The Chicago Bulls entered free agency intent on adding veterans and capable shooters to their roster. They did so by agreeing to terms with Goran Dragić on a one-year contract.
Dragić, 36, is a 14-year NBA veteran with one All-Star selection under his belt. A 6-foot-3, 190-pound point guard, he has had professional stints with the Phoenix Suns, Houston Rockets, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets.
Here is everything else you need to know about the Bulls' newest pickup:
Goran Dragić Hometown, Background
Dragić was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia on May 6, 1986 to Marinko and Mojca Dragić. He has one brother, Zoran, who played briefly in the NBA for the Suns and Heat.
As a child growing up in Slovenia, Dragić was originally a soccer player, but switched to basketball at age 11 after an injury, according to his biography page on NBA.com. He would often wake up in the early hours of the morning (3 - 4 a.m.) to watch NBA games. He listed Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson and Steve Nash as some of his favorite players to watch back then, and cited Vlade Divac and Drazen Petrović as two of his basketball heroes.
Dragić is fluent in Slovenian, Serbian, Spanish and English.
NBA
Goran Dragić International Career
Dragić debuted professionally at age 17 with a minor league club, then went on to stints with Slovan, Murcia (Spain) and Union Olimpija between 2004 and 2008. He entered the NBA Draft in 2008.
Dragić has also enjoyed a decorated career with the Slovenian national team. As an 18-year-old, he won gold at the 2004 FIBA Under-20 Championships, and later became a staple on the elevated national team to the point that he was named a captain in 2014. That year, he helped Slovenia to a fifth-place finish at the FIBA World Cup, and in 2017, helped lead the country to its first ever FIBA EuroBasket title.
While Dragić announced his retirement from the national team in 2017, he has returned in 2022 to help Slovenia in the qualifying phase for the 2023 World Cup.
Goran Dragić NBA Career, Stats
Dragić was drafted 45th overall (15th pick in the second round) in the 2008 draft by the Spurs, then traded to the Suns in a draft-night deal.
In 888 NBA games, Dragić has averaged 13.7 points, 4.8 assists and 3.1 rebounds while shooting 46 percent from the field and 36.2 percent from 3-point range. He was named an All-Star for the first and only time in his career in 2018, and in the 2013-14 season, earned both Most Improved Player honors and a spot on the All-NBA third team.
| Season | Age | Team | G | Min | PTS | FG% | 3P% | AST | REB | STL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-09 | 22 | PHX | 55 | 13.2 | 4.5 | 39.3% | 37% | 2.0 | 1.9 | 0.5 |
| 2009-10 | 23 | PHX | 80 | 18.0 | 7.9 | 45.2% | 39.4% | 3.0 | 2.1 | 0.6 |
| 2010-11 | 24 | PHX/HOU | 70 | 17.6 | 7.5 | 43.5% | 36.1% | 2.9 | 2.0 | 0.7 |
| 2011-12 | 25 | HOU | 66 | 26.5 | 11.7 | 46.2% | 33.7% | 5.3 | 2.5 | 1.3 |
| 2012-13 | 26 | PHX | 77 | 33.5 | 14.7 | 44.3% | 31.9% | 7.4 | 3.1 | 1.6 |
| 2013-14 | 27 | PHX | 76 | 35.1 | 20.3 | 50.5% | 40.8% | 5.9 | 3.2 | 1.4 |
| 2014-15 | 28 | PHX/MIA | 78 | 33.8 | 16.3 | 50.1% | 34.7% | 4.5 | 3.5 | 1.0 |
| 2015-16 | 29 | MIA | 72 | 32.8 | 14.1 | 47.7% | 31.2% | 5.8 | 3.8 | 1.0 |
| 2016-17 | 30 | MIA | 73 | 33.7 | 20.3 | 47.5% | 40.5% | 5.8 | 3.8 | 1.2 |
| 2017-18* | 31 | MIA | 75 | 31.7 | 17.3 | 45% | 37% | 4.8 | 4.1 | 0.8 |
| 2018-19 | 32 | MIA | 36 | 27.5 | 13.7 | 41.3% | 34.8% | 4.8 | 3.1 | 0.8 |
| 2019-20 | 33 | MIA | 59 | 28.2 | 16.2 | 44.1% | 36.7% | 5.1 | 3.2 | 0.7 |
| 2020-21 | 34 | MIA | 50 | 26.7 | 13.4 | 43.2% | 37.3% | 4.4 | 3.4 | 0.7 |
| 2021-22 | 35 | TOR/BKN | 21 | 23.7 | 7.5 | 37.7% | 25.4% | 4.1 | 0.9 | 1.1 |
| TOTAL | 888 | 27.9 | 13.7 | 46% | 36.2% | 4.8 | 3.1 | 1.0 |
Bold = Led NBA
* = All-Star
Dragić also owns 60 games worth of NBA playoff experience. He averaged 19.1 points and 4.4 assists for the Heat during its run to the 2020 NBA Finals, but in Game 1 of that series tore his plantar fascia and missed the rest of the postseason.
Goran Dragić Career Earnings
Dragić has earned nearly $151 million in his NBA career, according to Spotrac. His contract for the Bulls is reportedly worth one year, $2.9 million.
Goran Dragić Bulls Fit
Dragić joins an already crowded guard room with the Bulls. Lonzo Ball and Zach LaVine project to start in the backcourt, with Alex Caruso, Ayo Dosunmu, Coby White and recent first-round pick Dalen Terry also in the mix.
What Dragić provides is an experienced hand at the controls of an offense, someone who makes sensible scoring and passing decisions as a ball-handler, and has a track record of proficiency from 3-point range.
That said, Dragić has showed signs of decline in recent years, so his exact role is difficult to predict. At best, he is steady depth. At worst, he offers solid insurance against a flurry of injuries similar to what the Bulls' backcourt endured last season — particularly Ball, the team's only true point guard.