THE NBA DRAFT : Lakers Select Divac, a 6-11 1/2 Yugoslav
In the hope that he will become the next Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Lakers chose 6-foot-11 1/2 center Vlade Divac of Yugoslavia with the 26th pick in the draft.
Bypassing available guards such as Sherman Douglas of Syracuse, Charles Smith of Georgetown and Jay Edwards of Indiana, the Lakers went for the 243-pound giant from Belgrade, who averaged 11.7 points and 6.5 rebounds for Yugoslavia’s silver-medal Olympic team.
Divac, 21, has a good outside shot. Marty Blake, NBA director of scouting services, called him “one of the two best foreign players,” along with Arvydas Sabonis of the Soviet Union, who recently decided to play professionally in Spain.
Against the Boston Celtics at last year’s McDonald’s Open in Madrid, Divac scored nine points and cleared eight rebounds.
Picking 27th, the NBA champion Detroit Pistons selected 6-6 forward Kenny Battle of Illinois.
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