An athlete must be loved. It’s part of the job. Without that connection, all their achievements are in vain, for they fail to capture the hearts of the fans. When an athlete earns that love, they enter the hearts and souls of everyone. If they also collect all the possible medals and titles, they ascend to the status of a legend.
Nearly half a century ago, this status was achieved by the legendary basketball player of Partizan and the Yugoslav national team, Dražen Dalipagić, known worldwide as Praja. In his hometown of Mostar, however, he remained simply Prajo—a true Yugoslav star then and now.
How could he not be loved when, for over a decade, he brought joy to the former Yugoslavia with his basketball prowess? Representing the “Blues,” as the team was affectionately called from Postojna to Dorjan, he won an astonishing 12 medals: Olympic gold, silver, and bronze; World Championship gold, silver, and two bronzes; and three European golds and two bronzes.
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As a nation, we were immensely proud of our basketball players. Children of that era fell asleep to stories of the golden boys’ victories. It was a time when Yugoslavia’s basketball dominance was grounded in reality.
When Praja turned 18, he could hardly imagine the heights he would reach in basketball. Growing up near Velež’s football field, he dreamed of wearing the “Reds” jersey. The cool, clear Neretva River, narrow stone streets, the iconic Old Bridge, blooming springtime gardens—all of this tied Mostar’s children to their city and its beloved team, Velež.
Dalipagić first caught attention during the “Mostar Neighborhoods” tournament, leading Velež scouts to invite him to train. His dream of becoming the central defender for his favorite club seemed within reach. Wearing the number five jersey, he was a fixture in the youth team for four years. It was then that the city gave him the nickname Prajo, after Velež’s central defender at the time. He accepted the name with pride.
“As a true Mostar native, I was, of course, a huge Velež fan,” Dalipagić once said about his early sports beginnings. “I started training in football at the stadium just a hundred meters from my house.”
He loved football far more than school, much to the concern of his modest and quiet family. His father, a clerk, and mother, a maternity nurse, worried but never forbade his passion for sports. Raised in a proletarian spirit with a clear value system, Prajo carried the lessons of respect and discipline into his life and career.
Prajo’s older brother, Saša, was a goalkeeper for Velež’s junior team but later switched to basketball, quickly becoming one of Lokomotiva’s top players. Inspired, Prajo began playing both sports—football in summer and basketball in winter. This versatility later benefited his career. In 1969, during a youth work action in Zagreb, his brigade’s basketball team won a tournament, prompting him to dedicate himself fully to basketball.
At 17, Saša took him to a training session. Within a year, Prajo had grown over 10 centimeters and was soon playing for the first team, scoring 20 to 25 points per game. His talent attracted offers from Jugoplastika, Bosna, and Partizan. Although he initially signed with Jugoplastika, Partizan’s coach Ranko Žeravica convinced him to join the Belgrade club, promising immediate opportunities to play.
“Young man, you’re raw talent, and I’ll do everything to help you succeed. Don’t waste your chances—they don’t come around often,” Žeravica told him after traveling to Mostar to train him.
Dalipagić was a scoring machine. While he didn’t have Slavnić’s cleverness, Delibašić’s elegance, Kićanović’s explosiveness, or Ćosić’s tactical wisdom, he brought an unmatched ability to simplify the game and rack up points. His soft shooting touch and disciplined nature made him an indispensable member of the golden generation of Yugoslav basketball.
His scoring was relentless. He excelled from all positions, particularly the corners, where he seemed incapable of missing. To this day, with an average of 33.7 points per game, he remains Partizan’s top scorer. If the three-point line had existed when he played, his averages would have been even higher.
Dalipagić received numerous accolades, including being named Europe’s best basketball player three times (1977, 1978, 1980) and Yugoslavia’s best athlete in 1978. Despite his height of 197 cm, which would disqualify him as a forward by today’s standards, his extraordinary jumping ability allowed him to compete against much taller opponents. With a vertical leap of 90 centimeters, Praja was a force to be reckoned with.
In 1976, after his stellar performance at the Montreal Olympics, the Boston Celtics invited him to join their team, potentially making him the first European in the NBA. Legendary coach Red Auerbach saw Dalipagić as the successor to John Havlicek. However, Dalipagić declined the offer because joining the NBA meant he could no longer represent Yugoslavia. “That was too high a price to pay,” he later recalled.
A RECORD 70 POINTS
On January 25, 1987, as a veteran, Dalipagić set a record in the Italian league by scoring 70 points in a single game for Reyer Venezia against Virtus Bologna. His efficiency was remarkable: 18 of 23 for two-pointers, 5 of 9 for three-pointers, and a flawless 19 of 19 from the free-throw line.
After retiring, Dalipagić reflected on his career with humility. “I believe few people today even know who Dražen Dalipagić is. The values I admired no longer matter, but I sleep peacefully, satisfied with who I am,” he said.
Dražen Dalipagić was a legend of Yugoslav basketball, a symbol of better and happier times, and a gentleman both on and off the court. On Saturday, January 25, in Belgrade, at the age of 74, this hero from the posters of our childhood passed away. Rest in peace, dear Prajo. For those of us born in the ’50s and ’60s, you made our childhoods and youth unforgettable.
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Izvor: Sportklub, Foto: GULIVER