Goran Dragic doesn’t mind looking back, even if the memories are bittersweet. There was a time, he recalls, when Slovenian scouts and even friends expressed doubts as to whether he would even hold onto a roster spot in the NBA.
Fast forward six years, minus a day or two. USA Basketball, set to face Slovenia in the FIBA World Cup quarterfinals, had just finished practice. Forward Rudy Gay was asked whether Dragic – a former second-round pick and sparingly used backup guard – would be a focus for the United States defense.
“He’s great in our league, so he’s definitely going to be a lot to handle out here,” Gay said. “He’s definitely one of our top priorities.”
Think about that for a second. Goran Dragic: international priority.
As good as Dragic was in a Suns uniform last season – and he was very good – it was easy to see how his work in Slovenia green had served as the springboard for his NBA success.
Last summer in EuroBasket 2013, in front of a home country hoping its star would put on a show on the home stage, he led Slovenia on a quarterfinal run that included wins over Spain (you know, the team some think will actually beat Team USA next week) and Greece (silver-medalists in the 2006 World Championships).
After an NBA season in which he earned Most Improved Player and All-NBA Third Team honors, Dragic once again suited up for international competition. The allure of the FIBA World Cup was too much to resist.
This summer’s bigger prize wasn’t the only difference compared to EuroBasket. Another was Dragic himself. No longer was he just a decent NBA guy on a mostly non-NBA team. Now he was an All-Star-caliber threat capable of dismantling an entire opponent with one good outing. If you don’t believe that theory, just ask the Pelicans.
Over the last week in Spain, opposing defenses did more than adjust. They blew up their original gameplans. They double-teamed Dragic on pick-and-rolls. They triple-teamed him in the paint.
It didn’t matter. Before running into USA’s stop-Dragic-at-all-costs scheme, the Suns guard torched the rest of Slovenia’s competition for 16.5 points per game on a ridiculous 58.8 percent shooting. Even after his 6-for-15 performance against the red-white-and-blue, Dragic’s shooting clip ranked seventh in a tournament. Out of the top nine shooters, he was the only guard.
More important than the individual numbers is the effect he had on Slovenia. This is a country of little more than 2 million people. The city of Phoenix holds over 1.5 million.
In other words, Slovenia does not have a large pool of talent from which to draw (unlike the U.S. which absorbed the combined frontcourt absence of Kevin Love, Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge and Kevin Durant).
Dragic has never made bold predictions for his home country’s team, but neither has he diminished its potential. He, better than anyone, knows how much improvement can take place over the span of a few years. Dragic was 18 years old when he first played for Slovenia’s U-18 national team. He was 20 when he first donned the senior team jersey in the 2006 World Championships.
Such experience is invaluable. It calms teammates and makes significant steps seem possible, even on for an underdog on a national stage.
Make no mistake, that’s exactly what Slovenia was heading into this tournament. If Group A (Spain, Brazil, France, Serbia, Iran, Egypt) was this tournament’s “group of death,” then Group D (Slovenia, Lithuania, Mexico, Australia, Angola, Korea) was considered a group of near-dead programs. One or two standouts per team, but nothing truly impressive like its Group A counterparts. If anything, Lithuania would run away with first place in such a motley group.
Instead Dragic’s team overachieved. Even without its two best big men from EuroBasket (Gasper Vidmar, Mirza Begic), Slovenia found itself winning with much more than its lone NBA player. Goran’s brother Zoran took another step toward his NBA dream. Domen Lorbek hit big shots in key moments. Jure Balazic’s outside shot remained lethal. Youngster Alen Omic showed a promising future for a depleted frontline.
Seeds like those don’t blossom if defeat seems unavoidable. Dragic’s presence offered hope, which in turn produced results. Slovenia went 4-1 in group play, it’s only loss a three-point setback to aforementioned Lithuania. When the Domincan Republic threated to out-run and out-gun them in the Round of 16, the Dragic brothers took over as long as they needed to. In the end, No. 13 Slovenia advanced further than No. 3 Argentina, No. 5 Greece and No. 9 Australia.
When Dragic returns for training camp in next month, he’ll be riding the momentum of his best performance yet on an international stage. His national team experience is now a round decade. On a Suns team full of young prospects and blossoming role players, it’s impossible to overstate how valuable that will be.
Then again, Slovenia probably knows exactly how important that is.