By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia – Goran Dragić’s farewell night in Ljubljana was one to remember. Many basketball figures, stars, and former players came to the Slovenian capital to honor him, including Dragić’s first NBA coach, Alvin Gentry.
Gentry expressed his amazement at the entire event and the city of Ljubljana in a media interview after the Night of the Dragon.
“This is actually better than the NBA All-Star game. And everything that happened was beyond first class. I think the one thing that even my daughter and I talked about is how nice the people are and how inviting everybody is. It’s just a really nice place to be. I’m a big fan and will definitely try to come back here,” Gentry said.
The experienced NBA coach has a special relationship with Goran.
“He’s like part of our family; my daughter will tell you that. We had him when he was very young, just learning that he belonged in the NBA. To see this as the end of his career and everything that he’s accomplished, I’m really, really proud of him. But more so than anything, I think you can see with the turnout and how everybody came out and the players that came back that he’s just such a well-respected guy. He’s such a humble human being that it’s just great to know him.”
Gentry tried to explain what Dragić meant to him.
“We’ve kept in contact since he played for me in Phoenix, so he’s just a really good person. I don’t know how else you can say it other than that he’s unselfish in everything he does. He’s a great, great guy, and he’s so humble. If you see how many guys came back to participate in this, it speaks volumes about who he is, how everybody looks at him, and how they respect him.”
He talked about Goran’s future beyond basketball.
“It’s funny, I just asked him, ‘Now, what the heck are you going to do now?’ Because we were walking out the door there, and he said, ‘I have no idea. I’m going to be an Uber driver for my kids.’ He’ll find something, and it’ll have a lot to do with helping kids and just finding their way and stuff like that. He’s not just a really good basketball player; he’s one of the best people I’ve ever known. I have no doubt that he’s going to do a lot of good things.”
As Dragić’s first head coach, Gentry taught him a lot, but what lessons did he learn from him?
“I think the biggest lesson is his unselfishness and how he’s such a tough kid. He was willing to play many or just a few minutes. The only thing that was important to him was winning. And that’s not true for everybody playing in the NBA.”
When the Slovenian star came to the NBA in 2008, the bigs were dominating, but he still managed to stay at the top level for many years.
“The one thing that he’s always been able to do is attack the basket. When he first came into the league, it was pretty much a big man’s league. But I think when you have someone who can attack the basket like him, get to the foul line, and create situations for other players, he was a terrific player, make no mistake about it. Every team that he went to, he made better.”
Gentry even compared Dragić with the legendary Kobe Bryant.
“I tell everyone that one of the most amazing things for me, if you look at the third game against the San Antonio Spurs when we were with Phoenix in the playoffs, what he did in that game was really Kobe-like,” Alvin Gentry concluded.