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This week I spoke to Biserka Petrovic, the mother of the late basketball genius Drazen Petrovic, who was born on October 22, 1964 in Sibenik, Croatia and died on June 7, 1993 in Denkendorf, Germany. His mother and biggest fan, who is also the driving force behind the Drazen Petrovic Museum and Foundation, wants to commemorate the 20th anniversary of his death with a game between KK Cibona Zagreb and the New Jersey (now Brooklyn) Nets, the two teams for which Drazen had his best performances in his short, but great career. It is an idea that deserves support. I really hope that such a game could take place next October at Zagreb Arena. Drazen deserves this effort. Euroleague.net

Brooklyn Nets, Drazen Petrovic, Croatia 

NBA basketball side the Brooklyn Nets could be set to play a match in the Croatian capital to mark the 20th anniversary of the death of its former Croatian star Drazen Petrovic. The Brooklyn Nets, who were called the New Jersey Nets when Petrovic was a star there in the early 1990′s, will play a match against Petrovic’s former club Cibona in Zagreb if there is enough interest, it was reported on Euro Leagues website. Croatia Week

Brooklyn Nets, Drazen Petrovic, Croatia 

Aleksandar Petrovic, Drazen Petrovic's brother and the coach of the Bosnian National Team, said in interview posted Saturday that he would "love" to see Bosnia's best player, Mirza Teletovic, play for the "New Jersey Nets," citing his Hall of Fame brother's career with the team. Petrovic spoke with Bosnia's leading sports site, Sport Centar Bosnia. NetsDaily

Brooklyn Nets, Drazen Petrovic, Mirza Teletovic, Aleksandar Petrovic 

In the early ’90s, the Nets looked like a team on the rise, with a young core of Kenny Anderson, Drazen Petrovic and Derrick Coleman. Led by future Hall of Fame coach Chuck Daly, the Nets were 43-39 and pushed the 54-win Cavaliers to a decisive fifth game in the first round of the 1993 Eastern Conference playoffs. But everything changed on June 7, 1993, the day Petrovic died in a car crash in Europe. “When we had Drazen die,” Anderson said last night, “that turned the organization back a few years . . . more than that.” New York Post

Brooklyn Nets, Kenny Anderson, Chuck Daly, Drazen Petrovic 

On Monday, Kelly Dwyer noted that New Jersey Nets sharpshooter Anthony Morrow had plans to honor franchise legend Drazen Petrovic at Saturday's Three-Point Contest. It was a great idea to pay tribute to one of the Nets' best players ever, a guy who would have gone on to accomplish even more in the NBA if his life hadn't been cut short by a terrible car accident in 1993. Morrow followed through on his promise, wearing a classic Petrovic jersey during his first-round run during the Three-Point Contest (screenshots via SB Nation). And while Morrow's 14 points weren't enough for him to advance to the competition's final round, most everyone agreed that his gesture made him the event's emotional winner. Yahoo! Sports

Brooklyn Nets, Anthony Morrow, Drazen Petrovic 

Anthony Morrow will use the All-Star break as an opportunity a pivotal figure in Nets history and a superstar lost to early. Morrow will participate in the three-point shooting contest this weekend wearing a Drazen Petrovic jersey. Petrovic was a Net for two-plus years, from midway through the 1990-91 season until 1993, and left a large impression on the franchise. He died in a car crash at 28 years old that summer. His No. 3 jersey is one of five retired by the organization after he spent his only two full seasons with the team averaging more than 20 points-per-game in each. Newark Star-Ledger

Brooklyn Nets, Anthony Morrow, Drazen Petrovic 

There is an imperative episode missing from Hilal Edebal's brain, unremembered over 18 years of haze. As with a lot of incidences and acquaintances since the accident, she can't recall anything about the day her neurons shifted and her former life was snatched away. She only recently recognized it was the same car crash that killed Drazen Petrovic and devastated two basketball communities – one in Croatia, the other in New Jersey. New York Daily News

New Jersey Nets, Drazen Petrovic 

Edebal was the other passenger in the red Volkswagen with Petrovic speeding along a German superhighway on June 7, 1993. To newspaper readers in this country, where Edebal was scheduled to enter her second season at Niagara University, she wasn't even at the scene. Reports at the time misidentified her name as Hilal Haene and her age as 53 - off by a considerable 30 years. Her tragic story was lost, not only in the immediate aftermath, but also in the ensuing years of stories and documentaries. Her budding basketball career, which included a spot on the Turkish national team, was destroyed on impact. Her brain was shaken and driven backward, Edebal says, resulting in eight comatose weeks and a rescinded scholarship at Niagara. New York Daily News

New Jersey Nets, Drazen Petrovic 

"It's been a tough time. Drazen died, it's really horrible, I know, but if he would have survived, I don't know how it would have been for him," Edebal says. "If you see the car, you know he couldn't have continued playing basketball. And I don't know if he could have handled not playing basketball. "It was tough enough for me. I was in therapy for a very long time. I had lost my memory completely. I couldn't find my way around in Munich, even though I grew up there. No matter where I went, my parents had to drive me there and back." New York Daily News

New Jersey Nets, Drazen Petrovic 

"The doctors said after six or eight years my brain would get back to as good as it was before, but it's not," she says. "And I've given up on it. I guess I can be happy I survived and I can walk and I didn't lose my ability to speak." New York Daily News

New Jersey Nets, Drazen Petrovic 

Edebal took the trip as a favor to Szalantzy, a longtime friend and former basketball teammate, who wanted company for the 250-mile trek from Munich to the airport in Frankfurt. They picked up Petrovic, who had arrived with the Croatian national team following a European Championships qualifying game in Poland. According to his lawyer, Nicholas Goyak, Petrovic decided against flying to Croatia with the rest of his teammates because he was eager to see his girlfriend. A long-distance relationship afforded them little togetherness. "I'll talk to you when I get back to Zagreb (in Croatia)," Petrovic told Goyak over the phone before getting in the car. New York Daily News

New Jersey Nets, Drazen Petrovic 

At approximately 5:20 p.m., they encountered a truck that had crashed through the guard rails and was blocking all lanes of traffic. According to the police, the truck driver got out of his vehicle to try to warn oncoming traffic. But it was too late. Szalantzy's attempt to turn away from the truck left Petrovic most vulnerable on impact. Petrovic, who was sleeping, flew out of the front window. His head hit the truck's diesel tank and he died instantly. Edebal, who is 6-2, wasn't wearing a seatbelt and was crushed in the back seat. New York Daily News

New Jersey Nets, Drazen Petrovic 

Edebal says Szalantzy endured emotional distress following the crash, including death threats from fans of Petrovic, but also bears some blame for the accident. Based on information she gathered from police reports, Edebal says Szalantzy was speeding along the Autobahn - a German highway with no set limit - and that other cars were able to avoid the disabled truck because they weren't traveling as fast. "She didn't mean to kill (Petrovic), but she was driving way too fast," Edebal says. "And she ruined my life." Edebal vaguely remembers Szalantzy visiting her in the hospital, and then subsequent meetings at coffee shops after returning to Munich. It's all a blur. Edebal doesn't know now if the accident was ever brought up in conversation. New York Daily News

New Jersey Nets, Drazen Petrovic 

"I really don't remember what we talked about," says Edebal. "Then all of a sudden she disappeared anyway. She got married. I haven't seen her in a long time." New York Daily News

New Jersey Nets, Drazen Petrovic 

Reed had a five-year extension offer on the table for Petrovic, a free agent who also was entertaining a $4 million-per-year offer from a team in Greece, Panathinaikos. People close to the situation anticipated Petrovic would return to New Jersey, especially since the Nets' offer - although lower than what he might have received in Europe - would have made him the league's second-highest-paid two-guard behind only Michael Jordan, says Reed. "I'm pretty sure he was going to end up back with us," Reed says. "He liked playing in New Jersey. He had a lot of friends in New York. New York was an ideal place for him." New York Daily News

New Jersey Nets, Drazen Petrovic 

Al Harrington: Once Brother's is on #ESPN! Very interesting Story. There Team was Sick... Check it out. Drazen Petrovic (check my Spelling) was MJ of Europe. Twitter

New York Knicks, Al Harrington, Drazen Petrovic 

Divac and Petrovic once were best friends, and you would think that would count for a lot/something. But there are certain parts of the world where nationalistic pride dissolves bonds once thought indelible. Not saying that's right or wrong, just how it is, and watch a soccer match between two former warring nations and see if you don't agree. I'll never forget the tears that welled in Divac's eyes when I asked about the troubles back home, knowing I never would understand them in the way he did. Las Vegas Review-Journal

Vlade Divac, Drazen Petrovic 

For the documentary, Divac had a chance to sit down with Petrovic’s parents. Twenty years later, it was an opportunity to comfortably walk in a region of his native land that once loathed his kind. “Everything is fine there now,’’ said Divac. “The war will always stay on people’s minds, especially if they lost somebody in this stupid war. “For me, the trip to Croatia was helpful, but there’s still sadness of the early 1990s and the stupid war and missing Drazen. It’s terrible. “The way I see it, if you’re a friend, you’re a friend forever, not a part-time friend. And the war hurt many people and I am just glad many of us have been able to recover.’’ Boston Globe

Vlade Divac, Drazen Petrovic