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"It was the most powerful and dominant team ever to play in a tournament" – Vlade Divac recalls Yugoslavia's legendary roster that could have competed against the 1992 Dream Team
"It was the most powerful and dominant team ever to play in a tournament" – Vlade Divac recalls Yugoslavia's legendary roster that could have competed against the 1992 Dream Team originally appeared on Basketball Network.
When Zagreb, Croatia hosted the EuroBasket in 1989, it was one of the most highly anticipated tournaments in basketball history. The line-up of stars was incredible. Greece came led by the legendary Nikos Galis, the Soviet Union with Arvydas Sabonis, Sarunas Marciulionis, Alexander Volkov, Spain with Juan San Epifanio, while Yugoslavia arrived loaded with talent.
The Yugoslavian team featured future and current NBA stars at the time like Drazen Petrovic, Toni Kukoc, Vlade Divac, Dino Radja, Zarko Paspalj, Stojko Vrankovic, and Predrag Danilovic. The strength and depth of the squad were proven by the fact that they won every game by double digits, finishing the tournament with a 5–0 record.
The team was packed with talent
At the helm of that young national team was Dusan "Duda" Ivkovic, considered one of the greatest European coaches of all time. Throughout his career, he won three EuroBasket gold medals, a gold at the FIBA World Championship, a silver medal at the Olympic Games, and two EuroLeague titles. The team was packed with talent on the court and the bench. In an interview with Divac reflected on that golden generation.
"It was the most powerful and dominant team ever to play in a tournament, if you exclude the 1992 Dream Team," he said. "It was the best example of basketball beauty and an explosion of unprecedented talent. We didn't play just to score points, we played to enjoy scoring. I remember Toni and I passing to each other four or five times before putting the ball in the basket. A miraculous generation. But that was another time. Now we must adapt to the new era."
Behind that golden success was the breakup of the country
The numbers back up Divac's words as Yugoslavia won with an average margin of 24.0 points per game. What's even more astonishing is that the team's average age was only 23.4 years. Galis was the tournament's top scorer with 35.6 points per game, Petrovic was second with 30.0 and was named MVP. Most of these players soon moved to the NBA and had impressive careers.
Behind that golden success, however, was the country's breakup and the onset of war. Croatia separated, and the team that was in its prime was torn apart. Both Yugoslavia and Croatia later won Olympic medals, but the question remains — what if they had stayed together? Kukoc shared his thoughts on a potential matchup against the Dream Team in 1992 if they had stayed together.
"If that (1988 Yugoslavia) team had stayed together and we played the finals against the Dream Team, I'm not saying we would have won, but it would have been a really, really interesting game to watch" he said.
Yugoslavia was the reason the US sent their top NBA stars to Barcelona in 1992
The following year, much of the same group won gold again at the FIBA World Championship in Argentina, beating Team USA in the semifinal. That loss was one of the reasons the Americans sent their top NBA stars to Barcelona in 1992. Kenny Anderson, who was part of that USA team, later admitted that those players paved the way for the later generation of Europeans.
"Yeah, they beat us. Drazen played, Kukoc, Divac… They were incredible. That was the first time I saw international players really play, and I realized they could play in the NBA too. After that, they made the Dream Team" Anderson said.
By 1992, most of those Yugoslav players would have been in their prime, making that potential clash all the more intriguing. Unfortunately, we'll never know how that game would have played out, but the fact that neither Galis, Sabonis, nor the rest of Europe could challenge the young Yugoslav team at that tournament speaks volumes. Team USA has later felt their power story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 8, 2025, where it first appeared.
