Latest news with #Divac
Yahoo
5 hours 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
5 hours 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.
8 hours ago
- Sport
Former NBA great Vlade Divac breaks a hip in motorcycle accident in Montenegro
PODGORICA, Montenegro -- 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 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. He later served as general manager of the Kings. When he joined the Lakers in 1989, he was among the first group of European players to transfer to the NBA. elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.
New York Post
8 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Post
NBA legend Vlade Divac undergoes emergency surgery after scary motorcycle accident
Vlade Divac needed emergency surgery to implant an artificial hip on Friday after falling off his motorcycle in a scary incident in Montengero. The iconic NBA center broke his hip in the Thursday accident, which came on a road near the Montenegrin Adriatic Sea coast, according to the Associated Press. 'During the day, a surgical procedure was performed,' said Ljubica Mitrovic, a spokeswoman of the hospital in the town of Risan told the outlet. 'He is in a stable general and physical condition and is under a careful supervision of the medical staff.' Kings' Vlade Divac (C) drives against Los Angeles Lakers' Robert Horry (L) and Shaquille O'Neal during Game 6 of the NBA Western Conference Finals May 31, 2002. REUTERS Injuries from the accident left Divac, 57, unable to stand, per Serbia's Informer. As one of the first wave of European players to come to the NBA, Divac introduced himself to North America in 1989 with the Lakers, earning All-Rookie honors. Over 16 NBA seasons, the 7-foot-1 big man went on to play for the Hornets and Kings before returning to the Lakers before retiring after the 2004-05 campaign — becoming the first player born and trained outside the US to play over 1,000 games in the league. acramento Kings general manager Vlade Divac looks on from the bench as his team warms up before facing the Denver Nuggets in an NBA basketball game , Oct. 21, 2017. AP In 2009, Sacramento retired his No. 21 and in 2019, he was inducted into the Basetball Hall of Fame. A post-playing career saw Divac start out as a Lakers scout before joining the Kings' front office in 2015, eventually taking the reigns as general manager, a position he held until stepping down in 2020.
USA Today
8 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Former Laker Vlade Divac got injured after falling off motorcycle
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. 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. 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.
