The golden Yugoslav team
The 1980s side that broke up as the country broke up.
Suradnik13 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Andrea Cislaghi from Robbio Lomellina, Italia — CC0 · Suradnik13 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ex13 — CC BY-SA 3.0
A small museum devoted to Dražen Petrović, the Croatian basketball player regarded as among the greatest ever to play the game outside the United States. He began in Zagreb, then played for Real Madrid, then moved to the American league and finished his career with the New Jersey Nets. His long-range shooting and absolute confidence changed how Americans saw European players — before him they were regarded as tactical players rather than scoring stars. He died in a road accident in Germany in 1993, aged twenty-eight. The museum shows his shirts, medals, shoes and footage of his games, and was created by his family. His story connects to something wider: he was part of the golden Yugoslav national team of the 1980s, a side that broke up as the country broke up, its players' friendships turning into estrangement. A documentary called Once Brothers tells that, and is a good introduction before visiting. The museum is small and its hours may be limited.
The 1980s side that broke up as the country broke up.
A documentary on the team's split — a good introduction before visiting.
A road accident in Germany in 1993 ended a career at its height.
Beside the Dražen Petrović Hall, Trešnjevka
Because it was the best basketball side in the world outside the United States in the 1980s, holding players who became stars: Petrović, Kukoč, Divac, Radja, Paspalj and others. They came from different republics and played together for years. With the wars of the 1990s they scattered into opposing national teams and deep personal friendships were severed — a story still told in Croatia and Serbia with different sensitivities.
Frankly, not much. The museum is small and its content primarily sporting — shirts, medals and game footage. Anyone uninterested in the game will see it in twenty minutes. But for those who know the sport, or who care how it reflected Yugoslavia's break-up, it is a meaningful place.
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