.jpg) Dragić with theMiami Heat in 2018 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1986-05-06)6 May 1986 (age 39) |
| Nationality | Slovenian |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career information | |
| NBA draft | 2008: 2nd round, 45th overall pick |
| Drafted by | San Antonio Spurs |
| Playing career | 2004–2023 |
| Position | Point guard |
| Number | 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 31 |
| Career history | |
| 2004–2006 | Geoplin Slovan |
| 2006–2007 | Murcia |
| 2007–2008 | Union Olimpija |
| 2008–2011 | Phoenix Suns |
| 2011–2012 | Houston Rockets |
| 2011 | Saski Baskonia |
| 2012–2015 | Phoenix Suns |
| 2015–2021 | Miami Heat |
| 2021–2022 | Toronto Raptors |
| 2022 | Brooklyn Nets |
| 2022–2023 | Chicago Bulls |
| 2023 | Milwaukee Bucks |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 12,568 (13.3 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 2,816 (3.0 rpg) |
| Assists | 4,405 (4.7 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Goran Dragić (born 6 May 1986) is a Slovenian former professionalbasketball player. Nicknamed "the Dragon", he played professional basketball in Slovenia and Spain before entering the NBA in 2008. Dragić also played for thePhoenix Suns,Miami Heat,Houston Rockets,Toronto Raptors,Brooklyn Nets,Chicago Bulls and theMilwaukee Bucks. He was anAll-NBA Third Team selection and theNBA Most Improved Player with the Suns in 2014. He was named anNBA All-Star for the first time in 2018 with Miami.
Internationally, Dragić led the seniorSlovenian national team to its firstFIBA EuroBasket title in2017, while being named theMVP of the tournament. He is second in all-time points scored for the team and has played ninety games for his country.
Dragić made his debut in 2003, at the age of 17, in the Slovenian minor league withKK Ilirija. After one year, Dragic transferred to the top-levelSlovenian Basketball League andAdriatic League clubSlovan in 2004.
After spending two years with Slovan, Dragic transferred to theSpanish ACB League clubSaski Baskonia, wholoaned him to the Spanish clubMurcia, in 2006.
Dragić joined the Slovenian clubUnion Olimpija in 2007, and he played there during the 2007–08 season, winning the Slovenian League championship with the team.[1]
Dragić entered the2008 NBA draft, where he was selected in the second round, 45th overall, by theSan Antonio Spurs. His draft rights were then traded to thePhoenix Suns in exchange for cash considerations in addition to the draft rights toMalik Hairston, the 48th pick. After the Suns finished a deal withTAU Ceramica (now known as Caja Laboral), with whom he was under contract, they officially signed him on 22 September 2008.[2] The Suns hoped that he would take over the starting point guard position afterSteve Nash relinquished it.[2][3] On 25 January 2010, Dragić scored a then career high 32 points, hitting 6 of 7 three-pointers in a losing effort against the Utah Jazz.[4]
On 7 May 2010, duringgame 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals, he led a Phoenix Suns comeback against the team that originally drafted him, the San Antonio Spurs, scoring 23 of his total 26 points in the fourth quarter. Dragić scored his points on 10/13 FG attempts including 5/5 three-pointers and a 4-point play, as the Suns overcame an early 18-point deficit to defeat the Spurs 110–96 and take a 3–0 lead in their best of seven series in the Western Conference Semifinals. "I think it's safe to say that may have been the best fourth-quarter performance I have ever seen in a playoff game", Suns forwardGrant Hill said.[5]
On 24 February 2011, Dragić was traded to theHouston Rockets along with a protected first-round pick in exchange forAaron Brooks.[6][7] On 13 April 2011, in the Rockets' season finale, Dragić recorded his first career triple-double with 11 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds in a 121–102 win over theMinnesota Timberwolves.[8]
During the2011 NBA lockout, Dragić played forSaski Baskonia of Spain.[9] He played for a brief period of time there until the lockout ended.
Dragić returned to the Rockets for the 2011–12 season. Throughout most of the season, Dragić continued to be used as a bench player as a means to help the Rockets out during the lockout shortened season. In March 2012, he filled in forKyle Lowry, who was out with a bacterial infection. On 9 April 2012, Dragić won the Western Conference Player of the Week.[10]
In 2012, Dragić became an unrestricted free agent. He agreed to sign a 4-year, $30 million deal with a player option on the final year with thePhoenix Suns[11] and officially became a member of the team again on 19 July 2012. He was brought in to replaceSteve Nash, whom he played behind during his first stint with the Suns, as starting point guard. On 19 February 2013, Dragić recorded a career-high 18 assists to go with 14 points as the Suns defeated thePortland Trail Blazers 102–98. Dragić nearly recorded atriple-double against theBrooklyn Nets with 31 points, 12 assists, and 9 rebounds on 24 March 2013. Despite suffering through a 25–57 season, Dragić ended up gaining some career high moments in the process.
After gettingEric Bledsoe from a trade with theLos Angeles Clippers, the Suns ultimately decided to move Dragić to the shooting guard position as a means of putting less pressure on Dragić to distribute the ball to his teammates. In his first game playing with Bledsoe as a teammate, Dragić led the team with 26 points and 9 assists in a 104–91 season opening victory over thePortland Trail Blazers. Dragić had over 8 games with 30 points or more, including a double-double of 31 points and 10 assists in a victory against the Portland Trail Blazers on 27 November 2013. He also had what was, at the time, a career-high 33 points in a loss to theMemphis Grizzlies on 2 January 2014. On 3 February 2014, Dragić won his second career Western Conference Player of the Week award and his first with the Suns for games played between 27 January – 2 February 2014.[12] Three days later, he was paired withOklahoma City Thunder guardReggie Jackson in the revamped, team-based Skills Challenge at the All-Star weekend
On 8 February 2014, Dragić scored a career-high 34 points— while attempting only 13 field-goals— to go along with 10 assists in a 122–109 home victory over theGolden State Warriors.[13] On 23 February 2014, Dragić scored a new career-high 35 points, along with 3 assists and 3 steals, in a 112–115 loss to the Houston Rockets.[14][15] On 28 February 2014, he recorded a new career-high 40 points, along with 3 rebounds and 5 assists, in a 116–104 win over theNew Orleans Pelicans.[16][17] He became the first player, sinceRod Strickland in 1985–86, to set career highs in points three times in a single month. Dragić also became the sixth player, after his head coachJeff Hornacek,Dražen Petrović,Dirk Nowitzki,LeBron James, andKevin Durant, to join the 20-50-40 Club — averaging 20 or more points per game while shooting 50%+ from the field and 40%+ on three-pointers.[18][19] He also averaged over 5 assists per game throughout the season as well, leaving him joining the likes ofLarry Bird,Jeff Hornacek andLeBron James.[20][21]
On 23 April 2014, Dragić won the 2014NBA Most Improved Player Award.[22] One month later, he would end up being honored by his home nation with their national "Apple of Inspiration" award for being a role model and inspiring hope in Slovenia, as well as helping out the nation's community with humanitarian activities.[23] Finally, on 4 June 2014, Dragić was named to the 2014All-NBA Third Team alongsideDamian Lillard,LaMarcus Aldridge,Al Jefferson andPaul George.[24]
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On 19 February 2015, Dragić and his brotherZoran Dragic, were traded to theMiami Heat in a three-team deal also involving theNew Orleans Pelicans that sentJohn Salmons andDanny Granger to Phoenix.[25] Two days later, he made his debut for the Heat, recording 12 points and 3 rebounds in a 105–91 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.[26] Dragić finished the season averaging 16.6 points and 5.3 assists per game in 26 starts for Miami, as the Heat missed the playoffs barely.
On 9 July 2015, Dragić re-signed with the Heat to a five-year, $90 million contract.[27][28] In January 2016, he missed eight straight games because of a left calf injury.[29] On 20 February 2016, he recorded a season-high 24 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in a 114–84 win over theWashington Wizards.[30] He bested that season high on 11 March, recording 26 points and nine assists in a 118–96 win over theChicago Bulls.[31] On 7 April, he recorded 16 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in a 106–98 win over the Chicago Bulls, helping the Heat sweep the season series with the Bulls for the first time since the 2003–04 season.[32] In the Heat's second-round playoff match-up with the Toronto Raptors, Dragić scored a postseason career-high 30 points to help the Heat to a 103–91 victory in Game 6, tying the series at 3–3.[33] The Heat went on to lose Game 7, bowing out of the playoffs with a 4–3 defeat.
On 28 November 2016, Dragić recorded season highs of 27 points and 17 assists in a 112–104 loss to the Boston Celtics.[34] He topped that mark on 6 December 2016, scoring 29 points (his highest-scoring total as a member of the Heat at the time) in a 114–103 loss to theNew York Knicks.[35] Dragić set a new season high six days later, scoring 34 points in a 112–101 win over theWashington Wizards.[36] On 6 February 2017, he scored 33 points and hit a career-high seven three-pointers to lead the Heat to their 11th straight victory with a 115–113 win over theMinnesota Timberwolves.[37]
On 8 November 2017, Dragić scored a season-high 29 points in a 126–115 win over the Phoenix Suns.[38] On 27 November 2017, he was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played 20 November through 26 November.[39] On 15 January 2018, he was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played 8 January through 14 January. It was his fourth career Player of the Week honor.[40] On 1 February, Dragić was named the replacement forKevin Love on TeamLeBron for the2018 NBA All-Star Game, thus making him an All-Star for the first time in his career.[41]
On 27 October 2018, Dragić scored 28 points in a 120–111 win over thePortland Trail Blazers, becoming the firstSlovenian player to reach the 10,000-point mark in the NBA.[42] In late November and early December, he missed eight games with a sore right knee.[43] On 19 December, he underwent successful surgery to clean up his right knee.[44] He returned to action on 23 February 2019 against theDetroit Pistons.[45] On 28 March, he recorded his second career triple-double with 23 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in a 105–99 win over theDallas Mavericks.[46]
In the2019–20 NBA season, Dragić helped the Heat through the2020 NBA Playoffs. In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Dragic scored a team-leading 29 points during a 117–114 overtime win over theBoston Celtics.[47] After winning that series, in the2020 NBA Finals they faced theLos Angeles Lakers. Dragić missed 4 games in the Finals due to a plantar fasciitis injury that he suffered in Game 1. The Heat lost the series in six games.
On 30 December 2020, Dragić scored a season-high 26 points, alongside five rebounds and two assists, in a 119–108 win over theMilwaukee Bucks.[48] On 26 February 2021, he scored 26 points, alongside three rebounds, two assists and two steals, in a 124–116 win over theUtah Jazz.[49] During the first round of the playoffs, the Heat faced the Bucks. On 22 May, Dragić recorded 25 points and two rebounds in a 109–107 Game 1 loss.[50]
On 6 August 2021, theToronto Raptors acquired Dragić andPrecious Achiuwa from the Heat via a sign-and-trade in exchange forKyle Lowry.[51] On 28 November, Dragić announced he was stepping away from the Raptors for personal reasons.[52]
On 10 February 2022, Dragić and a 2022 first-round pick were traded to theSan Antonio Spurs in exchange forDrew Eubanks,Thaddeus Young and a 2022 second-round pick.[53] He and the Spurs agreed to a contract buyout five days later.[54]
On 22 February 2022, Dragić signed with theBrooklyn Nets.[55] He made his Nets debut four days later, recording six points, three rebounds and two assists in a 126–123 win over theMilwaukee Bucks.[56] On 16 March, Dragić scored a season-high 21 points, alongside three rebounds and four assists, in a 113–111 loss to theDallas Mavericks.[57] The Nets faced theBoston Celtics during the first round of the playoffs, but were eliminated in a four-game sweep.
On 2 August 2022, Dragić signed with theChicago Bulls.[58] On 28 February 2023, he was waived by the Bulls.[59]
On 4 March 2023, Dragić signed with theMilwaukee Bucks.[60]
On 31 December 2023, Dragić announced his retirement from professional basketball.[61]
Dragić won the gold medal at the2004 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship with theSlovenian under-20 junior national team. He also played at the2005 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship.
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Dragić competed with the senior men'sSlovenian national basketball team at the2006 FIBA World Championship and the2007 EuroBasket, in limited roles. Dragić's role with the Slovenian national basketball team began to increase in the2009 EuroBasket and the2010 FIBA World Championship. He then played with his brotherZoran in the2011 EuroBasket and the2013 EuroBasket, the latter which was held inSlovenia. During the 2013 tournament, Goran and his brother helped lead Slovenia to a 5th-place finish and a spot in the2014 FIBA World Cup. Dragić finished in the 2013 EuroBasket's top five in points and assists, which earned him a spot on theAll-Tournament Team. In 2014, Dragić was named Slovenia'steam captain afterJaka Lakovič retired fromnational team play. In thefriendly games before the2014 FIBA World Cup, Dragić was rested in 9 of their 14 games, before actually playing in the official tournament's matches. After finishing up their friendly games, Dragić played with no restrictions beyond the rest of the competition; he was the onlyAll-NBA Team member to play in the 2014 FIBA World Cup, aside from theTeam USA members.[citation needed]
Prior to the2017 EuroBasket, Dragić announced that he would retire from playing with the Slovenian national team after the tournament.[62] At the tournament, he helped Slovenia to win its first ever FIBA European championship. He scored 35 points, on 12-22 shooting in thefinal, which was the most points scored in a final, sincePau Gasol scored 36 points in the2003 final.[63] Following his performance, Dragić was given theMost Valuable Player award of the tournament, after averaging 22.6 points per game, in 9 games played.[64][65] Following that performance, he was named the 2017Slovenian Sportsman of the year.
Five years later, in June 2022, Dragić returned to the Slovenian team to play in the third window of thequalification for the2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.[66] On 30 June, he scored 19 points in his first game back, helping his country to a blowout win overCroatia.[67]
Dragić also played atEuroBasket 2022, averaging 14.9 points on 49.4% shooting as the team's sixth man.[68] Slovenia was surprisingly eliminated by Poland in the quarter-finals.
Dragić was Slovenia's all-time scoring leader with 1,050 points in his 90 games,[69] before being surpassed byLuka Doncic on 4 September 2025.[70]
His jersey number 3 was retired by theBasketball Federation of Slovenia on 23 August 2024, ahead of his farewell game at theArena Stožice inLjubljana.[71][72]
Dragić was born to a Slovenian mother and aSerbian father.[73] He grew up in Slovenia playingfootball. However, an injury forced him to switch sports. As a child, he admired NBA playersMichael Jordan,Allen Iverson and future teammateSteve Nash.[74] He is fluent inSlovene,Serbian,Spanish, and English.[75] Dragić's younger brother,Zoran, was formerly his teammate on the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat.[76]
Dragić has two children with his ex-wife.[77][78]
He and Zoran, alongside teammatesMarkieff andMarcus Morris, all briefly played together for the Suns during the fourth quarter of their 112–96 victory over thePhiladelphia 76ers on 2 January 2015. It marked the first time in the NBA's history that two different pairs of brothers played together for the same team at the same time.[79]
President of Republika SrpskaMilorad Dodik honored Dragić with an Order of Njegoš and a Medal of Merit for the People, in August 2018.[80]
Dragić is aSerbian Orthodox Christian.[81][82]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| * | Led the league |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | Phoenix | 55 | 1 | 13.2 | .393 | .370 | .769 | 1.9 | 2.0 | .5 | .1 | 4.5 |
| 2009–10 | Phoenix | 80 | 2 | 18.0 | .452 | .394 | .736 | 2.1 | 3.0 | .6 | .1 | 7.9 |
| 2010–11 | Phoenix | 48 | 2 | 17.8 | .421 | .277 | .608 | 1.8 | 3.1 | .8 | .1 | 7.4 |
| Houston | 22 | 3 | 17.2 | .472 | .519 | .667 | 2.5 | 2.5 | .6 | .2 | 7.7 | |
| 2011–12 | Houston | 66* | 28 | 26.5 | .462 | .337 | .805 | 2.5 | 5.3 | 1.3 | .2 | 11.7 |
| 2012–13 | Phoenix | 77 | 77 | 33.5 | .443 | .319 | .748 | 3.1 | 7.4 | 1.6 | .3 | 14.7 |
| 2013–14 | Phoenix | 76 | 75 | 35.1 | .505 | .408 | .760 | 3.2 | 5.9 | 1.4 | .3 | 20.3 |
| 2014–15 | Phoenix | 52 | 52 | 33.4 | .501 | .355 | .746 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 1.0 | .2 | 16.2 |
| Miami | 26 | 26 | 34.8 | .502 | .329 | .808 | 3.4 | 5.3 | 1.1 | .2 | 16.6 | |
| 2015–16 | Miami | 72 | 72 | 32.8 | .489 | .317 | .667 | 3.8 | 5.8 | 1.0 | .2 | 14.1 |
| 2016–17 | Miami | 73 | 73 | 33.7 | .476 | .406 | .790 | 3.8 | 5.8 | 1.2 | .2 | 20.3 |
| 2017–18 | Miami | 75 | 75 | 31.7 | .450 | .370 | .801 | 4.1 | 4.8 | .8 | .2 | 17.3 |
| 2018–19 | Miami | 36 | 22 | 27.5 | .413 | .348 | .782 | 3.1 | 4.8 | .8 | .1 | 13.7 |
| 2019–20 | Miami | 59 | 3 | 28.2 | .441 | .367 | .776 | 3.2 | 5.1 | .7 | .2 | 16.2 |
| 2020–21 | Miami | 50 | 11 | 26.7 | .432 | .373 | .828 | 3.4 | 4.4 | .7 | .2 | 13.4 |
| 2021–22 | Toronto | 5 | 2 | 18.0 | .382 | .286 | 1.000 | 2.8 | 1.8 | 1.0 | .2 | 8.0 |
| Brooklyn | 16 | 6 | 25.5 | .376 | .245 | .739 | 3.2 | 4.8 | .9 | .2 | 7.3 | |
| 2022–23 | Chicago | 51 | 0 | 15.4 | .425 | .352 | .659 | 1.4 | 2.7 | .2 | .1 | 6.4 |
| Milwaukee | 7 | 0 | 11.9 | .389 | .412 | 1.000 | 1.7 | 1.7 | .3 | .0 | 5.6 | |
| Career | 946 | 530 | 27.1 | .459 | .362 | .766 | 3.0 | 4.7 | .9 | .2 | 13.3 | |
| All-Star | 1 | 0 | 11.0 | .333 | .000 | .000 | 4.0 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Phoenix | 16 | 0 | 14.8 | .430 | .325 | .742 | 1.8 | 2.3 | .3 | .1 | 7.6 |
| 2016 | Miami | 14 | 14 | 33.7 | .442 | .348 | .767 | 4.9 | 3.9 | .4 | .2 | 16.5 |
| 2018 | Miami | 5 | 5 | 31.2 | .467 | .381 | .682 | 2.6 | 4.6 | 1.0 | .0 | 18.6 |
| 2020 | Miami | 17 | 16 | 32.5 | .444 | .346 | .803 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 1.0 | .1 | 19.1 |
| 2021 | Miami | 4 | 2 | 29.3 | .426 | .346 | .750 | 1.8 | 2.8 | 1.0 | .5 | 16.0 |
| 2022 | Brooklyn | 4 | 0 | 19.8 | .563 | .333 | 1.000 | 4.5 | 1.5 | .8 | .0 | 10.5 |
| 2023 | Milwaukee | 2 | 0 | 3.6 | .000 | .000 | 1.000 | .0 | .5 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 |
| Career | 62 | 37 | 26.2 | .446 | .344 | .771 | 3.3 | 3.3 | .6 | .1 | 14.2 | |
Miami got point guard Goran Dragic on the floor for the first time since Dec. 10, after a two-month rehab to recover from right knee surgery.
· Basketball Reference 
