Dražen Petrović was a Yugoslav and Croatian professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he initially achieved success playing professional basketball in Europe in the 1980s with Cibona and Real Madrid before joining the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1989.

The 1987 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1987, was the 25th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It was held in Greece between 3 and 14 June 1987. Twelve national teams entered the event under the auspices of FIBA Europe, the sport's regional governing body. The Peace and Friendship Stadium, located in the Neo Faliron in Piraeus, Attica, was the hosting venue of the tournament. The host, Greece, won its first FIBA European title by defeating the defending champions and heavily favored Soviet Union, with a 103–101 score in a gripping final decided in overtime. Greece's Nikos Galis was voted the tournament's MVP.