Divac Enjoys Center Stage

Vlade Divac’s NBA journey certainly has been an interesting one.

Eleven years ago, he joined the league as a 20-year-old rookie from Yugoslavia and played a key role on the last Pat Riley-coached Laker team. Then, after seven seasons with the Lakers, Divac was traded, best remembered as the player who followed Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Now? Divac’s career is on the upswing again. Only now, instead of being an out-of-place young European on an aging team, Divac is a veteran leader on a young, exciting team, the Sacramento Kings, who play the Lakers in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs beginning today at Staples Center.

“I think he is pretty much the same type of player he was back then,” said Sacramento assistant coach Byron Scott, a Laker teammate of Divac. “He’s still somebody who can knock down shots from the outside, a very good passer, a very good rebounder. . . . Those things have been the mainstay for him.

“The difference now is, he’s more experienced and he’s a lot more mature. . . . He’s looked upon on this team as more of a leader than he was when he was in Los Angeles.

“Back then, he was one of the guys trying to fit in and find his place in the NBA. Now, he knows his place. He’s been in the league and he knows exactly what he can do and what he can’t do. He tries to stick to the things he does well.”

Sacramento forward Chris Webber didn’t know much about Divac until they became teammates last season.

“It didn’t take long for me to see what he brings to the table,” Webber said. “I noticed right away how good he was with so many intangibles of the game.”

But what really made Webber a fan was how Divac handled himself off the court. Divac showed Webber and the rest of his teammates how to support each other, among other things.

“Vlade is one of the best people I know in the world. Period. Forget basketball,” Webber said. “He is just good people. Maybe it is because he is from Europe or whatever but he is not caught up with a lot of things we Americans get caught up in.”

When Divac was a rookie, he had a rough time adjusting to life in the NBA. The culture shock was compounded by Divac’s inability to speak English well. He was often teased by veteran players--Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Michael Cooper and Scott--after making mistakes. They were hard on him.

Divac eventually worked through his problems, but he could not lead the Lakers back to their glory days. Finally, on July 11, 1996, Divac was traded to Charlotte for the draft rights to Kobe Bryant.

Divac had two solid seasons with the Hornets then signed as a free agent with Sacramento before the start of last season. And there, his leadership skills flourished.

“When I played with the Lakers, I was a young guy and I had great players behind me, to support me from Magic, Worthy and Scott,” said Divac, who began playing professionally in Yugoslavia when he was 16.

“Now, I am the guy who tries to help the younger guys. I am captain of this team and I have to do my best to help them.”

Divac’s dedication was tested last season by war in his homeland. But now the fighting has stopped and Divac’s full attention is back on basketball.

He is more focused than ever on winning an NBA championship. Divac played on the Laker team that lost to Chicago in the 1991 NBA finals and has not been that close since.

He says the Kings have what it takes to win it all. But in their way stand Shaquille O’Neal and the Lakers, heavy favorites to win the title.

“To beat the Lakers, we have to have a perfect game and we’re capable of doing so,” Divac said. “We have to take care of the ball. In the three games we lost [to the Lakers during the regular season], we turned the ball over a lot of times.”

Many around the league consider Divac the center best able to give O’Neal and the Lakers problems. His versatility makes him a threat and Sacramento Coach Rick Adelman considers Divac the key to the series.

“Vlade has to be a factor, not only just shooting the ball but running things through him,” Adelman said. “You have to occupy Shaq. He’s done such a great job of controlling the basket area for them. If Vlade can be effective, then Shaq has to worry more about him and that is going to help us by opening things up for the other guys.”

Webber agreed.

“Vlade is going to have to give us a lot,” he said. “He is checking the big fella [O’Neal], who is playing the best basketball in the league. Because Shaq is such an excellent defender, Vlade’s passing is going to be important. Vlade is going to have to bring his overall game, which is what he is going to do.”

Divac expects a rugged series. He respects O’Neal but is not afraid of him. During the regular season, Divac was not particularly effective against the Lakers. He had a few strong spurts, but O’Neal dominated.

In four games against the Kings, O’Neal averaged 35.3 points and 13.3 rebounds while shooting 56.7%. Divac averaged 9.8 points and eight rebounds, shooting 48.5%.

But Divac knows the playoffs are different.

“We’re going to fight,” he said. “We are not going to let the Lakers just walk through the series. I think we can win the series. We have to approach it like that. We have confidence and we believe in ourselves. I feel good about my game and my team. . . . This is going to be fun.”

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Vlade Divac Playoff Statistics

Sacramento center Vlade Divac (7-1, 260 pounds) will be matched in Round 1 against the Lakers’ Shaquille O’Neal (7-1, 315). Divac reached the playoffs every season except 1994 with the Lakers:

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Year Team R A P 1990 Lakers 5.3 1.1 8.5 1991 Lakers 6.7 1.1 13.3 1992 Lakers 5.5 3.8 9.8 1993 Lakers 9.4 5.6 18.0 1995 Lakers 8.5 3.1 15.6 1996 Lakers 7.5 2.0 9.0 1997 Hornets 8.7 3.3 18.0 1998 Hornets 10.9 3.4 11.6 1999 Kings 10.0 4.6 16.2 Total 7.8 2.6 13.1

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LAKERS vs. SACRAMENTO: Game 1: 2:30 p.m. today at Staples Center, Channel 4