
Former Kings, Lakers center Vlade Divac breaks hip in motorcycle crash in Montenegro
The crash happened Thursday on a road near the Montenegrin Adriatic Sea coast. Hospital officials said the 57-year-old Divac sustained a fracture and that an artificial hip was implanted.
"During the day, a surgical procedure was performed," said Ljubica Mitrovic, a spokeswoman of the hospital in the town of Risan. "He is in a stable general and physical condition and is under a careful supervision of the medical staff."
The 7-foot-1 (2.16m) Serbian center started and ended his 16-year NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers. He also played for the Charlotte Hornets and Sacramento Kings. He was an All-Star in 2001 with the Kings.
Divac was the Kings' general manager from 2015 to 2020, notably trading DeMarcus Cousins to New Orleans.
When he joined the Lakers in 1989, he was among the first group of European players to transfer to the NBA.
Divac was also the first player born and trained outside the United States to play in over 1,000 games in the NBA. He was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.
Divac served two terms as head of Serbia's Olympic Committee.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


USA Today
21 minutes ago
- USA Today
After Twitter rant, Kevin Durant has invited Thunder fans to boo him Opening Night
Well, any goodwill Kevin Durant built up in recent years went up in smoke this past weekend. After the NBA sparked a fire when it scheduled the Oklahoma City Thunder to host the Houston Rockets for the 2025-26 Opening Night, the future Hall-of-Famer poured gallons of gasoline on top. The NBA knew what it was doing when it scheduled the Rockets to be in OKC for its ring ceremony. Durant's attendance only added flavor for what was already going to be a very special night for the Thunder as they celebrated their 2025 NBA championship one last time. To have Durant across the court when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his teammates get what he never did in his nine seasons on the Thunder is just old-fashioned classic TV drama. It's the type of scenario OKC fans dreamed of when they brought home the Larry O'Brien trophy. What's better than winning an NBA championship without Durant? Having him be in the building when the championship banner is rolled out and rings are handed to the roster. The schedule-makers graduated the fan fiction into reality. It only adds to the eternal beef between Durant and Thunder fans. The two will always be affiliated with each other. It was only poetic for Durant to be traded to the Rockets on the same day the Thunder won their NBA championship in a Game 7 win over the Indiana Pacers. Whether NBA fans admit it or not, they love the off-court drama that comes with following the league. There's a reason why transactions garner nearly as much buzz as the games themselves. The storylines formed from following the league for years are what make professional sports fun. Proudly instigating the two parties, Adam Silver must've had the biggest smile on his face when he opened social media on Sunday morning. While Durant has fondly spoken about his time with the Thunder and congratulated the players for their championship, there's no love lost between him and OKC fans. The hatefulness remains as strong as ever. Nearly a decade into the divorce, neither party is ready to move on. Don't hold your breath on that changing either. If you want to get ratioed on Twitter, the quickest way to do that is by bringing up Durant's contributions to the Thunder. Sure, Durant is one of the greatest players the NBA has ever seen. He led the Thunder to become one of the more successful teams of the 2010s. The 2013-14 MVP winner headlined an NBA Finals squad and made four trips to the Western Conference Finals in six years. But none of that matters to Thunder fans. They don't want to hear it. While retiring Durant's No. 35 is the objectively right move and may be inevitable, fans will fight tooth and nail to make sure that doesn't happen. Or at the very least, let their disapproval be loudly known. All of that context put in the groundwork for what happened on Sunday. In Durant's latest Twitter episode, he went at it against the Thunder. Harder than he's ever had. In the early morning hours, he sent tweet after tweet engaging with a bunch of fan accounts. Durant trolled the Thunder for needing a decade to win their first championship. Of course, he has two with the Golden State Warriors, after his controversial decision to join them in 2016. He bluntly said he doesn't care or need OKC's love. He went nihilistic when confronted about what his all-time legacy will be. He even said his social media ambitions are to upset fans in a tweet he later deleted. Sheesh. Talk about an all-time Twitter rant that gave what is otherwise the slowest part of the NBA calendar some content to run with. After taking a day to digest Durant's comments, I think he made it pretty clear for those who were on the fence on the boo-or-not-to-boo question for the season opener that circled social media talks this past weekend — let it rip. If Durant is going to downplay the Thunder's championship, he's inviting fans to boo him on Opening Night. That's happened in his seven trips to OKC since he left. Expect that to continue until the day he retires, and at his eventual jersey retirement ceremony a few decades from now. At this point, Durant has happily burned his bridge to be eventually admired by Thunder fans for his all-time contributions. There's an alternate reality where maybe things could've been better. After all, time heals all wounds. Instead, the 36-year-old has kept scratching it and stubbornly refuses to let it be fixed.


New York Post
21 minutes ago
- New York Post
LeBron James ‘addicted' to new hobby amid rocky Lakers offseason
He's not the first all-time great to hit the greens. Lakers superstar LeBron James posted on social media that he has a new addiction that has claimed many before him: golf. 'Addicted. I'm sorry. I know, yep, that's it. Yep. Rain and everything,' James said on his Instagram Story as the weather conditions worsened. Advertisement James, who was recently seen in St. Tropez with his wife, Savannah, wasn't getting excellent sunlight as rain poured down, but he continued to fight through and prepped to tee off. There has been some apparent tension between the Lakers and the 40-year-old James this offseason, as the franchise has gone all-in on new star Luka Doncic, whom they recently signed to a three-year, $165 million contract extension. When James exercised his player option for the 2025-26 season, his agent, Rich Paul, alluded to a potential trade request by reinforcing James' desire to compete for a championship next season. Advertisement 3 LeBron James (r.) and Luka Doncic (l.) NBAE via Getty Images There were also conflicting reports about how James found out about Jeanie Buss reaching a $10 billion deal to sell the Lakers and whether informing Doncic was prioritized. Paul confirmed other teams had reached out to him regarding the possibility of a James trade, but for now, it appears the 21-time All-Star — whose son Bronny is entering his second year with the Lakers — will remain in purple and gold. Advertisement 3 LeBron James golfs through the rain. Instagram, @KingJames The four-time NBA champion might just need to get onto the course with a few fellow basketball legends. James had played golf in the past, getting made fun of by Olympic teammate and friend, Stephen Curry, for having a baseball-like swing. 'Unbelievable impersonation of my guy [LeBron James] Bron's follow-through in the golf swing,' Curry joked in July. 'But we all want to welcome Lebron James to the world of golf because the game needs you, big fella.' Advertisement 3 James says he's addicted to golfing now as his offseason in Los Angeles stays rocky. Instagram, @KingJames James will need some practice, but perhaps he can improve after his NBA career is complete and do a match opposite Michael Jordan. The Bulls legend was a notorious golfer who sometimes played before games and surely would have an edge. Many other NBA players, past and present, went into golf as an outlet for their competitive energy, with others including Charles Barkley, Chris Paul, and many more.


CBS News
22 minutes ago
- CBS News
Miami Dolphins RB Alexander Mattison out after season ending surgery
The season is over for a Miami Dolphins player who was injured in Sunday's pre-season game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Running back Alexander Mattison injured his neck during the game and was taken by an ambulance to a local hospital where he underwent season ending surgery. Mattison was hurt when he was tackled on a 21-yard pass in the beginning of the fourth quarter. In the second quarter, he scored the Dolphins opening touchdown. Mattison was signed to a one-year contract in the offseason. He was third on the team's depth chart behind De'Von Achane and Jaylen Wright, according to ESPN.