Zoran Dragić

Zoran Dragić (born June 22, 1989) is a Slovenian professional basketball player who plays for Cedevita Olimpija of the Slovenian League and the ABA League. He also represents the Slovenian national basketball team internationally. Standing at 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in), he plays the shooting guard and small forward positions. He is the younger brother of Goran Dragić.

For his brother, see Goran Dragić.

Zoran Dragić
Dragić in a friendly match vs Serbia in August 2015
No. 30 – Cedevita Olimpija
PositionShooting guard / small forward
LeagueSlovenian League
ABA League
Personal information
Born (1989-06-22) June 22, 1989
Ljubljana, SR Slovenia, Yugoslavia
NationalitySlovenian
Listed height1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Listed weight91 kg (201 lb)
Career information
NBA draft2011: undrafted
Playing career2004–present
Career history
2004–2005Ilirija
2005–2006Janče
2006–2010Slovan
2010–2012Krka
2012–2014Málaga
2014–2015Phoenix Suns
2015Miami Heat
2015→ Sioux Falls Skyforce
2015–2016Khimki
2016–2017Olimpia Milano
2017–2018Anadolu Efes
2019Trieste
2019–2020Ulm
2020–2021Baskonia
2021Žalgiris Kaunas
2022–presentCedevita Olimpija
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com
Dragić with Anadolu Efes in 2017

Professional career

Early years

In 2004, Dragić joined Ilirija of the Slovenian 1B league for the 2004–05 season. A year afterwards, he joined Janče STZ of the Slovenian D2 league for the 2005–06 season. During 2006, he signed with Geoplin Slovan of the Slovenian League where he went on to play four seasons for them. In 2010, he signed with Krka where he went on to play two seasons for them.

Málaga (2012–2014)

In July 2012, Dragić joined the Houston Rockets for the 2012 NBA Summer League.[1] On August 20, 2012, he signed a two-year deal with Unicaja Málaga of the Liga ACB.[2] On July 8, 2014, he signed a two-year contract extension with Unicaja Málaga.[3] However, after agreeing to sign with the Phoenix Suns, Dragić and Málaga agreed to part ways on September 26, 2014.[4]

Phoenix Suns (2014–2015)

On September 29, 2014, Dragić signed a two-year deal with the Phoenix Suns.[5][6] He went on to make his NBA debut on November 15, 2014, against the Los Angeles Clippers. He and Goran, alongside teammates Markieff and Marcus Morris, all briefly played together for the Suns during the fourth quarter of their 112–96 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on January 2, 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. In what was just his third game of the season, he also recorded his first NBA stats with 3 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist.[7]

Miami Heat (2015)

On February 19, 2015, Zoran and his brother Goran were traded to the Miami Heat in a three-team deal also involving the New Orleans Pelicans.[8] On March 4, he was assigned to the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League.[9] On March 15, he was recalled by Miami.[10] In the Heat's season finale against the Philadelphia 76ers on April 15, Dragić scored a season-high 22 points.[11] In July 2015, he joined the Heat for the 2015 NBA Summer League.[12] On July 27, Dragić was traded to the Boston Celtics, along with a 2020 second round pick and cash considerations, in exchange for a 2019 second round pick.[13] However, on August 10, he was waived by the Celtics.[14]

Return to Europe

On August 13, 2015, Dragić signed a two-year deal with the Russian club Khimki.[15] After one season he left Khimki, and on July 7, 2016, he signed with Italian club Olimpia Milano.[16] He was released from Milano on November 20, 2017.[17] The next day, he signed with Turkish club Anadolu Efes.[18]

His season ended prematurely on February 20, 2018, when he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Dragić nursed and recovered from his injury and returned in January 2019.

He signed with Serie A club Alma Trieste on January 8, 2019, until the end of the 2018-2019 season.

On August 6, 2019, he signed with ratiopharm Ulm of the German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL).[19]

On January 30, 2020, Dragić officially signed with Liga ACB club Baskonia for the rest of the season,[20] making his return to the EuroLeague. He signed a contract extension with the team on August 5.[21]

On October 30, 2021, Dragić signed with Žalgiris Kaunas of the Lithuanian Basketball League, for the remainder of the season.[22] He parted ways with the team on December 31.[23]

On January 9, 2022, Dragić signed with Cedevita Olimpija of the Slovenian League and the ABA League.[24]

National team career

Dragić started playing for the Slovenian national junior team in the 2007 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. He also participated in the 2009 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, during which he would be the tournament's 4th best scorer, throughout the entire competition.

In 2011, Dragić participated with the Slovenian senior squad, alongside his brother, Goran, during the EuroBasket 2011 tournament. After the success he had in 2011, he also played for Slovenia in the EuroBasket 2013 tournament, and helped the team finish with a better place in the final standings than the previous tournament. He went on to play for Slovenia in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, where his performance became a leading catalyst for his eventual signing with the Phoenix Suns later that year.[25]

He represented Slovenia at the EuroBasket 2015, where they were eliminated by Latvia in the round of 16.[26][27] After an absence at the 2017 tournament, Dragić was on the roster for EuroBasket 2022 where Slovenia was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Poland.[28]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014–15 Phoenix 602.2.250.000.667.5.2.0.01.0
2014–15 Miami 1016.2.409.333.500.5.4.2.02.2
Career 1614.7.367.214.600.5.3.1.01.8

EuroLeague
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2012–13 Unicaja 221316.3.398.129.7413.0.5.7.04.54.5
2013–14 221922.9.413.354.7032.71.6 .7.110.910.0
2015–16 Khimki 24516.4.490.338.6622.5.8.8.08.07.6
2016–17 Milano 231419.1.445.296.7262.2.7.7.27.04.8
2017–18 Anadolu Efes 141028.1.429.304.8532.12.7.8.110.69.6
2019–20 Baskonia 5117.3.367.357.7062.0.4.6.07.86.0
2020–21 33317.9.421.284.7871.6.9.6.08.56.8
2021–22 Žalgiris 9513.1.293.250.7001.2.6.4.13.92.1
Career 1527019.0.425.300.7372.21.0.7.17.96.7

Personal life

His father is of Serbian descent. Dragić's older brother, Goran, currently plays for the Milwaukee Bucks; the two brothers were teammates on both the Suns and Heat during the 2014–15 season.[29] During an interview with Goran in 2014, it was revealed that Zoran was also married.[30]

References
  1. "Zoran Dragic will play the NBA Summer League with the Rockets". Sportando.com. May 30, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  2. "Unicaja Malaga signs Zoran Dragic to a two-year deal". Sportando.com. August 20, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  3. "Unicaja extends with Dragic for two more years". Euroleague.net. July 8, 2014. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  4. "Dragic se marcha a la NBA". unicajabaloncesto.com (in Spanish). September 26, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  5. "Suns Sign Zoran Dragic". NBA.com. September 29, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  6. Stein, Marc (September 25, 2014). "Zoran Dragic, Suns reach deal". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  7. Green helps Suns pull away from 76ers, 112-96
  8. "HEAT Acquire Goran Dragic and Zoran Dragic". NBA.com. February 19, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  9. "HEAT Assign Zoran Dragić to Skyforce". NBA.com. March 4, 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  10. "HEAT Recall Zoran Dragic from Skyforce". NBA.com. March 15, 2015. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  11. Zoran Dragic 2014-15 Game Log
  12. "HEAT Announce Summer League Information". NBA.com. July 1, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  13. "Boston Celtics Complete Trade with Miami Heat". NBA.com. July 27, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  14. "Celtics Waive Zoran Dragic". NBA.com. August 10, 2015. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  15. "Khimki adds Dragic to the mix". Euroleague.net. August 13, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  16. "EA7 Milan inks Dragic at guard". Euroleague.net. July 7, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
  17. "Olimpia Milano waived Zoran Dragic". Eurohoops.net. November 20, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
  18. "Efes adds experience with Dragic". Euroleague.net. November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  19. Carchia, Emiliano (August 6, 2019). "Zoran Dragic completes Ulm roster for next season". Sportando. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  20. "Zoran Dragic, experiencia para el perímetro azulgrana". baskonia.com (in Spanish). January 30, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  21. Borghesan, Ennio Terrasi (August 5, 2020). "Baskonia, Zoran Dragic agree to contract extension". Sportando. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  22. Skerletic, Dario (October 30, 2021). "Zoran Dragic joins Zalgiris Kaunas". Sportando. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  23. Maggi, Alessandro (December 31, 2021). "Zalgiris parts ways with Zoran Dragic". Sportando. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  24. Skerletic, Dario (January 9, 2022). "Zoran Dragic joins Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana". Sportando. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  25. How Zoran Became a Phoenix Sun
  26. "SLOVENIA MAKE LAST CUT BEFORE ZAGREB TRIP". September 3, 2015. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  27. "STRELNIEKS STEERS LATVIA INTO LAST EIGHT". eurobasket2015.org. September 12, 2015. Archived from the original on September 13, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  28. "Zoran DRAGIC at the FIBA EuroBasket 2022". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
  29. Phoenix: The New City of Brotherly Love
  30. Media Day 2014 | Phoenix Suns
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