Goran Dragic, one of the finest European guards to grace both the NBA and EuroLeague courts, recently shared his picks for the greatest basketball players of all time.
In a conversation with HoopsHype, the Slovenian maestro was asked to name his all-time starting fives, one from the NBA and another from Europe, and his choices stirred the pot by omitting some of the game's most iconic names: LeBron James, Magic Johnson, and Shaquille O’Neal.
For his NBA all-time five, Dragic began:
"I’m going to start with Nikola Jokic at the five position. I have to go with my guy, Luka, as the point guard. Then, of course, Michael as the two-guard."
"I played a conference finals against Kobe, and he really dismantled us. So I’m going to put Kobe as a three-guard. And then at the four, you have LeBron, you have Larry Bird. You know what, I’m going to go old school, and I’m going to put Bird in, you know?"
In doing so, Dragic excluded not only LeBron and Magic but also big men like Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan, highlighting his preference for cerebral players who molded the game with finesse rather than dominance.
Switching over to his all-time European lineup, Dragic said:
"Let’s say Luka is one, two is Drazen Petrovic. Three, let’s do Peja Stojakovic; at the four, Dirk, and because I used Jokic before, I’m going with Pau Gasol at center."
These lineups reflect Dragic’s hybrid basketball soul, grounded in the grit of European hoops and seasoned by NBA warfare. His selections favored IQ, longevity, and personal inspiration over pure accolades or popularity.
Who Is Goran Dragic’s GOAT?
When asked who his greatest of all time is, Dragic didn’t hesitate: Michael Jordan.
"When I was a kid, Michael, everybody who fell in basketball, he’s the best."
But Dragic also shared a more personal and heartfelt layer to the GOAT conversation. Being a guard himself, he gravitated to smaller players growing up.
"Then because I was always the smallest, I liked to watch guards, so it was Allen Iverson and Steve Nash, and then it really happened. I shared the locker room with Steve."
"He was my mentor, and that was one of the best moments in my career, just to pick up his brain. Of course, I play completely differently, but just to be around him and to see how he was seeing the game and how he was preparing himself for the games, it was something special."
While Jordan remains the global icon in his eyes, it’s Nash who left the deepest imprint on Dragic’s professional journey, a reminder that greatness isn’t just measured in titles, but in inspiration.
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