One of the best penetrating guards in the NBA, Slovenian playmaker Goran Dragic is poised to become a cornerstone of the Miami Heat franchise this offseason. The 2014 NBA Most Improved Player has solidified a Heat backcourt that is arguably one of the best in the league when Dwyane Wade is healthy. A lethal scorer with uncanny quickness, here are 10 things about the “Dragon” — who will undoubtedly be Pat Riley’s top free agent priority now that the 2014-15 season is in the books — you didn’t know about.
1. His mother played club basketball and encouraged him to try hoops instead of soccer.
“I broke my leg at a soccer game,” said Dragic. “Then my mom decided that it’s too rough to play soccer, so then I tried to switch sports. I’m lucky I decided to switch to basketball.”
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2. He idolized former NBA player Radoslav “Raso” Nesterovic, who also hails from Ljubljana.
“My favorite player, naturally, was Rasho Nesterovic. He was coming from Slovenia, so he was one of the biggest players in Slovenia,” said Dragic. “We played for the same national team, and then when I moved from Europe to the NBA, we were pretty close. He helped me a lot, especially with how everything is different here. Every time I needed something, I’d call him and ask him about it, and he’d help me.”
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3. While building his dream home in Slovenia, Goran worked as a laborer for his father-in-law.
“When you have kids, one day you can say, ‘Your daddy helped build that house,'” Dragic said. Besides digging holes and carrying bags of cement, he also used a sledgehammer to knock down a wall while demolishing an old house on his property.
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4. His wife Maja previously worked at the Slovakian news show N1 Beograd.
She was an anchor and producer at the news program which covered Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzogovina.
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5. Goran woke up in the wee hours of the morning as a kid to watch NBA games on television.
“I was dreaming about some day playing in this league,” said Dragic. “Once a week I’d wake up at 2, 2:30, 3 a.m. to watch NBA games, and then the next day I’d have school so I’d be really tired and sleepy.”
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6. A stomach ailment led to his breakout 2012 NBA season.
Languishing on the Houston Rockets bench behind Kyle Lowry, the speedy point guard was handed the reins to the offense when an abdominal bacterial infection sidelined Lowry. Dragic erupted for 26 straight double-digit scoring performances en route to signing a 4 year, $30 million deal to return to the Phoenix Suns.
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7. Had a bitter rivalry with fellow countrymen and former NBA guard Sasha Vujacic.
“We are coming from the same country and he wants to demonstrate that he’s better than me and (I want to show that) I’m better than him, so that’s just the rivalry,” said Dragic after earning his first career technical foul during a confrontation with Vujacic in the 2010 Western Conference Finals . “I know that he wants to guard me and I want to play against him. It’s just a huge rivalry between me and Sasha, and that’s all.”
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8. He suited up for Slovenian League powerhouse Union Olimpija.
A top Slovenian basketball club that has produced a slew of NBA players including Rasho Nesterovic, Marko Milic, Beno Udrih, Bostjan Nachbar and Primoz Brezec.
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9. Goran won Slovenian League Rookie of the Year honors in 2005.
He was acquired by basketball club Slovan, which was known to be one of the best organizations for the development of young, talented players, at the age of 19.
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10. His favorite food is beef and vegetable lasagna.
“I remember when I was around 7 as soon as I tried my mother’s beef and veggie lasagna it was my favorite meal — still is,” explained Dragic. “The lasagna is not sweet or spicy. It’s juicy; it’s got lots of sauce, lots of meat, cheese, and vegetables. On the top of that we put sour cream. In Slovenia that’s the custom and is what makes it different from the regular lasagna.”
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