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Goran Dragic bids farewell to basketball in charity game with teammates, legends

From 2nd-round pick to NBA All-Star, Goran Dragic put together a career the world celebrated with him on Saturday.

NBA.com Staff

'Night of the Dragon': Goran Dragic farewell charity game

Goran Dragic celebrated his career with friends, family, teammates and legends on Saturday in Slovenia.

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Goran Dragic, one of the more underrated success stories in recent international basketball history, bid farewell to the sport with a chairty game that featured legends and teammates who knew him well.

The “Night of the Dragon,” which took place on Saturday in his home country of Slovenia, was headlined by a game pitting Dragic and a selection of teammates against fellow Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic. Former NBA teammates, including Steve Nash and Chris Bosh, joined with international legends such as Dirk Nowitzki and Nikola Jokic in honoring Dragic’s final high-profile appearance on the basketball court.

Proceeds from the charity game and adjacent events went toward Botrstvo v sportu program of the Friends of Youth Foundation Ljubljana Moste-Polje and the Goran Dragic Foundation.

Dragic also played one-on-one against his brother, Zoran, with whom he was briefly teammates on the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat in 2014-15. A mini-soccer game and on-court moments with family, including his son, father, brother and nephew, rounded out the heartfelt evening.

The Phoenix Suns traded for Dragic’s rights after he was selected 45th overall in the 2008 Draft. He blossomed as a backup point guard behind Nash before being traded to Houston. His time in that role was punctuated by a 23-point fourth quarter in Game 3 of the 2010 Western Conference semifinals against the San Antonio Spurs.

He returned to Phoenix in 2012 via free agency, where made a leap as the Suns’ lead guard and earned 2013-14 Most Improved Player and All-NBA Third Team honors.

Another trade, this time to Miami 2015, preceded another step forward for Dragic. The 6-foot-3 lefty led Slovenia to an unexpected and unprecedented championship at EuroBasket 2017. Dragic was named an Eastern Conference All-Star the following season, then played a crucial role in Miami’s advancing to the 2020 NBA Finals.

The former second-round pick averaged between 16 and 21 poitns per game in five different seasons while playing 946 total games. His 4,405 career assists rank 97th all-time. Dragic’s No. 3 is retired by the Slovenian basketball team.

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