Paspalj recalled his final few summer 1989 days in Yugoslavia before setting off for the U.S.: Upon arriving to the United States in early July 1989, months before the other four Europeans, and signing a US$350,000 per season contract, Paspalj even ended up living in Popovich's house for a few weeks as he acclimatized to the new surroundings. Shortly after landing, he was off to California to play Summer League. Once the season started, Paspalj found himself relegated to the role of 21-year-old rookie Sean Elliott's backup, mostly getting to play garbage time minutes at the end of games. Paspalj reportedly drew head coach Larry Brown's ire by admitting he played "no defense, only offense." He also confessed a weakness for Pizza Hut and Marlboros. Midway through the season, the Spurs organization even resorted to sending Paspalj to a hypnotist in order to curb his smoking habit, though the treatment ended up not succeeding. The highlight of his forgettable season came on 20 January 1990 away at Denver when he scored 13 points during 14 minutes on the floor in a 126-99 loss versus the Nuggets. Paspalj got cut from the team three days before the 1990 NBA Playoffs started, as the team officials wanted to make roster room for veteran forward Mike Mitchell. Paspalj's overall time in the NBA thus turned out to be far from successful as he featured in only 28 games during the season, scoring a total of 72 points in 181 minutes (2.6 points and minutes per game) of action. However, Paspalj did develop a cult following among fans, evidenced by the Terry Cummings-penned song "The Mark of Zarko", which was sung to the tune of "The Mark of Zorro." Local press in San Antonio also took to him due to the folksy manner in which he conducted his media appearances with stream-of-consciousness answers and quotable sound bytes. Summing up his season with the Spurs and life in the United States, Paspalj remarked in 2015: The 1989-90 season did have a golden lining for Paspalj as he was an integral part of the Yugoslav team which took gold at the Goodwill Games in Seattle, beating the United States in the final, and at the World Championships in Argentina, with Paspalj leading all scorers in the final against the Soviet Union with 20 points. Back in Partizan for a season In 1990 Paspalj returned home to