Vlade Divac has held numerous titles throughout his remarkable career in professional basketball. He’s a trailblazer for international players, a multi-time FIBA World Champion and Olympic silver medalist, an NBA All-Star, a humanitarian, a former President of the Serbian Olympic Committee and now, the current VP of Basketball Operations and General Manager for the Sacramento Kings.
All too often though, the 7-1, Serbian-born center is solely (and perhaps unfairly to an extent) remembered as the player the Charlotte Hornets acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers in July of 1996 in exchange for the draft rights to future Hall-of-Famer and five-time champion Kobe Bryant.
With Bryant having spent part of his childhood in Los Angeles idolizing Magic Johnson, he and his agent, Arn Tellem, had their sights set on the iconic purple and gold and a major media market. Amidst widespread hesitancy around the league at the time to draft a player straight from high school, the Lakers rolled the dice and traded up in the 1996 NBA Draft to land Bryant with the 13th overall selection.
And it was Divac on the other end of the deal as the Lakers needed to clear cap space in order to make a run at Shaquille O’Neal in free agency later that summer. Drafted by the organization out of Yugoslavia back in 1989, Divac had been with the Lakers for his entire seven-year NBA career. He initially met the deal with defiance and threatened to retire, a move that would have called off the transaction entirely.
“When they made the trade to send me to Charlotte, I was really thinking about retiring,” said Divac in an interview with Hornets.com. “I always felt like I played basketball for fun. It’s a game, not like a job. Knowing that I have to go somewhere where I don’t like, I felt like somebody’s forcing me to play basketball. I was really thinking of retiring.”
Divac’s hesitations began dissipating after traveling to his new city shortly after he was dealt. The visit changed his mind completely and he started embracing the new beginning.
“[I didn’t know] too much about Charlotte,” he recalled. “North Carolina is a basketball state, but I wasn’t happy when they made the move to send me here. I came here for a week or two to spend time with [Hornets Head Coach] Dave Cowens and then basically, I fell in love with Charlotte.”
Incorporating Divac into a rotation that already included All-Star Glen Rice, fellow newcomer Anthony Mason and mainstays Dell Curry and Muggsy Bogues, the Hornets won a franchise-record 54 games in the 1996-97 NBA season. One of the first true ball-handling and occasional three-point-shooting big men, Divac averaged 12.6 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.3 SPG and a career-high 2.2 BPG over 81 appearances his first year with the team. Along the way, he set a still-standing single-game Hornets record with 12 blocks against the New Jersey Nets on Feb. 12, 1997.
Whatever the reason, there was certainly a novelty about Divac that was captivating to Hornets followers. He originally came from Europe, which at the time, had not produced nearly as many NBA players as it has today. His skillset was atypical for a player of his size and combined with his infectious, upbeat attitude, he quickly became a fan favorite.
“Vlade was vastly popular,” said longtime legendary Hornets radio and television broadcaster, Steve Martin. “Always friendly with the fans. Always played with a smile on his face. You never saw Vlade get mad. Him and Anthony Mason complimented each other perfectly. Mason from around the elbow and mid-post areas and then Vlade down low.”
Charlotte went 51-31 the following season and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals for the first time since 1993 after taking down the Atlanta Hawks in the opening round. Divac said that one of his favorite memories as a Hornet took place against the team’s ensuing opponent, the two-time reigning champion Chicago Bulls.
“We beat them in Game 2 in Chicago,” Divac stated. “[Hornets guard and former Bull] B.J. Armstrong was with us and he started talking trash in the media afterwards and I said, ‘Why are you waking up the lion?’ Michael Jordan scored 91 points over the next three games.”
The Hornets’ season came to an end after Jordan’s eruption, although Divac’s averages of 11.2 points, 13.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.0 steal and 2.0 blocks in the five-game series were still quite impressive. His time in Charlotte was also concluding as he signed a deal with Sacramento later that summer. Although Divac is remembered more fondly for playing in other locations, Charlotte represented a significant chapter in his basketball story that is especially cherished.
“It was a beautiful two years here. We had a very good team,” he reflected. “It was a good group of guys. We had a lot of fun, worked hard. I loved the fans here in Charlotte. They were very basketball-educated, very supportive of the team. I was very sad when they left for New Orleans [in 2002], but very happy when the name came back. I think it was a great thing to do.”
Divac played another seven NBA seasons after leaving Charlotte, which included his first and only All-Star Game nomination in 2001. He helped lead the Kings to the brink of the NBA Finals in 2002 before retiring three seasons later after a 22-year professional career, counting his time in Europe.
“I came here and actually fell in love with Charlotte and the Hornets. That’s exactly what happened to me. I found a new way of motivation. Charlotte basically extended my career for the next seven years. I was thinking of retiring. I was 30 and played seven more years after that, just because basketball felt different here in Charlotte.”
Divac regularly travels with the Kings to road games and last January, had the opportunity to check out where he used to live in Charlotte, which has changed significantly over the last two decades.
“I lived in SouthPark. I went down there to see my old neighborhood and it’s different. It’s finally a city. Downtown is a lot of fun. I’m so happy. Even my kids, they were small when I was here and they love Charlotte.”
Much like his former hometown, Divac has continued to evolve over the years, finding himself at the helm of an upstart Kings team that owns the league’s longest playoff drought at 12 seasons. It might have been a brief stay for Vlade in Charlotte, but one that gave life to his basketball career and plenty of memories and moments to Hornets fans.