Vlade Divac joined the LA Lakers in 1989. We became close friends very quickly and soon he started giving me tickets for his games. I always went to see him play- it goes without saying that we from Split love basketball. Soccer is not the be-all and end-all. One day, Vlade asked if I were interested in photographing basketball games. I agreed, although I had given up sports photography long ago. So, for the first time, I came to a game as a photographer. I found a spot under the basket at the center of the baseline. The players were running and flying around. I snapped photos as best as I could, but when I developed the film - disaster! The photographers who were courtside were not allowed to use a flash. We had sensitive film in those days but it was not sensitive enough. And then I realized: the accredited photographers had a few flashes mounted on the ceiling of the arena. They probably paid extra money for them. Never occurred to me. Not my cup of tea, as they say. I shoot celebrities, but not in sports arenas.
From Jadran Lazic's book 50 Years of Photography, Vol. 2, Zagreb 2021, p. 228.