Zoran Dragić

Zoran Dragić

Dragić in a friendly match vs Serbia in August 2015
No. 12 EA7 Emporio Armani Milano
Position Shooting guard / Small forward
League LBA
EuroLeague
Personal information
Born (1989-06-22) June 22, 1989
Ljubljana, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia
Nationality Slovenian
Listed height 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Listed weight 91 kg (201 lb)
Career information
NBA draft 2011 / Undrafted
Playing career 2004–present
Career history
2004–2005 Ilirija Ljubljana
2005–2006 Jance STZ
2006–2010 Geoplin Slovan
2010–2012 Krka
2012–2014 Unicaja Málaga
2014–2015 Phoenix Suns
2015 Miami Heat
2015Sioux Falls Skyforce
2015–2016 Khimki
2016–present Emporio Armani Milano
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Zoran Dragić (born June 22, 1989) is a Slovenian professional basketball player for EA7 Emporio Armani Milano of the Italian LBA and the EuroLeague. 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.

Professional career

Early years

In 2004, Dragić joined Ilirija of the Slovenian 1B league for the 2004–05 season. A year afterwards, he joined Jance 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.

Unicaja Málaga

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

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

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 Emporio Armani Milano.[16]

International 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.[17]

He represented Slovenia at the EuroBasket 2015, where they were eliminated by Latvia in eighth finals.[18][19]

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

Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014–15 Phoenix 6 0 2.2 .250 .000 .667 .5 .2 .0 .0 1.0
2014–15 Miami 10 1 6.2 .409 .333 .500 .5 .4 .2 .0 2.2
Career 16 1 4.7 .367 .214 .600 .5 .3 .1 .0 1.8

EuroLeague

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2012–13 Unicaja 22 13 16.3 .398 .129 .741 3.0 .5 .7 .0 4.5 4.5
2013–14 22 19 22.9 .413 .354 .703 2.7 1.6 .7 .1 10.9 10
Career 44 32 19.6 .408 .291 .714 2.9 1.0 .7 .1 7.7 7.2

Personal life

Dragić's brother, Goran, currently plays for the Miami Heat; the two brothers were teammates on both the Suns and Heat during the 2014–15 season.[20] During an interview with Goran in 2014, it was revealed that Zoran was also married.[21]

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. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 14 August 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. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 14 August 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. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  16. "EA7 Milan inks Dragic at guard". Euroleague.net. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  17. How Zoran Became a Phoenix Sun
  18. "SLOVENIA MAKE LAST CUT BEFORE ZAGREB TRIP". 3 September 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  19. "STRELNIEKS STEERS LATVIA INTO LAST EIGHT". eurobasket2015.org. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  20. Phoenix: The New City of Brotherly Love
  21. Media Day 2014 | Phoenix Suns
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