Drazen Petrovic (Croatia)
Drazen Petrovic was an all-time European hoops legend before he ever came over to the NBA. Petrovic won multiple medals each at the Olympics, FIBA World Cup, and FIBA EuroBasket and was named MVP or some version of Best Athlete almost every year from 1985 to 1989.
Petrovic was nicknamed Mozart of the Hoops for the way he beautifully orchestrated everything on the court.
He came to the NBA at age 25 and put up two 20 points a game seasons for the New Jersey Nets with an absurd 45% three-point percentage, making the All-NBA team in 1993. And then his career and his life were tragically cut short when Petrovic died in a car accident at age 28. Petrovic made the Hall of Fame posthumously and was voted the best European basketball player in history at the 2013 FIBA EuroBasket, and his legend lives on today.