The 40-year-old, who played for the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings, is the favourite to take over the running of Olympic sport in Serbia when the elections are held tomorrow.

 

He claims to have the support of between 65 and 70 voters on the Assembly of 83 members to replace current president Ivan Curkovic.

 

Divac has promised that he will hit the ground running.

 

He said: "Every [sports] association are under obligation to track their talents and seek funding for their improvement and development, while the preparations for the London event need to start as of tomorrow.

 

"Not only for 2012, but also we must have in mind the next Games in 2016.

 

"That is something which simply has to change, whether or not Vlade Divac becomes the president on Tuesday.

 

"I have not decided to put forward my candidacy in order to improve my financial position, as that is taken care of by the 13 years I spent playing in the NBA League.

 

"I am a happy man, president of the SOC or not."

 

Divac has already met a number of the electorate to explain what he will do if he is elected.

 

He said: "I explained them what moves I would make in order to create more success for our domestic sport in general.

 

"If I can take their word for it, they are to back my programme.

 

"That is why I expect the delegates will require a public voting procedure, instead of the unanimous one that has been in use until now.

 

"If they are honest people from the world of sport, they will have nothing to hide.”

 

Curkovic, a 64-year-old  former goalkeeper for Yugoslavia, and manager of the Serbia national team, has claimed in December he would pull out of the race because he had failed to gain the necessary support of five sports.

 

He has continued to put his name forward, despite a court in Belgrade declaring him ineligible, but Divac has refused to criticise him.

 

Divac said: "If Curkovic and myself decided to enter a dispute with that topic we would look like politicians who fight in the Serbian Parliament as if they were in a market, while the nation is facing numerous burning issues.

 

"If I win the election, there will be no vindictiveness from my part and no mass dismissals.

 

"I will attract all the people of sport that wish and can help me.

 

"I am interested in the future of the Serbian sport, while I will not look back in past.”

 

Divac is one of Serbia's most successful ever sportsmen.

 

At 7ft 1in he played centre and was among the first group of European players to transfer to the NBA in the 1980s when he signed for the Lakers.

 

Divac was a huge success and is one of only three players in the history of the NBA to score 13,000 points, 9,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists and 1,500 blocked shots, alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Hakeem Olajuwon.

 

He is due to be honoured by the Kings on March 31 when they retire the number he wore when he played for them.

 

Now a major media figure in Serbia, appearing in several television adverts for a number of products, in October Divac was appointed by the Serbian Government as an adviser for humanitarian issues.

 

From 1920 to 2004 Serbian athletes participated at the Olympics as part of Yugoslavia and then Serbia and Montenegro before finally competing as a wholly independent nation at Beijing earlier this year, where they won three medals, a silver and two bronze.