Isaac
Years ago
Vlade Divac retires
At the age of 12, Vlade Divac left home to pursue a basketball career. Four years later, he had signed a professional contract in Yugoslavia.
Earlier this week he announced his retirement from professional basketball at the age of 37, unable to satisfactorily recover from a back injury.
Divac was selected late in the first round of the NBA draft by the Lakers in 1989, to replace Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and responded well - averaging 8.5 PPG and 6.2 RPG to earn All-Rookie First Team selection. He was only the second European to play in the NBA.
From there, Divac managed a solid 16 year career in the league. He averaged 10+ PPG for 12 straight seasons playing for three different teams and averaged a double-double three times. He has been considered the best passing centre of his time.
His career-best score of 34 in 2001 came in the same year as his All-Star selection. He dragged down 24 rebounds twice in his NBA career and he blocked 12 shots in 1997. He has two Olympics silver medals to his name.
