Zubac to honor Croatia’s hoops legend in an exhibition game

A member of the Los Angeles Clippers will take the floor to celebrate the legacy of his nation's most iconic basketball player.

Clippers big man Ivica Zubac is slated to play in an exhibition game in Croatia to honor the 60th birth anniversary of the late Drazen Petrovic. This would mark his second basketball appearance this summer following his Olympic Qualifying Tournament leadership for the country last month.

Details on Zu's tribute play for Petrovic

Per CroatiaWeek, Zubac will join alongside his Croatian national basketball squad, which will face a group of other European players in a friendly match.

Other than Zubac, the likes of Brooklyn Nets forward Bojan Bogdanovic and Denver Nuggets big Dario Saric are also the two key names that'll highlight the grand event in Croatia, which is reportedly set to be held on Sept. 5 in Zagreb. As such, former NBA players Damjan Rudež and Gordan Giriček are also expected to attend.

Known as the 'Mozart of the Hoops,' Petrovic is widely regarded as an inspiring hero in Croatia who laid the nation's foundation in basketball. An All-NBA Third Team member and a decorated star in the EuroLeague, his rising career and life came to an unfortunate end upon a tragic car crash in 1993 at age 28. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.

Inspired by the Croatian great

Petrovic is one of the main reasons why Zu is in his current position. The L.A. center undoubtedly admires how the legendary Hall of Famer paved the way for him and his fellow Europeans to pursue basketball at the highest level and make it to the NBA.

"We have a lot of respect for the legacy built by the other generations and the players that made great achievements for Croatian basketball, such as Drazen Petrovic, Dino Radja, and Toni Kukoc," Zubac said in a 2018 interview . "We took a lot of inspiration from them."

Following his participation as a tribute for Petrovic, Ivica will finally join the Clippers a few weeks later, in which their training camp ahead of the 2024-25 season will commence on Oct. 1.

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