Latest news with #VladeDivac
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former Laker Vlade Divac has emergency surgery after breaking hip in motorcycle accident
Former NBA star Vlade Divac, left, sits with Sasa Doncic, father of the Lakers' Luka Doncic, during the team's game against the Golden State Warriors on April 3 at Arena. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press) Basketball Hall of Famer and former Lakers fan favorite Vlade Divac broke his hip Thursday when he fell from his motorcycle while riding near the Adriatic Sea coast in Montenegro. On Friday, a spokesperson for a hospital in Risan said the 57-year-old Serbian basketball legend now has an artificial hip after emergency surgery. Advertisement 'During the day, a surgical procedure was performed,' hospital spokesperson Ljubica Mitrovic said of Divac. 'He is in a stable general and physical condition and is under a careful supervision of the medical staff.' Divac, a 7-foot-1 center, was drafted by the Lakers in 1989 after leading the Yugoslavia men's basketball team to an Olympic silver medal the previous year. He became a full-time starter during his second season as a Laker and soon emerged as a fan favorite, with frequent appearances in commercials, sitcoms and late-night talk shows. Read more: How the Buss family made the Lakers a Hollywood marvel After seven seasons with the Lakers, Divac was traded to the Charlotte Hornets for the recently drafted Kobe Bryant on July 1, 1996. (The Lakers would sign another 7-1 center, Shaquille O'Neal, as a free agent later that month.) Advertisement Divac played two seasons with the Hornets and signed with the Sacramento Kings as a free agent in 1999. He spent six years there — a stint that included his only All-Star season, in 2000-01 — before returning to the Lakers for the last of his 16 NBA seasons in 2004-05. After finishing his career with 13,398 points, 9,326 rebounds, 3,541 assists and 1,631 blocked shots, Divac had his No. 21 jersey retired by the Kings in 2009. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019. Divac was the Kings' general manager from 2015 to 2020. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
26 minutes ago
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Former Laker Vlade Divac has emergency surgery after breaking hip in motorcycle accident
Basketball Hall of Famer and former Lakers fan favorite Vlade Divac broke his hip Thursday when he fell from his motorcycle while riding near the Adriatic Sea coast in Montenegro. On Friday, a spokesperson for a hospital in Risan said the 57-year-old Serbian basketball legend now has an artificial hip after emergency surgery. 'During the day, a surgical procedure was performed,' hospital spokesperson Ljubica Mitrovic said of Divac. 'He is in a stable general and physical condition and is under a careful supervision of the medical staff.' Divac, a 7-1 center, was drafted by the Lakers in 1989 after leading the Yugoslavia men's basketball team to an Olympic silver medal the previous year. He became a full-time starter during his second season as a Laker and soon emerged as a fan favorite, with frequent appearances in commercials, sitcoms and late-night talk shows. After seven seasons with the Lakers, Divac was traded to the Charlotte Hornets for the recently drafted Kobe Bryant on July 1, 1996. (The Lakers would sign another 7-1 center, Shaquille O'Neal, as a free agent later that month.) Divac played two seasons with the Hornets and signed with the Sacramento Kings as a free agent in 1999. He spent six years there — a stint that included his only All-Star season, in 2000-01 — before returning to the Lakers for the last of his 16 NBA seasons in 2004-05. After finishing his career with 13,398 points, 9,326 rebounds, 3,541 assists and 1,631 blocked shots, the Kings retired his No. 21 jerseyin 2009. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019. Divac was the Kings' general manager from 2015-2020. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former Laker Vlade Divac got injured after falling off motorcycle
From 1989 to 1996, Vlade Divac was a fairly productive center for the Los Angeles Lakers. They drafted him in the first round of the 1989 draft following the retirement of legendary center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and he became a serviceable player for them as they rebuilt during the 1990s. He returned to the team for one more go-around in 2004. However, a back injury limited him to 15 games that season, and he called it quits shortly afterward. Advertisement On Thursday, Divac, who is 57 years of age, reportedly broke his hip in a motorcycle incident. Via ESPN: "Former NBA center Vlade Divac underwent emergency surgery after breaking a hip in a fall from his motorcycle in Montenegro, doctors said Friday. "The accident happened Thursday on a road near the Montenegrin Adriatic Sea coast. Hospital officials said Divac sustained a fracture and that an artificial hip was implanted." Luckily, the 7-foot-1 Serbian is said to be doing OK. "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." Divac was one of the first serviceable European players to enter the NBA. He was somewhat ahead of his time as far as his skills, as he could not only score out of the low post but also pass the ball effectively, hit perimeter jumpers and even handle the ball and run the fast break. He was so versatile that, at the time, some felt his natural position was forward. But he continued to play at the 5 and finished with career averages of 11.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 blocks a game. Advertisement The Lakers traded him for the draft rights to a 17-year-old Philadelphia-area native named Kobe Bryant in 1996. Ironically, that trade almost came back to bite them, as Divac went on to become a pivotal member of those free-wheeling Sacramento Kings teams of the early 2000s that came within a fingernail of defeating L.A. in the 2002 Western Conference Finals. Following his retirement, he accepted a job with the Lakers as a liaison to help them scout players in Europe. He was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019. This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Former Laker Vlade Divac got injured after falling off motorcycle
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Hall of Famer Vlade Divac breaks hip in motorcycle crash
June 20 - Hall of Fame center Vlade Divac is recovering after emergency surgery to repair a fractured hip sustained in a motorcycle crash. Doctors told The Associated Press that Divac, 57, was in stable condition following Thursday's accident near the Adriatic coast in Risan, Montenegro. Divac played eight seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, six with the Sacramento Kings and two with the Charlotte Hornets during a career that spanned from 1989-2005. One of the first European players to successfully transition to the NBA, Divac averaged 11.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 blocked shots in 1,134 career games (979 starts). Divac also served as the general manager of the Kings for six seasons from 2015-20. The 7-foot-1 Serbia native was a first-round pick by the Lakers in 1989, made the All-Star team with the Kings in 2000-01 and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019. He helped the Yugoslavian national team win silver medals at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and 1996 Atlanta Olympics and gold at the 1990 FIBA World Cup. --Field Level Media
CBS News
3 hours ago
- Sport
- CBS News
Former Kings, Lakers center Vlade Divac breaks hip in motorcycle crash in Montenegro
Former Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers center Vlade Divac underwent emergency surgery after breaking a hip in a fall from his motorcycle in Montenegro, doctors said Friday. 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.
