Ryoga Hibiki wrote:I don't know what the myth about Drazen is supposed to be, but the guy was super legit.
The way he got there was also super impressive, in particular the mental fortitude to reach the top and then accept to restart facing all the prejudice. He then worked on his body, his defense, focused on his strenghts and became an all nba level guy.
I think he would have had a legit chance to peak as a top10 guy, as he could have brought back the handling and passing game he had in Europe as he became an established star in the NBA.
Yes, Drazen was a great player of course. But he does have some ridiculous myths associated to him. Probably around as bad as Galis' and Oscar's myths, although not as bad as Sabonis' myths. But still, pretty over the top nonetheless.
Some ridiculous Drazen myths that you will regularly see being mentioned in any discussion about him:
1. That he scored 112 points in a EuroLeague game - while in reality, he scored 112 points in a Yugoslav league game, while playing against an under age 16 team.
2. That he won 4 EuroLeague championships - while in reality, he won 2.
3. That he was averaging out of this world scoring numbers in Europe in the 80s. You regularly see claims like 50, 60, or even 70 or 80 points a game for his scoring average being claimed - while in reality, he was anywhere from the low teens to the thirties in scoring average in various European leagues in that time.
4. That he was averaging like 20-25 assists a game in Europe in the early to mid 80s. You see that claim all the time also - while in reality, they didn't even keep track of assists in most box scores stats in European leagues until the late 80s, and they didn't even actually count them as an officially tracked and kept stat until the 90s. And at that time when they did make it an official stat, they were counted much more stringently.
I could go on with some more such totally ridiculous myths, but that already is more than enough to show what kind of hyperbolic myths often surround Drazen.
