Eleven Brothers – A story of a broken friendship between Vlade Divac and Drazen Petrovic

Narrator Vlade Divac, whose eldest son is now 18, recalls his life when he was the same age. It all started in the mid-1980s after Divac signed a professional contract with Partizan Belgrade and was selected to play for the country’s national team. Divac meets his idol Petrovic, 4 years older than him, who once scored 112 points in a single game (!) At the team’s training ground. The two become friends, although Vlade was outgoing and Drazen a withdrawn guy who always focused on basketball.

The documentary shows the success of the Yugoslav team in the following years. The team, whose captain was Drazen Petrovic, won a total of 5 medals including two golds.

Meanwhile, the next big thing for two friends is the NBA. In 1989, Divac, 7’1” (2.16 m) tall, is selected by the Lakers in the first round and Petrovic is signed by the Portland Trail Blazers, who had drafted him three years earlier. While the cheerful Divac, who barely speaks English at the time, is becoming a new star for the Lakers, Petrovic doesn’t have enough time to play for the Blazers, though he eagerly wants to prove himself. However, the friendship continues with long telephone conversations, almost daily; Divac says they were ‘like brothers’. After two seasons, Petrovic is traded to the New Jersey Nets, where he eventually becomes a star, nicknamed ‘Petro’.

At that time, in multi-ethnic Yugoslavia, civil war was escalating. Croatia was attacked by Serbia, and no one could stand aside. The so-called ‘flag incident’ only made things worse and spelled the end of the friendship between Serb Divac and Croat Petrovic. At the 1990 World Championships, after Yugoslavia had won a gold medal, Divac threw the Croatian flag, which a supporter was carrying, onto the basketball court. He later claimed that he would have done the same thing if someone was carrying the Serbian flag, but the damage was already done and the communication between the two of them finally stopped. It was followed by the tragic death of Drazen Petrovic in 1993 in a car accident.

In his attempt to bring closure, Divac visited Drazen’s mother Biserka and brother Aleksandar in Zagreb and paid tribute to his late friend by visiting his grave.

Although the story of the film focuses on two friends, it was interesting to see the comments of other legendary players, such as Magic Johnson or Kenny Anderson, famous coaches and sports journalists. Toni Kukoc and Dino Radja, two Croatian players who made it big in the NBA, also share their views on these events.

As a person who grew up in the former Yugoslavia, I watched this movie with great interest and mixed emotions. Sadness, pride, nostalgia… My friends and I always admired Drazen, he was a national icon: a handsome, dedicated and brilliant player. Only a sudden death stopped this ‘Mozart of basketball’ on his way to becoming one of the biggest stars in the NBA, something that Vlade Divac achieved. On the other hand, most of us in Croatia consider Divac a villain due to a ‘flag accident’.

I am aware that things in life are not simply black and white, but I can only hope that this documentary will help viewers from both nations better understand each other and begin to appreciate true human values. I would recommend it to anyone who likes basketball, who comes from ex-Yugoslavia or who has lost a close friend due to some circumstance. As Vlade Divac said: ‘It takes years to build a friendship, and it takes a second to destroy it.’