Goran Dragic Officially Calls Time on His Career with Night of the Dragon Retirement Game

He’s been an outstanding ambassador for European basketball players in the NBA, paving the way for the likes of Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic to break through.

But all good things come to an end, and sadly Goran Dragic has decided to call time on his professional career.

His is a journey that starts in the minor leagues of his native Slovenia, includes a momentous EuroBasket title with his country, and culminates in an NBA All-Star nod in 2018.

The Dragon, as he became known, hangs up his boots just shy of 1,000 career games in the NBA.

Way of the Dragon

His loss comes at a time of great upheaval for his former franchise, Milwaukee Bucks.

Perennially amongst the favorites to win the NBA Championship each season, the Bucks are considered little more than a +1100 chance to go all the way in 2024-25, as per the Paddy Power sports odds.

The sports betting tips and stats will instead be focusing on half-a-dozen or so teams that are considered to have a better shot at glory this season, from the Boston Celtics (+300) and Oklahoma City Thunder (+700) to the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets (+850).

The Nuggets’ Jokic was just one European player to pay their respects to Dragic at the specially-arranged ‘Night of the Dragon’ game in August. Held at the Stozice Arena in Ljubljana, stars of past and present lined up to give homage to the Slovenian legend.


Jokic, Doncic, Steve Nash, and Dirk Nowitzki were just some of those to have lined up to honor the remarkable career of the 38-year-old, while the Goran Dragic Foundation also benefitted from the event and its associated charitable endeavors.

In the end, Dragic’s team ran out 108-86 winners against a team captained by Doncic – a fitting way to bow out for one of European basketball’s most underrated figures.

Enter the Dragon

The teenage Dragic came through the ranks at Slovenian outfit KD Ilirija, before moving on to continental teams like KD Slovan, Murcia, and Olimpija.

But the ambition was always to try and break America, so Dragic made himself available in the NBA Draft of 2008.

He was eventually selected in the second round, as the 45th pick, by the San Antonio Spurs, who would almost immediately trade Dragic to the Phoenix Suns.

It wasn’t long before the Slovenian was commanding plenty of minutes on court, forming a kinship with Nash as the Suns progressed to the Western Conference final in 2010. Dragic was a key figure in their playoff run, although Phoenix would go down in six to the Lakers.

A short stint at the Houston Rockets gave way to a return to the Suns, where Dragic would enjoy a breakout season in 2013-14 – breaking his own career-best points tally three times, while averaging five assists per game throughout the entire campaign.

That would lead to him winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player of the Year award in 2014, but better things were to come following a switch to the Miami Heat.


He delivered a career-high 20.3 points-per-game average in 2016-17, while in 2017-18 he added rebounds (4.1 per game) and assists (4.8 per game) into the mix too – it’s no wonder Dragic was called up to that campaign’s All-Star Game.

Stints in Toronto, Brooklyn, and Chicago followed, before Dragic played his final NBA season with the Bucks in 2022-23.

All of those accomplishments, allied with an MVP Award at the 2017 EuroBasket finals, reveal why Dragic is so beloved by basketball fans all over the world.