Drazen Petrovic played just four years in the NBA, with his untimely passing in the 1993 offseason robbing the basketball world of the opportunity to continue watching the European legend in his prime. He was coming off arguably the best season of his career, although not getting a contract extension from the New Jersey Nets and the lack of recognition around the league had him contemplating leaving the NBA.
Probably one of Petrovic's frustrations was not getting voted into the 1993 All-Star Game. He lamented the snub in an interview with the New York Times sometime after the All-Star weekend.
"I really thought I deserved to be on, the same way Derrick Coleman and Kenny Anderson had a good shot," said Petrovic. "I think a team like Cleveland, they have three guys on the team, and New Jersey doesn't have any, that is not correct."
Playing for the Nets
When asked if he thought the Nets' poor reputation around the Association factored into the All-Star omission, "The Croatian Mozart" agreed.
"I think so," he stated. "We've been losing for six years, and people say, 'Aww, who is that? The New Jersey Nets?' Politics was a big key because Cleveland, we beat them twice this year. But that's life."
Petrovic definitely deserved to be a part of the midseason showcase, especially since he finished the 1992-93 campaign averaging 22.3 points and 3.5 assists per game and with an All-NBA Third Team nod.
Impressively, his shooting splits rounded up to 52-45-87. A bit more efficiency from the line would have had him only the third player ever to join the 50-40-90 club after Larry Bird (who did it twice) and Mark Price.
As Petro said, it would have softened the blow if the Nets, who were a top-four team in the East during the All-Star voting, had a representative to the midseason showcase. Coleman and Anderson also got some votes that year, although they fulfilled their former teammate's wish the following season by joining the East squad in the 1994 All-Star Game.
The odds just weren't in Drazen's favor in 1993, as Price and Joe Dumars got the nod as the East's backcourt reserves behind Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas. The rest of the roster consisted of frontcourt players.
Making the most of his days off
As a consolation, the sharpshooter had some idle time to hone his craft. His former teammate, Stojko Vrankovic, once revealed that the late Croatian superstar used an All-Star break to go to Boston and train with Larry Bird.
The three-day private training may have happened in 1992, given that the Boston Celtics legend retired in the same year. However, it would have been difficult for Petrovic to travel from Orlando, where the All-Star weekend was held, to Boston or the other way around, as some might remember that the highly decorated guard participated in the 3-Point Shootout in 1992.
Had Petrovic not passed away and opted to remain playing in the Association, chances are he would have added the NBA All-Star to his lengthy resume.
Related: Drazen Petrovic broke down what it takes to be a great basketball player - "The most important thing is that the player has a lot of self-confidence and believes in himself"
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