CLUBS AND NATIONAL TEAMS
KK Cibona
Dražen played for BC Cibona from 1984 to 1988 as a guard and wore jersey number with a number ten. In that period Zagreb became the basketball center of Europe. It was a four-year period of sold-out arenas, days of the biggest European teams led by famous players coming to Zagreb and Dražen's matches on the verge of genius. Those were the years when Cibona had something nobody else had. Cibona had a spectacle. Cibona finally had a superstar!
A lot of people still remember when Dražen came to Zagreb, his playing style and the way he won the hearts of people. It is hard imagining that in the future there will be another connection like the one Dražen had with Cibona’s supporters. The love between Dražen and his fans happened at first sight. In Dražen’s first two seasons with Cibona games were played at Dom sportova which soon became too small for everyone wanting to see Dražen’s art on the basketball court. Arenas were packed – everybody wanted to see Dražen’s virtuosity live. Therefore, no one was surprised by the comments that the new arena built in 1987 for the Universiade was too small for everyone who wanted to see Dražen and enjoy in spectacular matches. Same can be said for every hall where Cibona played at the time.
In Dražen’s first two years in Zagreb, Cibona played five times against Real Madrid, one of the strongest European clubs at that moment, and won all five games. Dražen’s scoring average in Cibona’s jersey was 40 points per game. Because of his playing style he got his famous nickname Amadeus or Mozart of basketball. His record for most points came in 1985 when he scored 112 points against SMELT Olimpija from Ljubljana. Although this was the first round match of the 42nd Yugoslav Championship, some claim this record is unofficial due to the fact SMELT Olimpija’s team consisted of junior players.
Dražen was the one connecting all of his teammate’s qualities and made Cibona a top European club. Together, they won back-to-back European Champions Cups. First one was in 1985 against Real Madrid in Athens (87:78). After a sleepless night, fans welcomed the players at Zagreb’s airport. Delighted crowd wanted to greet Dražen, get his autograph or take a picture with him. After the welcoming party Dražen said: “We have to do it again.” That was Dražen’s mentality. When it was over, it was over. He didn’t live in the past, there were no long night celebrations, or tears the day after. One year later Cibona did it again – this time against Žalgiris in Budapest. Dražen and Sabonis, two of the best European players for that season, were in the center of attention. The return from Budapest was magnificent. All the way from the border with Hungary fans greeted Cibona's bus of happiness along the road. When players finally arrived in Zagreb, supporters welcomed them in front of the Dom sportova arena where they raised Dražen and carried him to his apartment on the 14th floor. Welcoming parties were not organized those years. There was such an atmosphere and enthusiasm among the people that tens of thousands of people spontaneously gathered to greet the European champions. After successes like this Dražen always carried the trophy to the fans. He used to say: “It’s a shame that we don’t have two trophies. One for us, and one for you.”
In Dražen’s last two seasons with Cibona it was obvious to everyone that some things won’t happen again. Dražen simply had to move on. Once again he followed his basketball instinct. Next step in his career was Spanish Real Madrid. After Cibona beat Real Madrid five times in a row in Dražen’s first two years with the club, Real’s managers started pressuring Dražen, wanting him to join the Royal club. However, there were several obstacles preceding Dražen's transfer to Real with the biggest one being the rule which stated that a player could not play outside Yugoslavia before the age of twenty eight. Nevertheless, Real Madrid was persistent – they wanted Dražen at all costs. The amount of money that the Basketball Federation of Yugoslavia, Cibona or Dražen would ask from Real was not questioned. Real’s representatives said yes to every request. In 1986 Cibona’s and Real’s managers have reached an agreement that Dražen would play for Cibona until 1988 and then become a new member of the Royal club. In addition to great sums for the Federation and Cibona, Dražen's contract with Real will be remembered as the highest contract in European basketball up to that point. First million dollar contract! Dražen signed the contract at the age of twenty two. A lot of people back then commented that the king only deserves to play for the Royal club. Contract was signed for four years, but many people felt that he wouldn't stay that long in Madrid.