By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
An NBA star at Piazza Duomo! Goran Dragic is one of the hottest names in the NBA, since he’s the Most Improved Player of the season, but he enjoyed his participation in the memorable One Team Session and game together with Euroleague and football legends. He was joking all the time with Papaloukas, Pittis and Riva and when he finished, he spoke to Eurohoops about himself, Phoenix Suns, the NBA, the Slovenian NT and his brother, Zoran.
After seven years in the NBA Goran Dragic was awarded as the Most Improved Player in the league, something which is as he says “joyful. It’s a very important award. But this will not disorientate me from the targets I have for my improvement. I have a lot to do. I know which parts of my game need to be fixed and I continue to work hard on them”.
Phoenix Suns didn’t reach the playoffs, though their record was 48-34. Was this disappointing for him? “We have a very good team with talent and enthusiasm. Of course, it was dissapointing because we felt that we made a great season but eventually we didn’t reach the playoffs. I believe that this will make us more stubborn because we are a really ambitious team”.
A popular debate in the NBA is the quality difference between East and West. Does he feel that there isn’t justice in the playoffs qualification? If Suns were in the East, they would finish third along with the Raptors and Bulls. “These are the NBA rules. The commissioner and the NBA people know better. Of course we feel that there isn’t justice. But this is the NBA competition system for many years. And none knows what’s going to happen later”.
Slovenia hosted th last Eurobasket and showed improvement on the court but didn’t fulfill the dreams of its fans. Can they be happy soon? “A lot of people in my country talk about the golden generation. We are getting older but there are a lot of talented players who are growing up. If this group of players stays united and work hard, we ‘ll succeed and give joy to our fans”.
Some days ago Eurohoops published that his brother, Zoran, is close to the NBA. How possible is that according to Goran? “I’ve heard that also. I’m happy that he’s doing well and there is interest from NBA teams for him. It’s our dream -it’s not a secret- to become the first Slovenians brothers who will play in the NBA. But I want to let him know that if we ‘ll face each other in the NBA, it will be my pleasure to beat him”.