker. His trademark moves included a mid-range shot at the top of the key and flip shots around the rim, while facing the complete opposite direction. His quirky moves complemented how he liked playing gags on the court: in the1989 EuroBasket, he lifted teammateZoran Radović for aslam dunk. In just four professional seasons in Europe, he became the most sought-after big man on the continent, afterArvydas Sabonis.[11]
Drafted into the NBA in1989 by theLos Angeles Lakers, Divac became one of the first European players to have an impact in the league. Under the mentorship ofKareem Abdul-Jabbar andMagic Johnson, he improved his play and adapted to the American style of basketball. Though he spoke no English, he quickly became popular among his teammates and the public for his charm and joviality. In the 1989–90 season, he was selected into theNBA All-Rookie Team.[11]
Divac earned a reputation forflopping, or deceiving the officials into calling a foul on the other team by purposely falling to the floor upon contact with an opposing player.[13] Veteran NBA forwardP.J. Brown claimed that Divac might have been the best of all time at flopping.[14] Divac freely admitted doing so, adding that he usually did it when he felt like the officials had missed some calls and owed him.[15] However, when the NBA instituted anti-flopping penalties in 2012, Divac expressed his support for such rules, stating that he felt players after him were "overdo[ing] it" with respect to flopping.[16] Ian Thomsen, aSports Illustrated columnist, grouped Divac with fellow international playersAnderson Varejão andManu Ginóbili as the players who "made [flopping] famous", exaggerating contact on the court in a manner analogous todiving inFIBA games.[17]
On July 1, 1996, Divac was traded to theCharlotte Hornets for the draft rights toKobe Bryant. After initially considering retirement upon being traded to the Hornets, Divac developed a close relationship with head coachDave Cowens and flourished in Charlotte's system.[18] On February 12, 1997, Divac scored 18 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and recorded a career high 12 blocks in a 113–100 win over theNew Jersey Nets.[19][20] AlongsideGlen Rice,Anthony Mason, andMuggsy Bogues, Divac helped the Hornets to a franchise record 54 regular season wins that season. That postseason, Divac averaged 18 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game in a first round loss to theNew York Knicks.[21]
The next year, during the1998 NBA playoffs, the Hornets beat their division rivalAtlanta Hawks in the first round, before losing to the defending championChicago Bulls in the conference semifinals.[18]
During the1998–99 NBA lockout, in January 1999, Divac played 2 games for Partizan'seternal rivalKK Crvena zvezda, in the1998–99 EuroLeague season.[22]
His debut for thecrveno-beli took place mid-season, onOrthodox Christmas, versus a heavily favouredŽalgiris side led byTyus Edney,Mindaugas Žukauskas,Saulius Štombergas, andJiří Zídek Jr. Supported by a raucous home crowd and energized by Divac's arrival, as well as his 16 points and 8 rebounds, Crvena zvezda pulled off a 77–69 memorable upset win.[23]
Divac's brief stint with Crvena zvezda, for which he reportedly got paid US$250,000 per game,[23] immediately became a sore point with KK Partizan fans, who unfurled a banner calling him a traitor, at their club's next game.[23]
The issue of playing for the hated cross-town rival reignited several years later, when Divac returned to KK Partizan as club president. At the time, he stated his decision to play for Crvena zvezda was "a mistake".[23]
On January 22, 1999, Divac signed a six-year, $62.5 million contract as afree agent with theSacramento Kings,[24] where he played for six seasons alongside fellow countrymanPeja Stojaković. Teamed with Stojaković,Hedo Türkoğlu,Chris Webber andMike Bibby, Divac revitalized theSacramento Kings franchise. The Kings rose in the NBA ranks, becoming a perennial playoff contender and eventually a championship contender, leading the league in wins in2001-02.[25] The Kings, however, could not get past theLos Angeles Lakers, who beat them controversially in a7-game series in 2002.[26]
After the2003–04 NBA season, Divac became afree agent. On July 20, 2004, he signed a two-year contract to return to the Lakers, part ofMitch Kupchak's plan to overhaul Laker basketball. The Lakers, following a defeat in the NBA Finals, had traded away or released most of their players, includingShaquille O'Neal,Gary Payton,Karl Malone,Derek Fisher, and more; Divac was supposed to help fill that void.
However, Divac suffered back problems and could not play most of the season, and even when he returned, could only play about nine minutes per game, averaging 2.3 points per game and 2.1 rebounds per game in 15 games, he played eight games early in the season and seven more in the final month of the season.
On July 14, 2005, 37-year-old Divac announced his retirement, ending his 16-year NBA and 22-year professional basketball career.[27] Divac accepted a position with the Lakers as a European liaison to help with scouting overseas.
The Kings retired Divac's No. 21 jersey in a ceremony on March 31, 2009.[28] Over his 16 years in the NBA, Divac earned over $93 million in salary.[29] In September 2009, he played for the "NBA Generations" team in the 2009 NBA Asia Challenge, a series of exhibitions againstKorean Basketball League andPhilippine Basketball Association players.[30]
In summer 1986, at 18, right after signing for KK Partizan, Divac debuted for the seniorYugoslavia national basketball team at the1986 FIBA World Championship in Madrid, on invitation by the head coachKrešimir Ćosić. However, the excellent rookie's performance was spoiled by the event in the semi-finals against theSoviet Union. Forty-five seconds before the end, Yugoslavia had a comfortable lead of nine points, but the Soviets scored two three-pointers within a few seconds and cut the difference to three points. Yugoslavia tried to hold the ball for the remaining time, opting to continue the play with throw-ins instead of free throws following fouls, but with only 14 seconds left, Divac committed adouble dribble, the Soviets were awarded the ball, and tied the score with another three-pointer. In the overtime, the Soviets won by one point and the Yugoslavs had to be content with the bronze.[11][31]
The next year, Divac participated in the team that took the gold at the1987 FIBA Junior World Championship (which was later split into separateunder-19 andunder-21 events) inBormio, Italy. That event launched the young generation of Yugoslavian basketball players, also featuring stars like Rađa and Kukoč, regarded as likely the best in history. Before thebreakup of Yugoslavia, they would also take the titles atEuroBasket 1989 and the1990 FIBA World Championship inArgentina,[11] where they were led byDražen Petrović,[32] as well as theEuroBasket 1991 title, withAleksandar Đorđević atpoint guard.[33]
When Yugoslavia won the gold in the1990 FIBA World Championship, fans rushed onto the court. One of them was holding aCroatian flag, one of the six republics that made up Yugoslavia. Divac claims that he told the man that he should not be waving that flag, since this was a win for Yugoslavia. Divac claims the man made a derogatory remark about the Yugoslav flag, at which point Divac took his flag from him. This happened during a very tense time where nationalistic pride was threatening to tear Yugoslavia apart and ignite a war. The taking of the flag made Divac a hero to Serbs, and a villain to Croatians. Divac has stated that he did not mean it as an act against Croatia and he would have taken away a Serbian flag if a Serb fan had done the same.[34][35]
This action, along with theYugoslav Wars, alienated Divac from many of his former Croatian friends, particularlyDražen Petrović, whom he considered his best friend.[34] WhenFR Yugoslavia won the gold medal at theEuroBasket 1995, andCroatia won bronze, Croatia, still atwar with Serbs from Croatia, walked off the podium during the medal ceremony. The teams had not faced each other in the tournament.
In 2002, Divac was part of the team that won the FIBA World Cup in Indianapolis, beating Argentina in the final and the USA earlier on.
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| * | Led the league |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989–90 | LA Lakers | 82 | 5 | 19.6 | .499 | .000 | .708 | 6.2 | .9 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 8.5 |
| 1990–91 | LA Lakers | 82 | 81 | 28.2 | .565 | .357 | .703 | 8.1 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 11.2 |
| 1991–92 | LA Lakers | 36 | 18 | 27.2 | .495 | .263 | .768 | 6.9 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 11.3 |
| 1992–93 | LA Lakers | 82 | 69 | 30.8 | .485 | .280 | .689 | 8.9 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 12.8 |
| 1993–94 | LA Lakers | 79 | 73 | 34.0 | .506 | .191 | .686 | 10.8 | 3.9 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 14.2 |
| 1994–95 | LA Lakers | 80 | 80 | 35.1 | .507 | .185 | .777 | 10.4 | 4.1 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 16.0 |
| 1995–96 | LA Lakers | 79 | 79 | 31.3 | .513 | .167 | .641 | 8.6 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 12.9 |
| 1996–97 | Charlotte | 81 | 80 | 35.1 | .494 | .234 | .683 | 9.0 | 3.7 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 12.6 |
| 1997–98 | Charlotte | 64 | 41 | 28.2 | .498 | .214 | .691 | 8.1 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 10.4 |
| 1998–99 | Sacramento | 50* | 50* | 35.2 | .470 | .256 | .702 | 10.0 | 4.3 | .9 | 1.0 | 14.3 |
| 1999–00 | Sacramento | 82 | 81 | 29.0 | .503 | .269 | .691 | 8.0 | 3.0 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 12.3 |
| 2000–01 | Sacramento | 81 | 81 | 29.9 | .482 | .286 | .691 | 8.3 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 12.0 |
| 2001–02 | Sacramento | 80 | 80 | 30.3 | .472 | .231 | .615 | 8.4 | 3.7 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 11.1 |
| 2002–03 | Sacramento | 80 | 80 | 29.8 | .466 | .240 | .713 | 7.2 | 3.4 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 9.9 |
| 2003–04 | Sacramento | 81 | 81 | 28.6 | .470 | .154 | .654 | 5.7 | 5.3 | .7 | .1 | 9.9 |
| 2004–05 | LA Lakers | 15 | 0 | 8.7 | .419 | .000 | .667 | 2.1 | 1.3 | .3 | .1 | 2.3 |
| Career | 1134 | 979 | 29.8 | .495 | .235 | .692 | 8.2 | 3.1 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 11.8 | |
| All-Star | 1 | 0 | 9.0 | .667 | .000 | – | 6.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | .0 | 8.0 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | LA Lakers | 9 | 1 | 19.4 | .727 | .500 | .895 | 5.3 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 9.1 |
| 1991 | LA Lakers | 19 | 19 | 32.1 | .564 | .167 | .803 | 6.7 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 13.3 |
| 1992 | LA Lakers | 4 | 4 | 35.8 | .349 | .000 | .900 | 5.5 | 3.8 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 9.8 |
| 1993 | LA Lakers | 5 | 5 | 33.4 | .500 | .444 | .545 | 9.4 | 5.6 | 1.2 | 2.4 | 18.0 |
| 1995 | LA Lakers | 10 | 10 | 38.8 | .467 | .222 | .645 | 8.5 | 3.1 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 15.6 |
| 1996 | LA Lakers | 4 | 4 | 28.8 | .429 | .200 | .625 | 7.5 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 9.0 |
| 1997 | Charlotte | 3 | 3 | 38.7 | .457 | .000 | .800 | 8.7 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 18.0 |
| 1998 | Charlotte | 9 | 9 | 38.5 | .483 | .000 | .606 | 10.9 | 3.4 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 11.6 |
| 1999 | Sacramento | 5 | 5 | 39.6 | .446 | .200 | .833 | 10.0 | 4.6 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 16.2 |
| 2000 | Sacramento | 5 | 5 | 32.0 | .357 | .000 | .696 | 7.2 | 2.8 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 11.2 |
| 2001 | Sacramento | 8 | 8 | 28.1 | .350 | .333 | .763 | 8.4 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 10.8 |
| 2002 | Sacramento | 16 | 16 | 33.4 | .464 | .268 | .755 | 9.3 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 13.5 |
| 2003 | Sacramento | 12 | 12 | 26.4 | .560 | .000 | .673 | 5.8 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 11.4 |
| 2004 | Sacramento | 12 | 12 | 19.6 | .437 | .000 | .739 | 4.9 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 6.6 |
| Career | 121 | 113 | 30.8 | .480 | .241 | .731 | 7.5 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 12.1 | |
Through the twilight of his playing career and afterwards, Divac focused on three fields: humanitarian work, sport management, and investment.
In late 2000, following theoverthrow of Slobodan Milošević whose policies Divac had been openly critical of throughout the mid-to-late 1990s,[36] Divac and former teammatePredrag Danilović took over their former clubKK Partizan. They did so on the initiative ofIvica Dačić, the club's outgoing president and, more importantly, a suddenly marginalized politician who, due to his association with Milošević, was forced to leave his post at the club. Seeing that various state-owned companies and community property were being taken over in a dubious manner during the power vacuum that resulted from the régime change, Dačić saw it prudent to bring the club's two former greats as a safeguard against the same happening to KK Partizan. Divac became the club's president while Danilović took the vice-president role.[37]
Freshly retired from playing, Danilović was actually running the club's day-to-day operations since Divac was still very actively involved with theSacramento Kings at the time. The head coach they inherited,Darko Ruso, finished out the 2000–01 season before they decided in the summer of 2001 to bring back their mentorDuško Vujošević to be the new head coach. In late 2004 the duo pulled out of the venture as it became too much of a financial burden. While he stopped performing any official functions at the club, Divac continued to be involved with it in a lesser capacity for a few years afterwards.
In October 2005, right after ending his playing career with theLos Angeles Lakers, Divac was hired as the Lakers' European scout, reporting directly to the team's general managerMitch Kupchak.[38] He left the position in 2006.
In June 2006, through his friendship withPredrag Mijatović, Divac linked up withRamón Calderón as part of the lawyer's candidate bid for the presidency ofReal Madrid.[39] When Calderón closely won the club elections on July 2, 2006, Divac was announced as the head of operations atReal Madrid basketball club though the scope of his job description soon got reduced to consulting duties as president Calderón's adviser for basketball and club's international coordinator.[40][41]
However, Divac's role in the club's day-to-day operations turned out to be largely symbolic, and he even admitted as much in a March 2007 interview for Croatian weeklyGlobus: "I literally do nothing and I only serve as part of theroyal club's image. I only accepted the job because of Mijatović, who is currently the football director at Real".[42] By the end of 2007, following a financial settlement between the two parties, Divac moved on from the post for which he had been reportedly receiving an annual compensation of€300,000.[40][43]
In October 2008, it was announced that Divac would have apolitical advisory role within theSerbian government as the sports,diaspora, and humanitarian advisor to theDeputy Prime Minister andInternal Affairs MinisterIvica Dačić.[44][45][46]
Divac was nominated in 2000 as Yugoslavia's candidate for the Sport Commission of the International Olympic Committee in spring 2000. This candidature was withdrawn under pressure from the Milošević regime.[47] In February 2009, Divac ran for the presidency of theOlympic Committee of Serbia against incumbent presidentIvan Ćurković.[48] He won the race after Ćurković withdrew just before the scheduled voting.[8] In November 2012, he was re-elected as the sole candidate; the end of his second mandate coincides with the2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.[9]
In December 2014,Kosovo was accepted as a full member of theInternational Olympic Committee. Divac and the Serbian Olympic Committee have been criticised, chiefly by theDemocratic Party of Serbia, for failing to take any effort to prevent that.[49] Divac stated that he is not happy with the decision of the IOC, but could not have prevented it as it had already been made, and said he would accept it "in the interest of the athletes".[50]
On May 9, 2017, Divac was succeeded by Serbian former basketball coachBožidar Maljković as the president of theOlympic Committee of Serbia.[51]
In early March 2015, Divac was hired by theSacramento Kings as their vice president of basketball and franchise operations.[52] Brought into the organization by the principal ownerVivek Ranadivé towards the end of a turbulentseason, Divac's arrival came in the wake of head coachMichael Malone's firing and the eventual hiring ofGeorge Karl. Working alongside the team's general managerPete D'Alessandro, Divac's initial duties with the Kings were reported to be advising the front office and coaches as well as assisting with branding and fan outreach.[52] However, such broadly defined job responsibilities immediately led to press speculation about Divac's role within the organization that in addition to general manager D'Alessandro also featured assistant GMMike Bratz, special assistant to the GMMitch Richmond, director of player personnel and analyticsDean Oliver, adviser to the chairmanChris Mullin, as well as a head coach, Karl, who has always wanted to be involved in personnel issues.[53] Within a month of Divac's hiring,ESPN'sMarc Stein reported that "despite the Kings not yet announcing their new power structure, Divac is indeed already regarded as the team's top basketball official by owner Ranadivé".[54]
On June 10, 2015, two weeks before the NBA draft, general manager D'Alessandro left the Kings by accepting a front-office position with the Denver Nuggets amid reports he did so due to being stripped of his decision-making power after Ranadivé hired Divac.[55][56]
Only days before the draft, animosity between head coach Karl and the team's star centerDeMarcus Cousins reignited, as Karl reportedly lobbied Divac, as well as multiple players on the Kings' roster, in order to make the case to owner Ranadive that Cousins needed to be traded.[57] As a result, against the backdrop of Cousins calling Karl a "snake" on Twitter,[58] Divac reportedly discussed multiple Cousins trade scenarios with various teams, but ultimately no deal got made.[59] At the2015 NBA draft, with the 6th pick, the Kings selected 21-year-old centerWillie Cauley-Stein out ofKentucky. Less than a week following the draft, with the dissolution of the Karl—Cousins relationship on public display, the Kings' ultimately unsuccessful attempt at landing University of Kentucky head coachJohn Calipari to replace Karl was reported.[60]
In early July 2015, in an effort of clearingsalary cap space in order to immediately go afterfree agents, the Kings agreed to a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers, sendingNik Stauskas,Carl Landry, andJason Thompson, along with the Kings' future first-round draft pick to the Sixers as well as the rights to swap first-round picks in 2016 and 2017 while receiving the rights to Sixers overseas playersArtūras Gudaitis andLuka Mitrović in return.[61] Two days later, they announced the acquisitions of two free agents: 29-year-oldMarco Belinelli on a three-year US$19 million contract and 29-year-old point guardRajon Rondo for one year for US$10 million.[62] This was followed by signing twenty-six-year-old centerKosta Koufos for four years and US$33 million with his role envisioned as the backup for Cousins.[63]
With the free agent signings done, Divac turned his attention to attempting to mend the relations between the team's head coach Karl and its star center Cousins ahead of the 2015–16 season, admitting publicly on July 9, 2015, onCBS Sports Radio'sThe Jim Rome Show that the relationship between the two "isn't pretty right now".[64] A few days later, on July 13, 2015, during a2015 NBA Summer League game inLas Vegas, the two shared an awkward on-camera handshake as Karl approached and Cousins reluctantly shook the coach's hand before turning away.[65][66] Later that week, Divac summoned Cousins and Karl to a private counseling session.[66]
Divac was promoted to the Kings' vice president of basketball operations andgeneral manager on August 31, 2015.[67]
Amid a tense[68] and incident-filled[69]season that saw the team briefly reach the finalplayoff spot in theWestern Conference before unravelling with extended losing streaks in late January and early February 2016, the organization reportedly made a decision to fire their head coach George Karl during the upcomingAll-Star break, a move pushed for by Divac.[70] However, in a quick about-face, Karl got retained after meeting with Divac and reportedly pledging to make changes to address concerns within the organization about his defensive schemes and practice policies.[71] It was later reported that the move to fire Karl on this occasion got scuttled by the Kings minority owners over financial concerns.[72] A month and a half later, in late March 2016, Divac signed a multi-year contract extension with the organization.[73] The team finished the season 33–49, eight games out of the playoffs, good for 10th spot in the Western Conference. Their final season inSleep Train Arena, the team's home since 1988, it was also their first 30 plus win campaign after seven consecutive seasons of fewer than 30 wins.
Early into the team's offseason, in mid April 2016, the Kings organization fired head coach Karl, a decision made by Divac who had reportedly been pushing for it for months.[72] Within three weeks, during which Divac interviewed head coaching candidatesSam Mitchell,Vinny Del Negro,Mike Woodson,David Blatt,Mark Jackson,Jeff Hornacek,Nate McMillan,Patrick Ewing,Elston Turner, andCorliss Williamson,[74] the Kings hiredDave Joerger as their new head coach, signing him to a four-year deal worthUS$16 million.[74] At the2016 NBA draft, with the 8th pick, the Kings selectedMarquese Chriss out of theUniversity of Washington, but traded him to thePhoenix Suns for rights toBogdan Bogdanović as well as the Suns' 2016 draft 13th and 28th picks,Georgios Papagiannis andSkal Labissière, respectively.
At the2017 NBA draft, with the 5th pick, the Kings selected point guardDe'Aaron Fox out ofKentucky. At the2018 NBA draft, the Kings selectedMarvin Bagley III with the second overall pick, passing onLuka Dončić who would become an MVP candidate within two years into his NBA career.[75] In2018–19 season the Sacramento Kings finished 9th in the Western conference. However, the season was evaluated as successful for the Kings.[76]
The2019–20 NBA season wassuspended in March as a result of theCOVID-19 pandemic, and the Sacramento Kings were invited to the 22-team2020 NBA Bubble. However, the Kings did not manage to qualify for theplayoffs, their 14th consecutive season without a playoff appearance, and finished the season with a 31–41 record. Shortly thereafter, on August 14, 2020, Divac stepped down as general manager.[77]
Divac has been involved in many non-basketball endeavors while still actively playing in theNBA, and more so after he retired. He is an active restaurant investor in theSacramento, California area. However, his attempts to make major investments in Serbia failed, for a variety of reasons.
The most notable affair was a highly publicized business venture—takeover bid of profitable beverage producerKnjaz Miloš. Divac's company "Apurna", in a joint venture with French dairy giantDanone, ostensibly proposed the best bid, but the takeover was aborted by the Serbia's Securities Commission, because Danone/Apurna allegedly offered extra money to small shareholders.[78]In the repeated bid, Divac and Danone eventually withdrew and the sale went toFPP Balkan Ltd., a privatization fund from theCayman Islands. The entire messy affair caused great friction within theSerbian government, wide speculation about corruption, resignation of the Securities Commission chief, and even a police investigation.[79]
Another similar, though less spectacular, episode happened with 2005 Divac's attempt to take over theVečernje novosti, a Serbian high-circulation daily.[80] He made an agreement with small shareholders to take over the company by means of registering a new company with joint capital, which would increase the share capital. However, the Serbian Government intervened and halted what should have been a mere technical move. While the attempted takeover was a "backdoor" one indeed, it was legal and similar cases had already occurred. The government ostensibly feared lack of control over the influential daily. Even though theSupreme Court of Serbia eventually ruled in Divac's favor, he withdrew from the contest, citing "friendly advice" by unnamed persons.[81] Embittered, he decided to stop his attempts to invest in Serbia: "All of this is ugly and I'm very upset... I realized that there's no place for me in Serbia and my friends can meet me in Madrid from now on... In Serbia, some different rules are in effect, and I can't conceive them".[82]
However, that turned out not to be true, as in October 2007 Divac got legally registered as the 100% owner ofVoda Voda, abottled water brand previously owned by businessmanVojin Đorđević. That transaction was also followed by a stir of controversy, as Đorđević publicly accused Divac of deceit, asserting that he broke agentlemen's agreement they had, and questioning the validity of the contract that Divac presented to theSerbian Business Registers Agency. The circumstances surrounding the deal (as of November 2007) are still unclear: Divac claims that he indeed loaned some money to Đorđević'sSi&Si company, which was in financial trouble, and after Đorđević failed to fulfill his part of the deal, just used the contract, already properly signed by Đorđević, to claim ownership of the company.[83][84]
Divac is a humanitarian worker, focusing on aid to children worldwide and refugees in his home country. Along with six Serbian basketball teammates, Divac established the charity calledGroup Seven, later renamed to "Divac's Children Foundation", and works closely withInternational Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), helping them to raise around US$500,000 for humanitarian assistance in Serbia since 1997.[85] Divac's own foundation, presided by his wife Snežana, provided over $2,500,000 in humanitarian assistance through 1998–2007.[86]
In 2000, the NBA named Divac as the recipient of theJ. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award. The honor is presented annually to a player, coach or athletic trainer who shows outstanding service and dedication to the community.[87]
In late 2007, Divac founded a humanitarian organization, "You Can Too" (Serbian:Можеш и ти/Možeš i ti), with the goal of restoring abandoned homes in villages throughout Serbia and Africa, thereby providing shelter for homeless refugees.[86] Around 7,800 of those people still live in collective centers under poor conditions, so the organization has employed itself to buy abandoned countryside houses, in an attempt to finally solve their accommodation problem.[88]
From September 21 to 23, 2007, Divac organized an official farewell from his active basketball career in his hometown Prijepolje and Belgrade, simultaneously promoting the "You Can Too" campaign. The spectacle culminated in a gathering of Divac and his worldwide friends in front of 10,000 people outside theNational Assembly building.[89]
In the early 1990s, the song "Vlade Divac" by Belgrade bandDeca Loših Muzičara, devoted to his move to the Lakers, was a big hit; the band finally got to personally meet Divac and perform the song with him at his farewell party in 2007.[90]
During his time with the Lakers, Divac's popularity and marketing potential, in addition to his entertaining and good-natured personality, were picked up on by the American TV industry. As a result, he appeared quite a few times on Los Angeles-based late night programmes such asThe Arsenio Hall Show andThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno. In 1990, he was featured in a commercial with Laker teammatesA.C. Green andMychal Thompson for theSchick brand razor company.[91] He also appeared in AmericansitcomsMarried... with Children andCoach, as well as in the short livedGood Sports sitcom. On the big screen Divac took part in basketball-based moviesEddie,Space Jam andJuwanna Mann. Later in his career, he appeared onLarry King Live in 1999 andThe Late Late Show in 2002.
In Serbia, throughout his playing career, Divac regularly appeared in commercials pitching products ranging from Atlas Beer toSociété Générale mortgage credit plans. He appeared in a national TV commercial in the United States alongside former NBA starDarryl Dawkins forTaco Bell.
Divac appeared as a special guest onEurovision 2008. He threw a ball into the audience, which marked the beginning oftelevoting.
Divac features in theESPN30 for 30 documentaryOnce Brothers, where he discusses the exploits of theYugoslavia national basketball team in the late 1980s and early 1990s and how the Yugoslav Wars tore them apart, especially in context of his broken friendship with Croatian playerDražen Petrović.[34]
Divac appears inBoris Malagurski's documentary filmThe Weight of Chains, in which he talks about the 1999NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.
In March 2020, Belgian footballerDivock Origi revealed that he was named after Divac.[92]
Divac and his wife, Snežana, have two sons, Luka and Matija, and an adopted daughter, Petra, whose biological parents were killed byKosovo Liberation Army snipers.[36] On January 7, 2014, Divac's father Milenko died after injuries sustained in a car accident.[93] Divac is fluent in three languages,Serbian,Russian andEnglish.[94] Divac also holds American citizenship.[95]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Driving Me Crazy | Yugo Boss | |
| 1996 | Eddie | Himself (Los Angeles Lakers) | |
| 1996 | Space Jam | Himself | |
| 2002 | Juwanna Mann | Beat Player Morse | |
| 2006 | We Are Not Angels 3: Rock & Roll Strike Back | Pretpostavljeni |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Good Sports | Himself | Episode: "The Reviews Are In" |
| 1992 | Coach | Delivery Man | Episode: "Dateline-Bangkok" |
| 1992 | Rachel Gunn, R.N. | Father Squires | Episode: "Rachel Sees Red" |
| 1993 | Married... with Children | Vlade Divac | Episode: "A Tisket, a Tasket, Can Peg Make a Basket?" |
| 2000 | Driving Me Crazy | Gene Viglione | TV movie |
| 2003 | Crni Gruja | Vampir Toza | Episode: "Kolac" |
| 2010 | 30 for 30 | Himself | Episode:Once Brothers (Documentary) |
| 2010 | The Weight of Chains | Himself | Documentary |
The ugly trend of faking physical contact began in soccer, a sport in which gamesmanship has given way to players writhing in false agony around the world. Soccer has been unable to fix its problem, but now the NBA will have an opportunity to deter players from trying to simulate violent contact in ways made famous by Vlade Divac, Manu Ginobili and Anderson Varejao.
It came from the name Vlade Divac. My parents watched him play and wanted to personalize the name a little bit.
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