By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
NBA veteran guard Goran Dragic talked about how Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic dominate the league despite lacking the athleticism of most of their opponents and why some may find that kind of annoying.
“His [Jokic] IQ is such that he’s messing with them there,” Jokic said in an interview with Sportal. “Americans are pushing their way forward through marketing and that’s all normal but when you put everything on the floor, it’s a different story. Jokic is not fast, he doesn’t jump and that gets up their noses, how can a man play like this? They [NBA players] are all in good shape, you need to have six percent body fat, you need to jump… And I think it gets on their nerves, how can Jokic and Luka play like this?”
Dragic will continue his career with the Chicago Bulls after turning down an offer by the Dallas Mavericks that didn’t quite satisfy him. Bulls coach Billy Donovan actually met with Dragic in Slovenia during a trip he made in Europe.
“He was in Montenegro with Nikola Vucevic, so he called me and said he would come to take a look at everything,” Dragic said. “I said he could come on the last day of camp. Billy is a great coach and what is most important – he’s a good person. I’m looking forward and I can’t wait to start playing and for the season to start. We’ll see how everything turns out. I know I won’t be alone, I have a good friend Nikola [Vucevic]. Everything depends on how I’ll be with the team both on and off the court.”
After coming out of national team retirement to join Slovenia and Doncic in the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers, Dragic still hasn’t yet made a decision on whether he will participate in the EuroBasket or not.
“We’ll see. First I have to finish some personal things and we’ll see,” Dragic said. “There’s a desire to play in the EuroBasket, now that I returned after five years. I was a little emotional, especially in the last game in front of our fans. But what makes me happy was that it wasn’t just a farewell game but a must-win game. It was very nice, full arena with fans. Now there’s a little pressure on me to play in the European championship.”