Spreading NBA Love: An Ode to Vlade Divac

For a while, I struggled to come up with a topic for my first column here on the Bleacher Report.  I thought about reflecting on the All-Star starters, announced last night; but y'all have already heard about that enough.  I thought about commenting on a big trend in the L, like the migration to Europe; but that's getting too much attention in the media, so I won't add to the problem.

What to say?  How to introduce myself?  I've concluded that there's really no better way than to pay tribute to the player who got me hooked on the NBA and this game. Here's to you, Vlade Divac.

That's right, not MJ, not Shaq; not the Answer, and not Kobe.  Nope, it's the dude who I first saw in the Super Nintendo video game NBA Jam, the dude whose name I had no idea how to pronounce for at least a month.  I may have been calling him [VLAYD DIV-ick], but I had mad love for him from the start.

I was 9, so the childish tendency to latch on to certain things as one's "favorite" undoubtedly had something to do with my fanaticism.  But over time, with much watching, reading and general consumption of basketball, I came to understand the man and respect him all the more.

Vlade was part of the original wave of European leaguers to get jobs in the NBA.  Taken 26th overall by the Lakers in 1989, he was seen as a project, someone who would learn from and back up a certain Mr. Abdul-Jabbar, and maybe eventually emerge himself.

But Divac had different plans. Having played professionally in his native Serbia since the tender age of 15, he was ready to break out much sooner than projected.  After making the All-Rookie team in 1990, he played a key role on the Lakers team that challenged Jordan's Bulls in the 1991 Finals.

For years, Vlade was the man in the middle for the Lakeshow, averaging a double-double twice and always appearing among the league leaders in blocks.  Perhaps more notable, however, was his passion for the game; though he got (and still gets) accused of being the biggest flopper of all time, Divac was always in the game, be it scoring, defending, distributing, or cheerleading.

If you've read up to this point with a vague memory of the cat's name, and no more, it's because you only remember him as the man traded to the Charlotte Hornets on draft night for a high schooler by the name of Kobe Bryant. Yes, the summer 1996 deal looks lopsided now, but something tells me no team or fanbase has been disappointed to have the jovial giant around.

After a couple solid playoff seasons in the teal and purple, Divac signed as a free agent with the Sacramento Kings. Being an Atlantan, I was upset to see my main leave the Southeast; but had I known what his new team was going to become, I would have been all smiles from the moment I heard.

From 1999 to 2004, Vlade teamed with Chris Webber, fellow Serbian Peja Stojakovic and Mike Bibby to form the nucleus of an elite Kings team that won over 50 games in four consecutive years and vied with the rip-roaring Mavericks for the highest scoring club in the league.

Sure, the best result from the Sacramento years was a Game Seven loss to the Lakers in the 2002 Western Conference Finals, but the way the Kings reemerged and consistently added excitement to not just the West, but the whole Association, is not to be underestimated.

Vlade "played" one more season with the Lakers (he acted more as a player-coach-scout) before calling it quits in 2005.  That is, he called it quits for his NBA playing career.  Since, the endearing Slav has done plenty more.

You may have seen on NBA.com that Divac's "You Can Too" charity campaign has been making waves not only in his homeland, but also in distressed areas of Africa. And if you didn't know, this is far from his first charitable venture: the Divacs' Childrens' Foundation (co-operated by Vlade and his wife, Snezana) has donated around $2.5 million to needy kids.

What at first was such a random, juvenile decision - to follow the first guy I used in some arcade version of our greatest sport - has turned out to be quite justified.  After all, this is a man who, with his wife, has personally adopted a girl left orphaned by the violence between Serbia and Bosnia. This is a man who, when his five-year-old son asked for a cigarette because he had seen his father smoking, put away the pack and lighter for good.

Great play (and hilarious Married With Children and Taco Bell commercial appearances) aside, Vlade Divac has been and will always be worth rooting for because of his love.  I'm fortunate he passed some on to me, as through him, I learned to love this game.