Dino Radja recalls the tragedy of Drazen Petrovic / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: AP Photo/Elise Amendola - Scanpix Credit AP Photo/Elise Amendola - Scanpix

Dino Radja visited Israel as NBA Junior Ambassador and sat down with Walla for an interview.

The Basketball Hall of Famer remembered the fateful day when his friend Drazen Petrovic passed away in a car accident (1993).

The traumatic memory still brings tears to Raja's eyes even today. He found it difficult to speak for long seconds.

"We were on the team together, we played in the European Championship qualifiers in Berlin, and we were supposed to meet for further training in Zagreb," Radja told the Israeli media outlet.

"At two in the morning, I got a phone call. My mother called me and said, what happened. It was one of the most horrible moments of my life. I called Mirko Novosel, who confirmed that it was true. At first, I thought maybe he was just injured, but the worst happened," the 54-year-old added.

According to Dino Radja, the following days and weeks were very difficult from an emotional standpoint. The flashbacks come up until this time.

"It was awful, just awful. For weeks I just thought about it. In the first practice, we stood on the court and just cried. We were not able to play at all. He was one of my best friends. We talked almost every day, we were a lot together. Many years passed, but I still think about him a lot.

He's one of the best players I've ever seen, and he also helped me a lot as a player. His way of thinking was so unique," spoke the legendary athlete regarding Petrovic's greatness.

Dino Radja and Drazen Petrovic both won a couple of silver medals at the 1988 and 1992 Olympics.

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