On the outside, an NBA player's life looks like a dream. In addition to earning a king's ransom to play basketball, players enjoy access to world-class training facilities, being waited on from head to foot by a team of medical and physical therapists and the luxury of traveling on private jets, ensuring their every need is met. However, the reality is not always as glamorous as it seems.
Dino Radja , a former NBA player who played with the Boston Celtics , shared a story of how rough Drazen Petrovic 's transition to the NBA was. Although he was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in 1986, it took him three more years before he finally decided to make the leap to the United States.
Although he was arguably the biggest European star at the time, Petrovic didn't garner much attention from then-head coach Rick Adelman, who assigned him to the bench and played him just 12 minutes a game.
According to Radja, there were many times when Petrovic shared his frustrations with him but was just too proud to return home.
After a storied career in Europe where he accomplished everything he set out to do, Petrovic had his sights set on the NBA. The league was still relatively new to accepting international players, and Petrovic wanted to pave the way for more European talent to make their mark in the world's top basketball league.
"I have nothing more to accomplish here," he told his mother, Biserka. "If I want to be the best, I must go play with the best."
And so, Drazen stepped out of his comfort zone to try his luck in America. Unfortunately, the Blazers team he joined for the 1989-90 season already had All-Star Clyde Drexler and Terry Porter in the backcourt, leaving him with very little room to shine.
Despite playing a little over 12 minutes a game, Petrovic made the most of it, averaging 7.6 points during his first season in the big league. As tough as his rookie year was, his sophomore season became worse after the Blazers acquired savvy guard Danny Ainge.
This, in turn, resulted in Drazen's playing time being slashed to a minuscule seven minutes a game. For a player of his caliber who had gotten used to being the go-to guy wherever he played in Europe, there were moments when it all seemed too much.
"He'd call and say he was being paid a million dollars for the best seat in the house," Radja recalled. "He was hurting. But he had too much pride to come home."
The most significant difference between European and American basketball was the athleticism of U.S. players. Petrovic experienced this firsthand, day in and day out, when he had to guard Drexler in practice. It's safe to say he struggled with it.
"In Portland, during my first days at practice, I played against Clyde Drexler," he remembered . "I couldn't manage at all. I would score a basket or two on him, and he would score twenty on me."
The experiences made Petrovic doubt if he really had what it took to not only play in the NBA, but also thrive in it.
"I wondered what I was doing there, if I had made a mistake by leaving Europe," he stated. "And then I realized: without strength, you are nothing. You don't even have time to think about shooting before they're on your hand, shoulder, back."
The light at the end of the tunnel for Petrovic came in January 1991 when the Blazers traded him to the New Jersey Nets . Given the opportunity and, most of all, the confidence to showcase his skills, he took advantage and blossomed into an All-Star. He was set to become the NBA's first European superstar before a car accident took his life in 1993.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 9, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
