Former Suns guard Goran Dragić announces plan to retire after 15 NBA seasons
Dec 30, 2023, 11:15 AM
Former Phoenix Suns guard Goran Dragić announced he plans to retire after 15 NBA seasons.
The news was initially reported by the Slovenian site SiOL.net on Saturday.
Dragić, 37, will play a farewell game sponsored by the Goran Dragić Foundation and Spontanzo in Slovenia’s capital city, Ljubljana, in August.
Dragić, a second-round pick by San Antonio in 2008, never played for the Spurs after his draft rights were traded to the Suns in exchange for cash considerations and the draft rights to Malik Hairston.
He spent six total seasons in Phoenix across two three-season stints (2008-2011 and 2012-2015). He averaged 12.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 388 games (209 starts) for the Suns.
One of his most notable moments as a Sun came during the 2010 playoffs during Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals. He scored 26 points (23 of which were in the fourth quarter) to help the Suns come back from an 18-point deficit to defeat the Spurs before an eventual sweep.
In 2011 before the trade deadline, the Suns dealt Dragić and a protected first-round pick to the Houston Rockets for Aaron Brooks, but in 2012, he returned to the Valley by inking a four-year, $30 million deal with a player option on the final year.
His best season in the league was in 2013-14 when he was voted the NBA’s Most Improved Player and named All-NBA Third Team. He averaged 20.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.9 assists that year.
In a Phoenix win over Philadelphia on Jan. 2, 2015, Goran, his brother Zoran, Markieff and Marcus Morris all played together at the same time. It was the first time in NBA history that two sets of brothers played together at the same time for the same team.
Later that season, Goran and Zoran were dealt to the Miami Heat in a three-team trade that sent John Salmons and Danny Granger to the Valley.
While representing Slovenia, he helped lead his nation to a EuroBasket championship win over Serbia in 2017. He scored 35 points in the final and took home FIBA EuroBasket MVP honors. Dragić was also named the Euroscar European Player of the Year in 2017.
In 2018, while playing for the Miami Heat, he was named an NBA All-Star for the first time. He played and started 75 games that season and averaged 17.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists.
Dragić last played in the NBA during the 2022-23 season. The Slovenian guard split time between the Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks and averaged 6.3 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 58 games off the bench.
