If Names Count, Rookie Is a Sure-Fire NBA Star
If you can go by what’s in a name, the Lakers have a gem in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s replacement, Vlade Divac. Seven-footer Divac (DEE-vahtz), translated from the Slavic, means giant or giant-like. Vlade (VLAD-deh) comes from to rule, to reign or to dominate. His wife’s name, Snezana, translates to snow-white.
Incidentally, the Lakers’ backup center two seasons ago, Mike Smrek, means juniper bush, and how do you relate that to basketball?
TOM LUBISICH
Malibu
All things Lakers, all the time.
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