Michael Jordan’s intimidating nature made him the scariest match-up in the league. Even the dominant Shaquille O’Neal has confessed that he disliked guarding MJ. But in the early 1990s, then New Jersey Nets shooting guard Dražen Petrović had become almost as feared as Jordan because of his ‘killer instinct’ on the court. Vernon Maxwell, who was a key part of the Hakeem Olajuwon-led Houston Rockets that won two Championships, recently revealed that Petrović sent chills down his spine too.
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Mad Max had high words of praise for Petrović on Jeff Teague’s Club 520 pod. Maxwell confessed that Petrović was offensively a bigger nightmare than MJ.
The Rockets star had to exhaust all his energy to guard him as he was terrific with his off-the-ball motions and kept defenders on their toes throughout the game. If the Croatian was afforded even a little space, he’d punish them immediately.
“That’s the worst cover in the world, Dražen Petrović… This mother****er was a killer… They used to run that mother****er off three, four screens, you had to chase this mother****er,” Maxwell said.
What made Petrović even more terrifying was his ability to create his own shot. But while acknowledging the Croatian guard, Mad Max did admit that countering Jordan still remained the hardest assignment.
He stayed at home for some extra rest to prepare for the grueling assignment when Jordan was in town. Therefore, Maxwell’s wife used to cherish the match-up because it was a rare opportunity to have her husband at home. The 2x NBA champ hilariously described the situation.
“My wife used to be glad when Mike came to town, because I never used to stay home. ‘Oh look at his a** here, cuz Mike in here… Now he going to lay his a** down,’” Maxwell added as Teague and his crew burst out laughing.
At any rate, Maxwell mentioning Petrovic and Michael Jordan in the same breath sums up the impact the Croatian guard had on the league. His legacy continues to propagate through current hoopers.
When LeBron James had high praise for Dražen Petrović
During the 2013 All-Star Weekend, James was asked about the best international player of all time. He was torn between Dirk Nowitzki and Dražen Petrović. LBJ hailed Petrović’s ability to thrive both near the rim and on the outside while also pointing out his ability to perform in tough moments.
“Best international player of all time? Dirk (Nowitzki) or Petrovic. His ability to shoot the ball and he was very athletic. He wasn’t afraid of nothing. He wasn’t afraid of the moment, he wasn’t afraid of anything, and you know he was awesome.”
This praise is in line with the testimonies about the high-quality Croatian scorer. Reggie Miller once termed him as the most difficult cover and thought he was the best shooter ever before the emergence of Stephen Curry. Unfortunately, Petrović passed away due to an accident in 1993 at the age of 28, leaving a ton of “What Ifs’ behind him.
