Longtime NBA point guard Goran Dragic is calling it a career on Saturday. The 38-year-old, a one-time All-Star and one-time All-NBA honoree, is officially hanging up his sneakers with an exhibition farewell game in his native Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Dragic is going out in style, with a farewell event that’s been dubbed the “Night of the Dragon” (his NBA nickname). Dragic and his Slovenian countryman, All-NBA First Team Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, are serving as rival team captains.
Hall of Famers Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash will suit up in the friendly competition. Another Hall of Famer, Dragic’s former Miami Heat teammate, will also suit up — for his first in-game action since 2016.
In a pregame presser, Dragic got surprisingly candid about his future after retirement, per Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops.
“If I’m honest, it’s a little bit scary,” Dragic allowed. “I bounced the ball all my life, suddenly that’s over. That feeling of competitiveness, being with my teammates in the locker room and games. That excitement is gone. I need to find new things to get my life around.”
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Dragic noted that health issues caused him to end his run in 2022-23, after splitting his final season between the Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks as a deep-bench reserve.
“But it’s good, at the end of the day Dirk [Nowitzki] and Steve [Nash] know I wasn’t healthy enough to play,” Dragic continued. “I wanted to be more with my kids and it was an easy decision. I miss games and locker rooms, but I don’t miss practices. Especially in Miami, where they were tough. But I wouldn’t change it, I’m satisfied with my career, Right now I’m happy, no pain anymore.”
The 6-foot-4 vet enjoyed a 15-year season in the league. His humble origins began as the No. 45 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. Following a few breakout playoff performances during his second season with the club, Dragic appeared to cement his place as a keeper in the league.
Dragic was traded to the Houston Rockets midway through the 2010-11 season. The next year, he finished seventh in Most Improved Player voting. Across 66 contests that season (28 starts), Dragic averaged then-career bests of 11.7 points on .462/.337/.805 shooting splits, 5.3 rebounds, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.3 steals a night.
As an unrestricted free agent, an ascendant Dragic returned to Phoenix on a four-season, $30 million deal in 2012. Finally, Dragic broke through to actually claim Most Improved Player honors in 2013-14. He averaged 20.3 points while slashing .505/.408/.760, 5.9 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.4 steals a night. He won Most Improved Player, earned an All-NBA Third Team appearance, and finished 16th in MVP voting.
Dragic didn’t actually return to the postseason, however, until he had been dealt away from Phoenix. He would finally become the dogged playoff foe he was always destined to be upon being traded at the 2015 deadline to the Miami Heat. During their first season without LeBron James, the Heat failed to make the playoffs. But that drought wouldn’t last long.
That summer, he declined his 2015-16 player option and inked a five-season, $90 million free-agent agreement to return to Miami long-term. With All-Stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh leading the charge, the Heat returned to the playoffs in 2016. They took the Toronto Raptors to seven games in the second round of that year’s postseason.
Miami returned to the 2020 NBA Finals with the advent of All-NBA small forward Jimmy Butler and the ascent of All-Star center Bam Adebayo. Dragic averaged 19.1 points on .444/.346/.803 shooting splits, 4.4 assists, 4.1 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and his typical point-of-attack defensive moxie, across his 17 healthy games during that run.
He incurred a plantar fasciitis injury during Game 1 of Miami’s NBA Finals series against the James-led Los Angeles Lakers, ultimately missing four of the series’ six games. L.A. would go on to win.
Dragic was eventually flipped to the Toronto Raptors during the 2021 offseason as part of a Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade. He toggled between Toronto, the Brooklyn Nets, Chicago, and Miami across his last two seasons.
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