Miami Heat fans have a soft spot for the former All-Star guard, Goran Dragic. After all, he was part of the 2019-20 squad that made it to the NBA Finals in the NBA Bbubble and faced the Los Angeles Lakers. Dragic had one of the best times of his career with the Heat, even earning the lone All-Star selection of his career as part of the organization.
The Slovenian former basketball star spent seven seasons with the Heat and has remained close ties with the franchise. Although he retired from the sport in 2023, he’s still getting involved with Miami’s team. Part of it is his mentorship with the young prospects the team is developing, especially Pelle Larsson.
Heat insider Ethan Skolnick has compared Larsson to the former NBA player. Skolnick also cited that Dragic plans to have a year off to think about what his next step would be. Additionally, the former Phoenix Suns guard mentioned that he’s interested in joining the Heat organization at some point.
“I know it’s an easy comparison to make here, but I saw some Dragic in him,” Skolnick said. “And we talked to him about that, and he talked about how Goran had basically greeted him, went to one of his games. And obviously, Goran’s been around the organization a lot lately, and I expect him to be part of the organization next year. I think that’s the way that this is trending. And also, I talked to Goran last year, and he said he wanted one year to kind of get his life where he wanted it, and then probably want to be with the Heat organization. You see him everywhere now — he’s doing community events and all that.”
There is still no confirmation about Dragic’s plans to join the Heat. However, the franchise is expecting to welcome their former player.
How good was Dragic with the Miami Heat?
During Dragic’s time with the Miami Heat, he was already a seasoned veteran in the NBA. The team acquired the 6-foot-4 point guard in 2015 via a mid-season trade and quickly made an impact as a starter.
In his first season in Miami, the guard played 26 games, averaging 16.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 5.3 assists on 50.2% shooting from the field. Two seasons later, he averaged 20 points for the second time in his career, first with the Heat.
The next season, he earned a spot in the All-Star game in Los Angeles as a replacement for the injured Kevin Love. He spent the next three seasons as one of the most important players in the team, even accepting a bench role.
Overall, Dragic averaged 16.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists during his time with the Miami Heat. He’s also helped the team appear in the playoffs multiple times.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
