Author Todd Spehr gives insight into Drazen Petrovic's career

Todd Spehr is an Australian author who self published “Drazen: The Remarkable Life and Legacy of the Mozart of Basketball,” in 2015 on deceased former New Jersey Nets guard Drazen Petrovic. Spehr follows Petrovic’s life from childhood, up until his untimely death in a car crash on June 7, 1993. Spehr heard about Petrovic from a scout in Oklahoma City, prompting him to look further into Petrovic’s life.

“I wanted to understand why Europeans were thought of in a certain way and how Drazen sought to change that,” Spehr said in an April 2015 interview with the HSMSE Sports Journalism class.

Zoran Citra, a former teammate of Petrovic, wrote an article about the book Spehr was in the process of constructing. The Petrovic Museum, run by the family, noticed the story. The family hurried to support Spehr in his research. The superstar’s life lacked coverage, leaving many basketball fans unaware of his story.

“They appreciate that I am trying to relay what Drazen’s life was about,” he said.

Petrovic’s mother, Biserka, made sure to provide Spehr with as much information as possible about her son’s life growing up and their reaction to his tragic end. The family wants to translate the book so even Croatians can better understand Petrovic’s legacy.

“His mother does not speak any English, but she wrote me two separate letters that were translated,” he said. “Both of them were 8-10 pages; one was about his childhood, and the other was about how they dealt with life after he was killed. It was just unbelievable.”

Petrovic developed a close relationship with New Jersey fans in only two seasons with the Nets. His energy and flashy plays electrified the Izod Center. The shocking news of Petrovic’s death devastated the Nets organization, as well as the family and friends of the Croatian star.

“[Coach] Chuck [Daly] wanted to resign based on Drazen’s death, it shook him up pretty bad. He stayed an extra year, but after that he left, [Derrick] Coleman and [Kenny] Anderson went downhill,” Spehr said. “Even [with] the Croatian national team, same thing happened. They never placed better than third in another tournament.”

Even with his short time with the Nets, Petrovic is remembered well more than 20 years after his passing. Whether it is his number three hanging from the rafters in Brooklyn, or his museum in Croatia, basketball fans are reminded of Petrovic's all too short legacy worldwide.

Contributions by Junior Flores, and Velid Mulic