United by Slovenia, and Their Dreams

Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic picked up a hockey stick with practiced ease, snapping his wrists with the quickness of a proven goal scorer.

Kings rookie Anze Kopitar dribbled a few times, got as much lift as his flip-flops would allow and let fly a jump shot that swished through the net.

“I’m good,” he said, smiling. “Soft hands.”

Just kids on a playground in El Segundo, nine time zones and thousands of practice hours away from their common homeland.

It’s remarkable that two athletes from Slovenia, a middle-European country that’s about the size of New Jersey and has a population of 2 million, have found success in North America while playing and practicing in the same buildings in the same city. Vujacic, 22 and preparing for his third Laker season, and Kopitar, a rookie sensation at 19, marvel at the circumstances that have united them in this new land.

“It’s unbelievable,” Vujacic said. “I’m sure he had the same dream, to one day be in the NHL or do his maximum. In my childhood, in my free time I would always practice, and that’s what brought me here. I had certain goals in my life and now I’m here, and I’m sure it is the same for him.”

Kopitar tried to meet Vujacic last year but couldn’t connect. The Lakers’ masseur introduced them a few days ago and they arranged for Kopitar to watch a workout and join Vujacic for lunch.

“Basketball is bigger than hockey in Slovenia, but I hope hockey is going to get bigger,” said Kopitar, who is 6 feet 3 and claims he was “pretty close” to being able to dunk when he played basketball as a kid.

Vujacic said he played soccer, volleyball and hockey “on rollerblades with a tennis ball” before focusing on basketball.

Having recently laced up skates at a rink near his Palos Verdes home, where he discovered “I wasn’t that good,” he can appreciate Kopitar’s success in scoring six points in the Kings’ first four games.

“I’m pretty sure he’s a big star back home right now, 19 years old, in the NHL, especially playing with the Kings,” Vujacic said. “I’m happy for him.”

Both speak English well but enjoy the chance to converse in Slovenian and not fumble for a word or explain a cultural reference.

“It gives you, how to say, something to relax on,” Vujacic said. “It’s not, ‘OK, me against everybody.’ I’m not abandoned.

“Don’t get me wrong. With everybody here I have a great relationship, but to have someone you can talk to, it’s amazing.

“And I don’t have to explain where Slovenia is and that it’s not Slovakia.”

Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia until it became an independent republic in 1991. It borders Austria, Hungary, Croatia and Italy and has coastline on the Adriatic.

It has produced world-class gymnasts, soccer players, skiers, rowers and runners, including women’s 800-meter indoor world record holder Jolanda Cepak. Kopitar, the Kings’ first choice and 11th overall in the 2005 entry draft, is the first Slovenian to play in the NHL since the country gained its independence. Vujacic, chosen 27th by the Lakers in the 2004 NBA draft, is one of seven Slovenians to have played in the league.

Kopitar is from Jesenice, a city of about 20,000 in northwestern Slovenia. From there, “it’s 25 minutes to Italy, five to Austria. I can see the tunnel from my balcony,” he said.

His father, Matjaz, coaches the local hockey team, which plays in the Austrian League. His mother, Mateja, works in the family restaurant, where he sometimes helped.

“I’m pretty good with the plates,” he said. “I can carry four.”

But he knew that his future wasn’t in waiting tables, and he went to Sweden at 17 to hone his hockey skills.

“There’s a certain point you’ve got to leave if you want to get better,” he said. “In my case there was not any steps more left, so I had to go away and face new challenges.”

Vujacic grew up in Maribor, a city of about 115,000 in northeastern Slovenia. The area is the site of a stop on the World Cup Alpine tour, but Vujacic always loved basketball and left home at 15 to play in Italy.

“I had bigger goals than just play in some Slovenian division and be there, stuck,” Vujacic said. “I had an opportunity to go to Italy and at that time I had to make a very big decision in my life....

“You can’t let opportunities slip away. And if you want something, you have to dedicate yourself 100% for what you want.”

Vujacic has brought his mother, stepfather and younger sister and brother to live with him and oversee his business affairs, but Kopitar’s family is in Slovenia, watching him on satellite at 4:30 a.m.

He’s not suffering, living with teammate Patrick O’Sullivan a few steps from the sand of Hermosa Beach, but he pines for the familiar.

“What I miss the most is my mom’s cooking,” he said. “For my pregame meal I almost always had mashed potatoes and fried chicken wings.”

Vujacic nodded knowingly. “I couldn’t handle it without my mom. That’s the best cuisine ever,” he said. “I can understand him. Hopefully he will get over that and by playing a lot he won’t have time to think about that.”

He said he’s ready to help Kopitar with advice or merely lend a friendly ear, paying forward the favor done for him a few years ago by Vlade Divac, a star of the former Yugoslavia.

“I have to keep going with other people that come now,” Vujacic said. “We’ll probably hang out more now. It will probably be a good friendship. That would be nice.”

Helene Elliott can be reached at helene.elliott@latimes.com.