SAN FRANCISCO — Goran Dragic announced his retirement plans after 15 NBA seasons on Friday, spanning various teams, including the Phoenix Suns, Houston Rockets , Chicago Bulls, Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors, and Milwaukee Bucks.
“I have lived my greatest dream, and I am extremely grateful for the countless people in my life who have enabled me to play this long,” Dragic said. “It starts with my parents, Marinko and Mojca, my brother, Zoran, my kids, Mateo and Vikorita, and their mother, Maja, and the rest of my family who always allowed this passion of basketball to be a priority for me.”
Among Dragic's various teammates who thrived playing alongside him during his NBA career was Derrick Jones Jr., currently having a career year with the Dallas Mavericks. Jones, who logged 141 games in his career including the regular season and playoffs with Dragic, both with the Heat and Bulls, called him a "great teammate" and credited him for helping him thrive playing the four and five early in his career. The competed alongside each other during a 2020 NBA Finals run that ended in a series loss against the Los Angeles Lakers in the Orlando Bubble.
"He was a great teammate. For sure was one of the players that helped me excel in my game when I was playing the four or five roles when I was down in Miami when I was younger," Jones told DallasBasketball.com.
"Being able to play in the pocket and learn, learn that game a lot more. I mean, obviously getting all those lob passes from him, I was always happy being able to play with him."
While Luka Doncic did not play with Dragic as an NBA teammate, he thrived as a star duo with the Slovenian national team, with the height of their achievement being a 2017 EuroBasketball Gold medal. Dragic has been a mentor to Doncic throughout his basketball career. Doncic also shared his thoughts on Dragic's impact.
“It was an amazing run for him,” Doncic said Saturday. “I’m just glad I know him. I’m glad I played with him, and man, I learned a lot from him, especially about leadership in that tournament.”
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