New to the Brooklyn Nets, Goran Dragic will be led by a very familiar face, former point guard Steve Nash. The two were teammates with the Phoenix Suns for three seasons, and Dragic replaced the veteran in the starting point guard position. More than just a coincidence, the Slovenian admitted that the decision to join the Nets could not be separated from his relationship with Nash. “Steve is my mentor. When I got to the league, I played with him. And now, you never know, ending my career with him would be great.”

Apparently, admiration was mutual. The Brooklyn coach praised his new athlete, who was contested by six title contenders. “(Dragic) adds experience, IQ, skill, toughness and he is definitely a fearless player. He’s willing to take decisions and make big games in big moments, big situations. He’s been through it, so I think he’s added a lot to our group.”

At 35, Dragic is another veteran who joined the Nets as a free agent after being released by the San Antonio Spurs. The point guard started the season as a player for the Toronto Raptors, involved in the swap that brought Kyle Lowry to the Miami Heat. For the Canadian team, he played in just five games. Earlier this month, he was swapped again, this time to Gregg Popovich’s team, who have no intention of including the player in the squad.

In the 2019-20 season, Dragic became one of the main names of the Heat, in the campaign until the NBA Finals, still in the “bubble” of Orlando. The point guard, who suffered an injury in the draw against the Lakers, was the team’s second top scorer that postseason, behind only Jimmy Butler.

With an average of 13.9 points and 4.8 assists in his 14 years of experience in the NBA, the Slovenian has proven himself to be an efficient and intelligent point guard. In 2014, he won the award for most developed player of the season, in addition to appearing in the All-NBA third team. Four years later, he became an All-Star for the first time in his career.

(Photo: Twitter/Brooklyn Nets Reproduction)