Zoran Dragić (born June 22, 1989) is a Slovenian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who plays for

Cedevita Olimpija Košarkarski klub Cedevita Olimpija ( en, Cedevita Olimpija Basketball Club), commonly referred to as KK Cedevita Olimpija or simply Olimpija, is a men's professional basketball club based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The club competes in the ABA Le ...

of the Slovenian League and the

ABA League The ABA League, renamed to the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the 1st-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Mace ...

. He also represents the

Slovenian national basketball team The Slovenia men's national basketball team ( sl, Slovenska košarkarska reprezentanca) represents Slovenia in international basketball competitions, and is managed by the Basketball Federation of Slovenia. Since the independence of Slovenia in ...

internationally. Standing at , he plays the

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...

and

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

positions. He is the younger brother of

Goran Dragić Goran Dragić (born 6 May 1986) is a Slovenian professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Dragon", he had played professional basketball in Slovenia and Spain before entering ...

Professional career

Early years

In 2004, Dragić joined Ilirija of the Slovenian 1B league for the 2004–05 season. A year afterwards, he joined Janče STZ of the Slovenian D2 league for the 2005–06 season. During 2006, he signed with Geoplin Slovan of the Slovenian League where he went on to play four seasons for them. In 2010, he signed with Krka where he went on to play two seasons for them.

Málaga (2012–2014)

In July 2012, Dragić joined the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

for the 2012

NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season competition organized by the National Basketball Association. NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regular season line-ups ...

. On August 20, 2012, he signed a two-year deal with

Unicaja Málaga Unicaja is a Spanish savings bank based in Málaga and chartered as a caja de ahorros providing retail banking services. The banks full name is ''Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Ronda, Cádiz, Almería, Málaga y Antequera'' after th ...

of the

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

. On July 8, 2014, he signed a two-year contract extension with Unicaja Málaga. However, after agreeing to sign with the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

, Dragić and Málaga agreed to part ways on September 26, 2014.

Phoenix Suns (2014–2015)

On September 29, 2014, Dragić signed a two-year deal with the Phoenix Suns. He went on to make his NBA debut on November 15, 2014 against the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

. He and Goran, alongside teammates Markieff and Marcus Morris, all briefly played together for the Suns during the fourth quarter of their 112–96 victory over the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

on January 2, 2015. It marked the first time in the NBA's history that two different pairs of brothers played together for the same team at the same time. In what was just his third game of the season, he also recorded his first NBA stats with 3 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist.

Miami Heat (2015)

On February 19, 2015, Zoran and his brother Goran were traded to the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

in a three-team deal also involving the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...

. On March 4, he was assigned to the

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team plays their home games in the Sanford Pentagon, a place they have call ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

. On March 15, he was recalled by Miami. In the Heat's season finale against the

on April 15, Dragić scored a season-high 22 points. In July 2015, he joined the Heat for the

2015 NBA Summer League The 2015 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the NBA: the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Ten teams participated in the week-long Orlando Pro Summer League a ...

. On July 27, Dragić was traded to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

, along with a 2020 second round pick and cash considerations, in exchange for a 2019 second round pick. However, on August 10, he was waived by the Celtics.

Return to Europe

On August 13, 2015, Dragić signed a two-year deal with the Russian club

Khimki Khimki ( rus, Химки, p=ˈxʲimkʲɪ) is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, 18.25 kilometres northwest of central Moscow, and immediately beyond the Moscow city boundary. History Origins and formation Khimki was initially a railway station tha ...

. After one season he left Khimki, and on July 7, 2016, he signed with Italian club

Olimpia Milano Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...

. He was released from Milano on November 20, 2017. The next day, he signed with Turkish club

Anadolu Efes Anadolu Efes Biracılık ve Malt Sanayii A.Ş.''(lit. Anadolu Efes Brewery and Malt Industries)'' produces and markets beer and malt and non-alcoholic beverages in a wide geographical area comprising Turkey, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independe ...

. His season ended prematurely on February 20th, 2018, when he suffered a torn

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

. Dragić nursed and recovered from his injury and returned in January 2019. He signed with Serie A club Alma Trieste on January 8, 2019, until the end of the 2018-2019 season. On August 6, 2019, he signed with

ratiopharm Ulm Ratiopharm Ulm, officially stylized as ratiopharm Ulm, is a professional basketball club based in Ulm, Germany. The club has two teams, one professional team, which plays in the Basketball Bundesliga, the major German professional league and one ...

of the German

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season ...

(BBL). On January 30, 2020, Dragić officially signed with

club Baskonia for the rest of the season, making his return to the EuroLeague. He signed a contract extension with the team on August 5. On October 30, 2021, Dragić signed with Žalgiris Kaunas of the

Lithuanian Basketball League Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

, for the remainder of the season. He parted ways with the team on December 31. On January 9, 2022, Dragić signed with

of the Slovenian League and the

National team career

Dragić started playing for the Slovenian national junior team in the

2007 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The 2007 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was an international basketball competition held in Spain in 2007. Final ranking 1. 2. Greece 3. Latvia 4. Lithuania 5. Spain 6. France 7. Croatia 8. Turkey 9. Germany 10. Russia 1 ...

. He also participated in the

2009 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship The 2009 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship was the 12th edition of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. The cities of Rhodes and Ialysos, in Greece, hosted the tournament. Greece won their second title. Israel and Belgium were relegated to Divis ...

, during which he would be the tournament's 4th best scorer, throughout the entire competition. In 2011, Dragić participated with the Slovenian senior squad, alongside his brother, Goran, during the

EuroBasket 2011 EuroBasket 2011 was the 37th men's EuroBasket, European Basketball Championship, held by FIBA Europe. The competition was hosted by Lithuania. This was the second time EuroBasket had been held in Lithuania, the country having also hosted t ...

tournament. After the success he had in 2011, he also played for Slovenia in the

EuroBasket 2013 EuroBasket 2013 was the 38th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It took place from 4 September until 22 September 2013 in Slovenia. The number of participating teams was 24. France defeated Lithuania in th ...

tournament, and helped the team finish with a better place in the final standings than the previous tournament. He went on to play for Slovenia in the

2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the tournament previously known as the FIBA World Championship. Hosted by Spain, it was the last tournament to be held on the then-current four-year cycle ...

, where his performance became a leading catalyst for his eventual signing with the

later that year. He represented Slovenia at the

EuroBasket 2015 EuroBasket 2015 was the 39th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It was co-hosted by Croatia, France, Germany, and Latvia, making it the first EuroBasket held in more than one country. It started on 5 Sept ...

, where they were eliminated by

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

in the

round of 16 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

. After an absence at the 2017 tournament, Dragić was on the roster for

EuroBasket 2022 The EuroBasket 2022 was the 41st edition of the EuroBasket championship organized by FIBA Europe. It was the first since it was agreed it would take place every four years, with a similar system of qualification as for the FIBA Basketball World C ...

where Slovenia was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Poland.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

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Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, 10 , , 1 , , 6.2 , , .409 , , .333 , , .500 , , .5 , , .4 , , .2 , , .0 , , 2.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 16 , , 1 , , 4.7 , , .367 , , .214 , , .600 , , .5 , , .3 , , .1 , , .0 , , 1.8

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2012–13 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2,

Unicaja Unicaja is a Spanish savings bank based in Málaga and chartered as a caja de ahorros providing retail banking services. The banks full name is ''Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Ronda, Cádiz, Almería, Málaga y Antequera'' after the n ...

, 22 , , 13 , , 16.3 , , .398 , , .129 , , .741 , , 3.0 , , .5 , , .7, , .0 , , 4.5 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , 22 , , 19 , , 22.9 , , .413 , , .354 , , .703 , , 2.7 , , 1.6 , , .7 , , .1 , , 10.9 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, 24 , , 5 , , 16.4 , , .490 , , .338 , , .662 , , 2.5 , , .8 , , .8 , , .0 , , 8.0 , , 7.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

Milano Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city has ...

, 23 , , 14 , , 19.1 , , .445 , , .296 , , .726 , , 2.2 , , .7 , , .7 , , .2 , , 7.0 , , 4.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 14 , , 10 , , 28.1 , , .429 , , .304 , , .853 , , 2.1 , , 2.7 , , .8 , , .1 , , 10.6 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, Baskonia , 5 , , 1 , , 17.3 , , .367 , , .357 , , .706 , , 2.0 , , .4 , , .6 , , .0 , , 7.8 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

, 33 , , 3 , , 17.9 , , .421 , , .284 , , .787 , , 1.6 , , .9 , , .6 , , .0 , , 8.5 , , 6.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;", Žalgiris , 9 , , 5 , , 13.1 , , .293 , , .250 , , .700 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , .4 , , .1 , , 3.9 , , 2.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 152 , , 70 , , 19.0 , , .425 , , .300 , , .737 , , 2.2 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , .1 , , 7.9 , , 6.7

Personal life

His father is of Serbian descent. Dragić's older brother, Goran, currently plays for the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

; the two brothers were teammates on both the Suns and Heat during the 2014–15 season. During an interview with Goran in 2014, it was revealed that Zoran was also married.Media Day 2014 , Phoenix Suns
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