Vlade Divac

[Flopi]

Hi everyone,
In his last edition, french basketball magazine BasketNews had a long interview with Vlade Divac, who is now president of the Olympic Committee of Serbia.
Because I know he is much loved here, here is an approximate translation of a portion about the Kings.
My english is what it is, so please excuse me if it sounds incorrect

BN : There are a lot of talks ongoing about the Kings relocation...

VD (cutting off) : I hope it won't happen. I had a recent talk with Kevin Johnson and he is doing everything he can to keep the Kings in Sacramento. I hope he will succeed because Sacramento citizens are among the best fans in the country. They really love their team. My 6 years in Sacramento were the best part of my NBA carreer. It was unbelievable. I would be very disappointed if the franchise had to leave because Kings fans deserve to keep their team.

BN : Which memories do you keep from your Kings years and this team who was so close to reach the NBA finals in 2002 ?

VD : I think we played the way basketball should be played. It was basketball at its best. I am very proud because, before this era, Kings were irrelevant. It was one of the worst team in the league and, in a very short time, we made it one of the best team in these last past years. We were so close to win the championship. I'm often asked about this missed opportunity but, sincerely, I have no regret. The way we played, the way we acted, the way we trained, I know we were champions. We didn't win for several reasons but, deeply in my heart, I felt like an NBA champion.

 

[PurpleHaze]

Vlade always positive, always inspirational, always Sacramento Kings #1 international hero and spokesman - always.

 

[lwc]

The only player that used to be a Laker that I like.

 

[Tetsujin]

Hey Vlade, can you spare a dime?

 

[Cwebb#4]

Great man...Great team...

 

[CruzDude]

A true Sacramento treasure. Who else would provide such international support for the Kings or any team for that matter? How lucky we were to have had 6 years of Vlade.

 

[VF21]

I was a Vlade fan from the very beginning. One of my greatest Kings memories is being there at Arco on March 31, 2009 when his jersey was hoisted into the rafters. I'm very glad to hear him say once again how much he appreciated us.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

The only player that used to be a Laker that I like.

So... nothing?

 

[hoopsfan]

^^^ I was gonna say...

 

[LWP777]

I miss Vlade. We haven't had a good character guy like him on our team for a long time.