By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Around twenty years after starting his professional career at Geoplin Slovan, Goran Dragic bid farewell at a special event in his hometown of Ljubljana.
He spent four years in European basketball before moving his talents overseas, where he spent 15 years as an NBA player. However, things could have turned out differently.
“During my early coaching years in Milan, I wanted to sign him. He was 17 years old when his tape reached me. I wanted him, but my sports director and general manager didn’t know him; they didn’t want him. He was the one I wanted because I’m a coach who likes to give young players a chance. I saw something special in him, and he has shown that throughout his career,” Serbian legend Aleksandar Djordjevic, who coached Olimpia Milano in the 2006/07 season, told Meridian Sport.
He spoke with great respect about Dragic, who defeated the Serbian national team led by Djordjevic in the 2017 Eurobasket final.
“He has set extremely high standards throughout his career, both as a person and player. He is an example for every child and athlete of extracting the maximum from a career and achieving moments like the ones his teammates, coaches, Ljubljana, and his entire nation prepared for him. Surrounded by family, love, and the respect of everyone who came to honor a giant of the world, not just European, basketball. He is a fantastic person. I greatly respect him as a coach who was on the other side, losing to his team in a final where he was the captain and MVP of the entire tournament. I speak as someone who knows what that means. The least I could do for him was to show up and give him a final round of applause as a great player. I hope he finds a path beyond his basketball career because people like him are extremely needed,” Aleksandar Djordjevic concluded.