By: Megan Inglis
The dog days of summer have been good to Miami’s Goran Dragić. He recently described the last couple of weeks as "incredible." Speaking about the importance of settling his family in a place they loved, Dragić said: “This was an easy decision for us. My wife and I feel really comfortable here. This is the right place.”
HEAT fans around the globe couldn’t agree more. Miami is the right place for the Dragon. However, they’ll have to wait a bit longer to see him take the court. We caught up with Dragić and asked him what he's been up to.
“In the summer, the most important thing for me is to go back to Slovenia to see my family, friends and be back in the city where I was born,” Dragić said. “The first step is to get healthy, get my body rested and feeling fresh again. We are a small country, but there are a lot of things to do. You can hike in the mountains, visit the seaside, and go rafting. There are a ton of little lakes and rivers to ski. It’s all very beautiful.” Slovenia certainly seems like the perfect place to rest up and relax.
As if beautiful landscape and outdoor sports weren’t enough, Dragić revealed that Slovenia has the biggest cave in Europe. The Postojna Cave has everything from “tunnels, galleries and halls to a small railway and a ballroom,” Dragić said. Yes, a ballroom inside of a cave! It sounds and looks pretty incredible.
His emphasis on family, love for sport and appreciation for the outdoors culminates with The Gogi Camp. For the past two summers, Dragić has hosted 100 children from his community for a week of fun. While the camp is centered on basketball, the mission of the camp is to give children new experiences with each other. Talking about the week, Dragić said: “The most important thing is that they have fun and meet new kids. We don’t allow cellphones, and I think that is so important. Kids don’t talk to each other anymore. So, that was our emphasis this summer—to unplug and learn about one another.” The kids participated in everything from English classes to American football games taught by a local Slovenian team. “We want to open their eyes to new things and teach them that just because you don’t succeed in basketball, doesn’t mean you can’t be involved and make an impact in sport.”
Speaking of making an impact, Dragić and his brother and teammate, Zoran are certainly doing everything they can to positively impact the Slovenian people. In early July, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia announced Goran and Zoran as the Ambassadors of the European Year for Development 2015. According to the Ministry, the Dragić brothers are “men of integrity with a strong feeling of solidarity and personal interest in social participation.” The mission of the EYD2015 is to “inform and educate Slovenian and EU citizens about international development cooperation—official development assistance with which Slovenia and all other developed countries contribute to the economic, social and political development of developing countries.” “It’s a very interesting project for my brother and me," G. Dragić said about his involvement with EYD2015. "Not everyone in this world has the same start in life. From that standpoint, we are trying to give as many kids as we can equal opportunities to succeed.”
Rest? Check. Family time? Check. The Gogi Camp? Check. The list goes on, but one thing is certain: Dragić has been busy! His incredible dedication to his career, his country, and his family make him a top-notch professional athlete and HEAT Nation is thrilled to have him back. He’s equally as happy to be here: “The most important thing is that my family and I are happy. In the last two or three months of the season, I saw that everyone around this organization is family. Everyone has your back. That means a lot. I’m going to give everything I have to this team.”