FanHouse VladeDivac

The Sacramento Kings on Tuesday retired the No. 21 jersey of center Vlade Divac, a great statesman and a very good center.

Divac played six seasons for the Kings – from 1998 through 2004 – and every one of those years he played alongside Chris Webber. A case could be made they were the best big-man passing tandem of all-time.

Divac and Webber were the integral pieces that allowed the Kings to play a beautiful style of basketball based on spreading the floor, ball movement and passing. In the early 2000s, Kings basketball was a wonderful alternative to isolation, and more successful in most cases.

In honor of Divac, here's one guy's list of 10 of the greatest passing centers of all-time:

In retirement Vlade Divac has stayed active in sport. The old Kings star served as a scout for the Lakers, ran a Spanish club and will now train his sights on building Serbia's Olympic hopes in 2012 and beyond. On Tuesday, Divac was elected president of the Serbian Olympic Committee.

Divac's quick ascension met with some internal strife, as nuts as that sounds to us on the outside. Divac is promising to upset the metaphorical apple cart; Serbia's effort in Beijing were panned as disorganized and feeble. Divac's priorities are focused on building some institutional strength to get Serbia on the right track.

With the Sacramento Kings hitting rock bottom this season, many of their fans are reminiscing about times when the team was actually one of the best in the NBA. Fittingly, the Kings organization has decided to reminisce a bit and retire the jerseys of Vlade Divac and Chris Webber.

Divac and Webber came to the Kings in 1999 and helped completely turn around the Kings franchise. Both were versatile big men with passing ability and mobility that made the Kings one of the most exciting teams to watch during the first half of this decade. If not for "Big Shot" Robert Horry's heroics in Game 4 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals or Chris Webber's horrible knee injury against the Mavs in the 2003 playoffs, that Vlade + C-Webb combination probably would have secured at least one ring for the Kings.

According to the SacBee, Vlade's jersey will be retired on March 31st when former teammate Peja Stojakovic comes to town with his New Orleans Hornets. The team is still trying to figure out a date for Webber's ceremony, as he has obligations as an announcer for TNT and NBA TV.

Anyhow, if the Kings are looking for entertainment suggestions for Vlade's ceremony, I think I might just have the answer for them:

The best part? Even David Stern agrees! Kudos to Basketbawful (via Sactown Royalty) for finding this gem, which was produced for Vlade's Humanitarian Organization Divac, a worthy organization that provides resources for refugees.

As Brinson relayed, Tim Donaghy has alleged the NBA and two referees conspired to fix a playoff game in 2002 in order to provide for a high-ratings Game 7. Only one series in 2002 went to seven games: Kings-Lakers in conference finals. How funny, that's a Game 6 with is the first example anyone brings up when discussing monumental miscarriages of NBA justice.

In said Game 6 -- which makes me queasy on memory to this day -- the Lakers took 27 free throws in the fourth quarter (the Kings had 9). Scot Pollard fouled out in 11 minutes. Vlade Divac battled foul trouble the entire night and finally got disqualified with three minutes left. Chris Webber -- never confused for a banger -- had foul trouble and finished with five. Both Vlade and Webber received techs in the first half. Shaquille O'Neal took 17 FTs, and Kobe Bryant 11. Sacramento was called for a stunning 31 personal fouls ... and lost by 4. Coach Rick Adelman had this to say to reporters after the game:

"It's a shame, a real shame. ... Our big guys get 20 fouls, and Shaq gets four. You tell me. Obviously, they got the game called the way they wanted to get it called. We tried to play through it ... but obviously, it was a huge change tonight over the last few games.''

Donaghy could very well be making an attempt to embarrass the league or save his own skin. He is not a trustworthy person. And being that Game 6 is such a legend, that believing it was fixed is such an easy conceit to make ... it makes sense that Donaghy would make the claim. David Stern's arguments (and Pollard's statements) make sense.

But you can't unsee certain things. And on May 31, 2002, almost everyone saw an unfairly officiated game. Maybe Donaghy's team just knew the right button to push, but you can't blame us for believing him. We think we saw it, and this guy's saying it happened. What do you want to do?

Seeing NBA players support one charity or another is a pretty frequent occurrence. Sometimes it seems like something more based on publicity than it does on something straight from the heart, but that's alright: motivation isn't as important as awareness.

But everyone knows that the real givers do so behind the scenes and with minimal publicity. So it is that Vlade Divac continues to carry the cross of Serbian refugees, working with his wife to raise money via his foundation, Humanitarian Organization Divac (HOD).

The world may have moved on to bigger and bloodier conflicts, but one former NBA star is staying his ground. Serbia's Vlade Divac, a versatile center in L.A. and Sacramento before his retirement in 2005, has taken on the refugee crisis that continues to plague his home country. Under the banner of "You Can Too," Vlade and his wife have been raising awareness and money to improve the lives of Serbia's 6,748 refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Divac's Children Foundation is what you'll be donating to if you click the button on the right side of Vlade's home page, and, clearly, it's a worthy cause. Vlade's done similar things to this, as his foundation raised money for victims of Hurricane Katrina. In addition, he holds an annual Celebrity Poker Challenge Benefiting the Lakers Youth Foundation.

Again, though, it's refreshing to see a (former) NBA player carrying on the the same efforts to assist less fortunate people that he had when he played. Oftentimes, I tend to think that some of the donations and charitable appearances that athletes make can come off as shallow and forced. Not the case with Vlade. Although if I find out that my donation funded the European cigarette industry, I'm going to pretty upset.

I guess Vlade Divac mentioned that he didn't think the Lakers could beat his Sacramento Kings in the (2002?) playoffs without having home court advantage. Whoops. Shaq is hilarious here, and while his improv skills are off the charts, his choice of ringtones is at the very least, questionable.

[via Bill Simmons' links]

In college, Joakim Noah came off like a... well, you know. But now that he's almost a pro baller, he kind-of making a heroic turn -- calling out wimpy prospects, flipping off the man, and according to The Sacramento Bee's Ailene Voisin, loving Vlade Divac.

During a long lunch with [Geoff] Petrie last week in Phoenix, Noah peppered the Kings' basketball president with questions about the Webber-Peja-Christie-Divac-Bibby style of play, the passion of the Arco Arena crowd and the series with the Los Angeles Lakers. Mostly, he said, he inquired about franchise icon Vlade Divac.

"I'm a big Vlade fan," Noah said, nodding. "I love Vlade Divac. I just liked his style. He was a great competitor. Just the way he was, such a leader. I remember watching Yugoslavia play against the USA team at the '96 Olympics ... and I had a Penny Hardaway jersey on ... and Vlade was playing so well, and I just became a fan right away. I took off my USA jersey, and I was a Yugoslavia fan."

Unfortunately for Joakim, the term 'Yugoslavia' went by the wayside a few years later, so Noah might run to go get his Nenad Krstic Serbia & Montenegro jersey.

(Also, all apologies for the figurative Joakim porn. Just getting used to the idea of rooting for him for the next 10 years...)

Is it that hard for people? Seems to me like it's spelled just like it sounds. Moving on ... Hedo Turkoglu recently gave an interesting intrerview with HoopsWorld in which he talked about several things, including the apparent leadership void on the Magic:

When you first made it into the NBA I remember your first dinner with Peja Stojakovic and Vlade Divac...Vlade was there in Sacramento to help teach and lead the young players. With all the young players you have now, who is Orlando's Vlade Divac?

"We don't have him. They made a team behind Dwight Howard, and he is a kid. This team was built for him. We of course have Grant Hill, and he sometimes has great games, but we are not consistent. If we can teach that to our kids, we would be ok. Its hard to play without Divac on your team, but its not easy to find something like that. They made a team for Howard and Nelson, and since i have been in this league for a while, I sometimes really want to take that roll (sic) of a leader."

Is Orlando OK with that idea? Are they going in that direction to let you be more of a leader?

"I have been in the league for a while. They are telling me they want me to show up everyday and they want the kids on the team to look up to me and my work ethic. That's what they are saying."

Reading between the lines (which is always completely safe and responsible!), it sounds like Turkoglu is taking a mild shot at Orlando's management. But then again, why does he need permission to take on a leadership role? Either the team respects a guy or they don't, and I imagine that's largely determined by how he carries himself in the locker room and whether he chooses to speak up when needed.