Former NBA star and Los Angeles Lakers centre, Vlade Divac, is recuperating after sustaining a broken hip in a motorcycle accident in Montenegro.
Hospital staff confirmed on Friday that the 57-year-old was injured late Thursday when he fell from his motorcycle near the coast.
Ljubica Mitrovic, a hospital spokeswoman, stated that Divac was immediately admitted to the hospital in Risan, approximately 47 kilometres (29 miles) west of Podgorica.
Following thorough examinations, doctors confirmed a hip fracture, and surgery was subsequently performed. Divac is currently in stable condition at the hospital.
Divac, drafted by the Lakers in 1989, was a trailblazer, becoming one of the first European players to make a significant impact in the NBA.
He played seven seasons with the Lakers before stints with the Charlotte Hornets and Sacramento Kings, eventually concluding his NBA career back with the Lakers. Mentored by basketball greats Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, he quickly adapted to the league, becoming the first non-US-born and trained player to exceed 1,000 NBA games.
His illustrious career includes Olympic silver medals with both Yugoslavia and later Serbia and inductions into the Basketball Hall of Fame (2019) and FIBA Hall of Fame (2010). He played 117 games for the national teams of Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro, winning World Championship titles in 1990 and 2002 and European Championships in 1989, 1991, and 1995.
The hospital has requested that the public and media respect Divac’s privacy during his recovery period.
