Former NBA All-Star point guard Goran Dragic retires at age 37

Goran Dragic (Goggle Images)

According to Nick Raguz of Sports Illustrated on Sunday, former National Basketball Association point guard Goran Dragic of Ljubljana, Slovenia retired at the age 37. Dragic played 15 seasons in the NBA. He played with the Phoenix Suns from 2008 to 2011, and again from 2012 to 2015, the Houston Rockets from 2010 to 2012, the Miami Heat from 2012 to 2021, the Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets from 2021 to 2022, and the Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks from 2022 to 2023.

Dragic has not played in the NBA this season. In his career, he averaged 13.3 points per game, 4.7 assists per game, and three rebounds per game in 946 NBA contests. Dragic also had a field goal percentage of .459, three point percentage of .362, and a free throw percentage of .766.

Dragic’s most notable season was as an All-Star with the Miami Heat during the 2017-18 season. He averaged 17.3 points per game, 4.8 assists per game, 4.1 rebounds per game, a field goal percentage of .450, three-point percentage of .370, and free throw percentage of .801.

Interestingly, the two seasons Dragic averaged more than 20 points per game in a season, he was not an All-Star. He averaged 20.3 points per game with the Suns in 2013-14, and 20.3 points per game with the Heat in 2016-17.

Dragic’s most memorable game came on February 28, 2014. In a 116-104 Suns win over the New Orleans Pelicans, Dragic scored 40 points. That season he did receive an honour as the NBA’s most improved player.

In Canada, Dragic’s short time with the Raptors was filled with controversy. He did not see himself a long term player in Toronto after being traded to the Raptors from the Miami Heat for Raptors legend Kyle Lowry. Midway through the 2021-22 season, Dragic was traded to the San Antonio Spurs, put on waivers by San Antonio, and then signed with the Nets.