Dragic recalls mentorship under Sasa Doncic, shares appreciation for European greats / News - Basketnews.com

Goran Dragic talked about his long-standing friendship with Luka Doncic when he first met the Dallas Mavericks star in his early childhood.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Milwaukee Bucks guard Goran Dragic sat down with his teammate and Thanalysis podcast host -- Thanasis Antetokounmpo -- to talk about his friendship with Luka Doncic, a magical 2017 experience, and European basketball greats, among multiple other topics.

Luka Doncic

Team:Dallas MavericksPosition:SGAge:24Height:201 cmWeight:104 kgBirth place:Ljubljana, SloveniaProfileNewsStatistics

Dragic, a 15-season NBA veteran, recalled how he first met Luka Doncic, the superstar of the Dallas Mavericks and the current Slovenian national team leader.

"One of the craziest stories is when I was 15 years old, I signed my first professional contract. On that team, my mentor was Sasa Doncic, the father of Luka Doncic," Dragic revealed. "I have known Luka since he was a baby, a kid. He would be there mopping the floor.

"2017 was the first time playing together for the national team with him, and now he is a superstar in the NBA. It's a circle of life. It's unbelievable."

They not only played but were key players in helping their team win the FIBA EuroBasket 2017, with Doncic playing a crucial role in the knockout rounds despite being just 18 years old at the time.

Goran Dragic, on the other hand, was named the tournament MVP after leading Slovenia to their first-ever EuroBasket title.

"It's easy to play with him," Dragic said of Doncic. "In 2017, Luka was a little bit different. He was still young, I took him under my wings. We were roommates, but even then, you could see that he had an unbelievable talent. As a 17, 18-year-old to be the starter of your national team and put up big numbers is something unbelievable.

"Now, this past EuroBasket was a different story. Back then, I was Batman, he was Robin, and now the roles have reversed," the Bucks guard said. "I was really happy to play with him, he is such a tremendous player. Good kid. We hang out off-season, we go to a Croatian island Krk, and we spend most of the time there with families and kids. It's been awesome. The only thing that was missing last year was a medal."

Goran Dragic

MIN:14.8PTS:6.22 (45.55%)REB:1.37As:2.56ST:0.22BL:0.07TO:1.07GM:59ProfileNBA2022/2023

Back in 2017, Slovenia finally got the right combination of players, coaches, and timing.

"In Slovenia, we have always had good basketball players but the chemistry was never right," Dragic emphasized. "At one point, we had eight NBA players in the league, with only a two-million population. That's huge.

"You had like Spain, Greece, Serbia, and France. Those four teams were always favorites to win medals. We were always in the tear beneath that, from fifth to eighth. We never could jump over the hump. We had always played in the quarterfinals, and we always lost. In 2017, finally, we got the right mix of players, a change of generations, a new coach, and everything was magic. The only bad thing was my brother did not play."

Credit AFP – Scanpix

Dragic is an NBA All-Star (2018), who wore seven different NBA teams' jerseys, starting his career in Phoenix.

He expressed appreciation for European basketball greats who made a significant impact in the NBA. The 36-year-old emphasized that the likes of Sabonis, Kukoc, Petrovic, and Marciulionis came to the league and had to fight through various stereotypes about Europeans at that time.

"I always gonna cherish Arvydas Sabonis, Toni Kukoc, Drazen Petrovic, Sarunas Marciulionis, and all those European players that came to the league," Dragic said. "It was not easy for them. Everybody was saying back then: 'Europeans are soft.' To be here and to fight through it and establish an identity, we have to cherish what they did for us.

"Because right now, the last four MVPs were Europeans. Giannis and Nikola twice. If you just look at the All-Star game, it's like... Maybe they should do the international players versus Americans. That would be really interesting," Dragic also hinted at a popular idea.

Bucks' Dragic and Thanasis are currently fighting in the first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat. The best-of-seven series is tied at 1-1 before Game 3 in Miami.

Full Thanalysis podcast with Goran Dragic:

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