Jordi Fernández pays tribute to Nets legend on SLAM Night

Jordi Fernández shouts out Dražen Petrović pregame, sporting a SLAM tee with a magazine he graced in the 90s.

It’s SLAM Night this evening at the Barclays Center — and Jordi Fernández came into it dressed accordingly.

Before speaking with the media ahead of his team’s upcoming bout with the Indiana Pacers, Fernández trotted out to the podium wearing a 1993 SLAM cover tee, which featured Nets, EuroLeague, and NBA legend Dražen Petrović.

Before and after fielding our usual questions regarding player availability and the upcoming game’s outlook, Fernández reflected on Petrović’s basketball journey, explaining his view of it as a fan and now as a fellow contributor to the growth of international basketball.

“I mean, you see here, our guy Dražen, with the 41st symphony. You guys know they called him the Mozart of basketball in his home country, so I like to represent,” Fernández said, alluding to his fit after being asked about SLAM Night. “I grew up watching him. He played for Cibona and Real Madrid, I had great memories, and then he ended up here, so life goes in circles.”

Petrović played professionally overseas from 1979 to 1989 before joining the Portland Trail Blazers and later the Nets. There, he improved with every season, averaging 12.6, 20.6 and 22.6 points per game from 1990 to 1993 — captivating fans with his sweet shooting stroke both domestic and abroad. In his final year, before he was tragically killed in an auto accident on the German Autobahn, he became the first European player to be named All-NBA.

“I think it was huge, because obviously at the time, no internet, no social media, so it was another time,” Fernández said, reflecting on Petrović’s impact. “I remember when he played for Madrid and I remember when he played for Cibona as well. Then he came here and fighting the adversity. It was something we all believed and knew how good he was. Then he comes to the NBA, and sometimes it takes you time to break through. But at home, we’re all like, ‘He’s one of the best ever!’ And he’s not finding a way to play, and obviously you got Clyde Drexler and really good teams right there, amazing coach in Portland, and it tells you how life works sometimes.”

“You still believe in yourself, he believed in himself, then he got to a different home that worked very well for him,” Fernández went on. “Right spot, the right time, kept believing, and he did amazing things. Obviously he represented European basketball, Croatian basketball, and we were all very proud, because we were like, ‘See? We told you that he could do that.’ You know, it’s special. To have his number retired here is special for us.”

Special, it is. Even after Vince Carter’s jersey goes up a few weeks from now, Petrović’s will be one of just seven to hang in the rafters at the Barclays Center. Petrović is also immortalized at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, where he was inducted in 2002.

Fernández isn’t the only one bringing it on SLAM Night. The Nets have the main concourse at Barclays Center loaded with iconic Nets SLAM Magazine covers, including several dating back to the team’s days in Jersey. There are also also several displays featuring images from photoshoots with current Nets, including Ben Simmons, Cam Thomas, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Dariq Whitehead.

SLAM has been shouting the Nets out on their social media channels all week leading up to tonight’s game as well. The iconic brand has been celebrating the Nets and all else involved in the game since its launch in 1994.