Mike Bibby as a guest of the show “The Knuckleheads” revealed an interesting anegdote from the Sacramento Kings period.
The franchise from California was among the favorites in the territory of the former Yugoslavia. The main reason for that was the tandem of Vlade Divac and Predrag Peja Stojakovic. It was the Serbian center that was the topic of conversation of the former Kings playmaker. Mike Bibby was left in shock when he “caught” Divac smoking cigarettes before the game.
“Vlade Divac provided me with invaluable knowledge about basketball. And not only on the court. I remember an amazing moment when I found Divac smoking a cigarette a few minutes before the game.
I was in shock, but then he just put out his cigarette and went to the court and showed his magic. Regardless of whether he scored 27 points or none, Divac was always a great player, and that’s something I really appreciate” – said Mike Bibby, and then shared a few words about Stojakovic:
“As for Peđa, he was always a gentleman. He is almost always seen in a suit even off the court. They were all fantastic guys and contributed a lot to the team’s success.”
The Sacramento Kings were at their peak during those years. In the finals of the Western Conference in 2002, they were defeated by Los Angeles Lakers after seven games.
Vlade Divac then became one of the tragedians when he bounced a ball off the basket during the fourth game. Robert Horry then caught and hit a three pointer. The rest is history.