Drazen Petrovic's hologram comes to life in an emotion-packed Memorial Game: "Hello everyone, it's a pleasure to see you here in such numbers"

On Thursday evening, Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, briefly became the center of the basketball elite. A memorial game in honor of Drazen Petrovic , the "Mozart of basketball," who tragically passed away at the age of 28, brought many former and current European and world hoop stars to Zagreb.

In this exhibition match, the Croatian national team, led by former NBA player Mario Hezonja, faced off against some of Europe's best players. Among them, the 7-foot-4 fan favorite Boban Marjanovic stood out, not just because of his height, getting the ovations from more than 15 thousand spectators.

Emotion packed event

In the sold-out Arena, every break was used to reflect on a part of the life of the late basketball genius. A particularly emotional moment for every guest and viewer was the AI message from Drazen. In a virtual hologram, Petrovic, in his iconic red No. 4 jersey, once again stood alongside his teammates from the legendary 1992 Barcelona Olympics when they were defeated by the Dream Team, led by none other than Michael Jordan .

"Hello everyone, it’s a pleasure to see you here in such numbers. It is an honor for me to remember the final against the USA and to once again stand alongside my teammates. Enjoy the rest of the game," said Drazen's hologram in an emotional message that left everyone speechless.

Luka Doncic was in attendance

Alongside all of Petrović’s former coaches, teammates, and opponents he encountered during his life, NBA stars from the region also arrived in the audience, including Bojan Bogdanović, Ivica Zubac , and Dario Saric. However, the biggest buzz was definitely around arguably the current best player in the NBA, Slovenian and Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic .

Although Doncic never had the chance to watch the "Mozart of Basketball" live in action, he admitted that he has often watched his games and is grateful to be part of this ceremony.

"That’s still far off," said the Slovenian superstar about the claim that he is close to reaching the peak of the late Croatian. "I've heard a lot about Dražen, and I'm amazed by him."

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Related: Reggie Miller on why Drazen Petrovic got under his skin: "I could not understand what he was saying"