Goran DragiÃÂ (born 6 May 1986) is a Slovenian former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Dragon", he played professional basketball in Slovenia and Spain before entering the NBA in 2008. DragiÃÂ also played for the Phoenix Suns, Miami Heat, Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls and the Milwaukee Bucks. He was an All-NBA Third Team selection and the NBA Most Improved Player with the Suns in 2014. He was named an NBA All-Star for the first time in 2018 with Miami.
Internationally, DragiÃÂ led the senior Slovenian national team to its first FIBA EuroBasket title in 2017, while being named the MVP of the tournament. He is second in all-time points scored for the team and has played ninety games for his country.
DragiÃÂ made his debut in 2003, at the age of 17, in the Slovenian minor league with KK Ilirija. After one year, Dragic transferred to the top-level Slovenian Basketball League and Adriatic League club Slovan in 2004.
After spending two years with Slovan, Dragic transferred to the Spanish ACB League club Saski Baskonia, who loaned him to the Spanish club Murcia, in 2006.
Dragiàjoined the Slovenian club Union Olimpija in 2007, and he played there during the 2007âÂÂ08 season, winning the Slovenian League championship with the team.
DragiÃÂ entered the 2008 NBA draft, where he was selected in the second round, 45th overall, by the San Antonio Spurs. His draft rights were then traded to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for cash considerations in addition to the draft rights to Malik Hairston, the 48th pick. After the Suns finished a deal with TAU Ceramica (now known as Caja Laboral), with whom he was under contract, they officially signed him on 22 September 2008. The Suns hoped that he would take over the starting point guard position after Steve Nash relinquished it. On 25 January 2010, DragiÃÂ scored a then career high 32 points, hitting 6 of 7 three-pointers in a losing effort against the Utah Jazz.
On 7 May 2010, during game 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. Dragiàscored 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 110âÂÂ96 and take a 3âÂÂ0 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 forward Grant Hill said.
On 24 February 2011, Dragiàwas traded to the Houston Rockets along with a protected first-round pick in exchange for Aaron Brooks. On 13 April 2011, in the Rockets' season finale, Dragiàrecorded his first career triple-double with 11 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds in a 121âÂÂ102 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
During the 2011 NBA lockout, DragiÃÂ played for Saski Baskonia of Spain. He played for a brief period of time there until the lockout ended.
Dragiàreturned to the Rockets for the 2011âÂÂ12 season. Throughout most of the season, Dragiàcontinued 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 for Kyle Lowry, who was out with a bacterial infection. On 9 April 2012, Dragiàwon the Western Conference Player of the Week.
In 2012, Dragiàbecame an unrestricted free agent. He agreed to sign a 4-year, $30 million deal with a player option on the final year with the Phoenix Suns and officially became a member of the team again on 19 July 2012. He was brought in to replace Steve Nash, whom he played behind during his first stint with the Suns, as starting point guard. On 19 February 2013, Dragiàrecorded a career-high 18 assists to go with 14 points as the Suns defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 102âÂÂ98. Dragiànearly recorded a triple-double against the Brooklyn Nets with 31 points, 12 assists, and 9 rebounds on 24 March 2013. Despite suffering through a 25âÂÂ57 season, Dragiàended up gaining some career high moments in the process.
After getting Eric Bledsoe from a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers, the Suns ultimately decided to move Dragiàto the shooting guard position as a means of putting less pressure on Dragiàto distribute the ball to his teammates. In his first game playing with Bledsoe as a teammate, Dragiàled the team with 26 points and 9 assists in a 104âÂÂ91 season opening victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Dragiàhad 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 the Memphis Grizzlies on 2 January 2014. On 3 February 2014, Dragiàwon his second career Western Conference Player of the Week award and his first with the Suns for games played between 27 January â 2 February 2014. Three days later, he was paired with Oklahoma City Thunder guard Reggie Jackson in the revamped, team-based Skills Challenge at the All-Star weekend
On 8 February 2014, Dragiàscored a career-high 34 pointsâ while attempting only 13 field-goalsâ to go along with 10 assists in a 122âÂÂ109 home victory over the Golden State Warriors. On 23 February 2014, Dragiàscored a new career-high 35 points, along with 3 assists and 3 steals, in a 112âÂÂ115 loss to the Houston Rockets. On 28 February 2014, he recorded a new career-high 40 points, along with 3 rebounds and 5 assists, in a 116âÂÂ104 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. He became the first player, since Rod Strickland in 1985âÂÂ86, to set career highs in points three times in a single month. Dragiàalso became the sixth player, after his head coach Jeff Hornacek, Draà ¾en PetroviÃÂ, Dirk Nowitzki, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant, to join the 20-50-40 Club â averaging 20 or more points per game while shooting 50%+ from the field and 40%+ on three-pointers. He also averaged over 5 assists per game throughout the season as well, leaving him joining the likes of Larry Bird, Jeff Hornacek and LeBron James.
On 23 April 2014, DragiÃÂ won the 2014 NBA Most Improved Player Award. 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. Finally, on 4 June 2014, DragiÃÂ was named to the 2014 All-NBA Third Team alongside Damian Lillard, LaMarcus Aldridge, Al Jefferson and Paul George.
On 19 February 2015, Dragiàand his brother Zoran Dragic, were traded to the Miami Heat in a three-team deal also involving the New Orleans Pelicans that sent John Salmons and Danny Granger to Phoenix. Two days later, he made his debut for the Heat, recording 12 points and 3 rebounds in a 105âÂÂ91 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Dragiàfinished 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, Dragiàre-signed with the Heat to a five-year, $90 million contract. In January 2016, he missed eight straight games because of a left calf injury. On 20 February 2016, he recorded a season-high 24 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in a 114âÂÂ84 win over the Washington Wizards. He bested that season high on 11 March, recording 26 points and nine assists in a 118âÂÂ96 win over the Chicago Bulls. On 7 April, he recorded 16 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in a 106âÂÂ98 win over the Chicago Bulls, helping the Heat sweep the season series with the Bulls for the first time since the 2003âÂÂ04 season. In the Heat's second-round playoff match-up with the Toronto Raptors, Dragiàscored a postseason career-high 30 points to help the Heat to a 103âÂÂ91 victory in Game 6, tying the series at 3âÂÂ3. The Heat went on to lose Game 7, bowing out of the playoffs with a 4âÂÂ3 defeat.
On 28 November 2016, Dragiàrecorded season highs of 27 points and 17 assists in a 112âÂÂ104 loss to the Boston Celtics. 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 114âÂÂ103 loss to the New York Knicks. Dragiàset a new season high six days later, scoring 34 points in a 112âÂÂ101 win over the Washington Wizards. 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 115âÂÂ113 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
On 8 November 2017, Dragiàscored a season-high 29 points in a 126âÂÂ115 win over the Phoenix Suns. On 27 November 2017, he was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played 20 November through 26 November. 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. On 1 February, Dragiàwas named the replacement for Kevin Love on Team LeBron for the 2018 NBA All-Star Game, thus making him an All-Star for the first time in his career.
On 27 October 2018, Dragiàscored 28 points in a 120âÂÂ111 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, becoming the first Slovenian player to reach the 10,000-point mark in the NBA. In late November and early December, he missed eight games with a sore right knee. On 19 December, he underwent successful surgery to clean up his right knee. He returned to action on 23 February 2019 against the Detroit Pistons. On 28 March, he recorded his second career triple-double with 23 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in a 105âÂÂ99 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
In the 2019âÂÂ20 NBA season, Dragiàhelped the Heat through the 2020 NBA Playoffs. In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Dragic scored a team-leading 29 points during a 117âÂÂ114 overtime win over the Boston Celtics. After winning that series, in the 2020 NBA Finals they faced the Los Angeles Lakers. Dragiàmissed 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, Dragiàscored a season-high 26 points, alongside five rebounds and two assists, in a 119âÂÂ108 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. On 26 February 2021, he scored 26 points, alongside three rebounds, two assists and two steals, in a 124âÂÂ116 win over the Utah Jazz. During the first round of the playoffs, the Heat faced the Bucks. On 22 May, Dragiàrecorded 25 points and two rebounds in a 109âÂÂ107 Game 1 loss.
On 6 August 2021, the Toronto Raptors acquired DragiÃÂ and Precious Achiuwa from the Heat via a sign-and-trade in exchange for Kyle Lowry. On 28 November, DragiÃÂ announced he was stepping away from the Raptors for personal reasons.
On 10 February 2022, DragiÃÂ and a 2022 first-round pick were traded to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Drew Eubanks, Thaddeus Young and a 2022 second-round pick. He and the Spurs agreed to a contract buyout five days later.
On 22 February 2022, Dragiàsigned with the Brooklyn Nets. He made his Nets debut four days later, recording six points, three rebounds and two assists in a 126âÂÂ123 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. On 16 March, Dragiàscored a season-high 21 points, alongside three rebounds and four assists, in a 113âÂÂ111 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. The Nets faced the Boston Celtics during the first round of the playoffs, but were eliminated in a four-game sweep.
On 2 August 2022, DragiÃÂ signed with the Chicago Bulls. On 28 February 2023, he was waived by the Bulls.
On 4 March 2023, DragiÃÂ signed with the Milwaukee Bucks.
On 31 December 2023, DragiÃÂ announced his retirement from professional basketball.
DragiÃÂ won the gold medal at the 2004 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship with the Slovenian under-20 junior national team. He also played at the 2005 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship.
DragiÃÂ competed with the senior men's Slovenian national basketball team at the 2006 FIBA World Championship and the 2007 EuroBasket, in limited roles. DragiÃÂ's role with the Slovenian national basketball team began to increase in the 2009 EuroBasket and the 2010 FIBA World Championship. He then played with his brother Zoran in the 2011 EuroBasket and the 2013 EuroBasket, the latter which was held in Slovenia. During the 2013 tournament, Goran and his brother helped lead Slovenia to a 5th-place finish and a spot in the 2014 FIBA World Cup. DragiÃÂ finished in the 2013 EuroBasket's top five in points and assists, which earned him a spot on the All-Tournament Team. In 2014, DragiÃÂ was named Slovenia's team captain after Jaka LakoviÃÂ retired from national team play. In the friendly games before the 2014 FIBA World Cup, DragiÃÂ was rested in 9 of their 14 games, before actually playing in the official tournament's matches. After finishing up their friendly games, DragiÃÂ played with no restrictions beyond the rest of the competition; he was the only All-NBA Team member to play in the 2014 FIBA World Cup, aside from the Team USA members.
Prior to the 2017 EuroBasket, DragiÃÂ announced that he would retire from playing with the Slovenian national team after the tournament. At the tournament, he helped Slovenia to win its first ever FIBA European championship. He scored 35 points, on 12-22 shooting in the final, which was the most points scored in a final, since Pau Gasol scored 36 points in the 2003 final. Following his performance, DragiÃÂ was given the Most Valuable Player award of the tournament, after averaging 22.6 points per game, in 9 games played. Following that performance, he was named the 2017 Slovenian Sportsman of the year.
Five years later, in June 2022, DragiÃÂ returned to the Slovenian team to play in the third window of the qualification for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. On 30 June, he scored 19 points in his first game back, helping his country to a blowout win over Croatia.
DragiÃÂ also played at EuroBasket 2022, averaging 14.9 points on 49.4% shooting as the team's sixth man. Slovenia was surprisingly eliminated by Poland in the quarter-finals.
DragiÃÂ was Slovenia's all-time scoring leader with 1,050 points in his 90 games, before being surpassed by Luka Doncic on 4 September 2025.
His jersey number 3 was retired by the Basketball Federation of Slovenia on 23 August 2024, ahead of his farewell game at the Arena Stoà ¾ice in Ljubljana.
DragiÃÂ was born to a Slovenian mother and a Serbian father. He grew up in Slovenia playing football. However, an injury forced him to switch sports. As a child, he admired NBA players Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson and future teammate Steve Nash. He is fluent in Slovene, Serbian, Spanish, and English. DragiÃÂ's younger brother, Zoran, was formerly his teammate on the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat.
DragiÃÂ has two children with his ex-wife.
He and Zoran, alongside teammates Markieff and Marcus Morris, all briefly played together for the Suns during the fourth quarter of their 112âÂÂ96 victory over the Philadelphia 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.
President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik honored Dragiàwith an Order of Njegoà ¡ and a Medal of Merit for the People, in August 2018.
DragiÃÂ is a Serbian Orthodox Christian.
|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix | 55 || 1 || 13.2 || .393 || .370 || .769 || 1.9 || 2.0 || .5 || .1 || 4.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix | 80 || 2 || 18.0 || .452 || .394 || .736 || 2.1 || 3.0 || .6 || .1 || 7.9 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| | style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix | 48 || 2 || 17.8 || .421 || .277 || .608 || 1.8 || 3.1 || .8 || .1 || 7.4 |-
| style="text-align:left;"| Houston | 22 || 3 || 17.2 || .472 || .519 || .667 || 2.5 || 2.5 || .6 || .2 || 7.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Houston | style="background:#cfecec;"| 66* || 28 || 26.5 || .462 || .337 || .805 || 2.5 || 5.3 || 1.3 || .2 || 11.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix | 77 || 77 || 33.5 || .443 || .319 || .748 || 3.1 || 7.4 || 1.6 || .3 || 14.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix | 76 || 75 || 35.1 || .505 || .408 || .760 || 3.2 || 5.9 || 1.4 || .3 || 20.3 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| | style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix | 52 || 52 || 33.4 || .501 || .355 || .746 || 3.6 || 4.1 || 1.0 || .2 || 16.2 |-
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami | 26 || 26 || 34.8 || .502 || .329 || .808 || 3.4 || 5.3 || 1.1 || .2 || 16.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Miami | 72 || 72 || 32.8 || .489 || .317 || .667 || 3.8 || 5.8 || 1.0 || .2 || 14.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Miami | 73 || 73 || 33.7 || .476 || .406 || .790 || 3.8 || 5.8 || 1.2 || .2 || 20.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Miami | 75 || 75 || 31.7 || .450 || .370 || .801 || 4.1 || 4.8 || .8 || .2 || 17.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Miami | 36 || 22 || 27.5 || .413 || .348 || .782 || 3.1 || 4.8 || .8 || .1 || 13.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Miami | 59 || 3 || 28.2 || .441 || .367 || .776 || 3.2 || 5.1 || .7 || .2 || 16.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Miami | 50 || 11 || 26.7 || .432 || .373 || .828 || 3.4 || 4.4 || .7 || .2 || 13.4 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| | style="text-align:left;"| Toronto | 5 || 2 || 18.0 || .382 || .286 || 1.000 || 2.8 || 1.8 || 1.0 || .2 || 8.0 |-
| style="text-align:left;"| Brooklyn | 16 || 6 || 25.5 || .376 || .245 || .739 || 3.2 || 4.8 || .9 || .2 || 7.3 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| | style="text-align:left;"| Chicago | 51 || 0 || 15.4 || .425 || .352 || .659 || 1.4 || 2.7 || .2 || .1 || 6.4 |-
| style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 7 || 0 || 11.9 || .389 || .412 || 1.000 || 1.7 || 1.7 || .3 || .0 || 5.6 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 946 || 530 || 27.1 || .459 || .362 || .766 || 3.0 || 4.7 || .9 || .2 || 13.3 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| All-Star | 1 || 0 || 11.0 || .333 || .000 || .000 || 4.0 || 1.0 || .0 || .0 || 2.0
|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2010 | style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix | 16 || 0 || 14.8 || .430 || .325 || .742 || 1.8 || 2.3 || .3 || .1 || 7.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2016 | style="text-align:left;"| Miami | 14 || 14 || 33.7 || .442 || .348 || .767 || 4.9 || 3.9 || .4 || .2 || 16.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2018 | style="text-align:left;"| Miami | 5 || 5 || 31.2 || .467 || .381 || .682 || 2.6 || 4.6 || 1.0 || .0 || 18.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2020 | style="text-align:left;"| Miami | 17 || 16 || 32.5 || .444 || .346 || .803 || 4.1 || 4.4 || 1.0 || .1 || 19.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2021 | style="text-align:left;"| Miami | 4 || 2 || 29.3 || .426 || .346 || .750 || 1.8 || 2.8 || 1.0 || .5 || 16.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2022 | style="text-align:left;"| Brooklyn | 4 || 0 || 19.8 || .563 || .333 || 1.000 || 4.5 || 1.5 || .8 || .0 || 10.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2023 | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 2 || 0 || 3.6 || .000 || .000 || 1.000 || .0 || .5 || .0 || .0 || 2.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 62 || 37 || 26.2 || .446 || .344 || .771 || 3.3 || 3.3 || .6 || .1 || 14.2