<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame. Former Kings center Vlade Divac amassed more than 3,000 assists along with over 13,000 points, 9,000 rebounds and two Olympic medals during his 15-year NBA career. On Tuesday, the former All-Star will be honored with Hall of Fame induction for perhaps his most important assist of all. But this Hall of Fame – The World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame – honors world-class athletes not just for their prowess in the game, but for assistance to the community. A commitment that both Divac and the Kings embrace. One of three world-class athletes to be elected to the Humanitarian Hall’s Class of 2008, Divac will be honored alongside three-time NFL Pro-Bowl running back Warrick Dunn of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Olympic skier Jimmie Heuga, the slalom skiing bronze medalist at the 1964 Innsbruck Games, who put the U.S. on the world stage by becoming one of the first Americans to medal in the sport. The Sacramento great joins eight NBA players and a collection of sports immortals such as tennis great Arthur Ashe, Major League Baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson, NFL coaching legend Tom Landry, soccer great Pele and the Harlem Globetrotters to be enshrined in the Boise Hall for their self-less commitment to improving the lives of others. “To help people around the world is so important,” said Divac, who played for Sacramento from 1998-2004 where he was named to the 2001 NBA All-Star team and helped the Kings to six of six playoff appearances and a 2002 trip to the Western Conference Finals. “My country went through tough times, which is why I get involved. The feeling is great when you get recognized,” he said. “It means that a lot of people care. It’s a great feeling.” For Divac, community service has taken on global proportions – mirroring the former Yugoslav national team member’s travels in basketball. Initially, his Group Seven Children’s Foundation, founded with six Serbian national team members, helped children improve their basketball skills by providing free camps, clinics, lectures equipment and apparel. But its mission changed when children in the former Yugoslavia needed more immediate and important help following civil wars and unrest in the Balkans. Divac’s work has since provided more than $9 million in humanitarian assistance and educational programs to children in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the United States, Indonesia, Ethiopia and China. And his attention is now focused on improving the circumstances of the nearly 7,000 refugees displaced over 15 years ago from war-ravaged Yugoslavia. “Playing basketball in the states gave me an opportunity to see the world through different eyes,” said Divac. “The world is so small. We depend on each other and should help each other.”</div> Kings.com
