Viewed in
2010
Formats
HD TV
Premise
Part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series, a documentary about NBA European players Vlade Divac and Drazen Petrovic, and the Yugoslavian civil war that torn them apart.
Loved
Everything about it.
Thoughts
One of the best of the series.
I loved the wealth of basketball footage that I have never seen before. Watching the highlights of the Yugoslavian national team was like watching poetry in motion. As a big fan of Petrovic, it was a joy to see his sweet jumpers once again, and helped me further appreciate his game on the NBA and international stage. His footage deserved to be watched by NBA fans who have never seen him play. After Len Bias, he was the biggest "what if" death in my generation.
Divac's early days footage were cool as well. But as a Lakers fan, this was a great stroll down memory lane for me to watch him run the floor and make sweet passes with his vision. He stood out on star-studded squads and was well-liked by fans like me. Ah, good times.
But it was more than just a fantastic reminiscing documentary, it had a great, sad story to tell. A story that masterfully explained in detail the history of Yugoslavian basketball in the 1980's and 1990's, the key moments when ethnic tensions and sports collided, and how it tore two basketball brothers apart, further devastated by untimely death. We got a glimpse of Divac's national and personal burdens that resided within him for two decades. The main national players, as well as Divac's and Petrovic's families, openly talked about these events and their consequences and impacts.
It was a poetic, painful story, centered on Divac and others' willingness to revisit the past to gain closure on a bond of basketball.
Note: Subtitles would probably help with some of the players' accents.
What I would change
Nothing.
