NBA FINALS: LAKERS VS. HEAT

September 29, 2020

Goran Dragic

Miami Heat

Practice Day

Q. Goran, you had that day where Spo told you, hey, enjoy this, so what's the refocusing process like? Was it yesterday? What time did it hit you, okay, we won the East, now our focus is on the Finals?

GORAN DRAGIC: Probably that night that we won. We had dinner, and after dinner we celebrated. But we knew immediately the next day that we needed to get back to business and try to get focused and be ready to play.

Q. Goran, there's a small European country where these games are going to be shown at a little after 3:00 in the morning. How is your family going to handle it? Will there be a lot of naps involved or will they stay up all night? How is this going to go over at home, these really early morning games?

GORAN DRAGIC: I mean, my kids, they're going to be sleeping, but definitely my wife, my parents, my friends, they're going to probably go to bed and set an alarm clock around 2:55 and wake up and get excited for the game. But definitely I know my Pops, he's going to definitely watch it.

Q. I know winning a European championship was huge in your career, but when you came to the Heat, Erik just spoke on it, that there was a promise that you were going to be competing for championships, and then obviously what happened with Chris [Bosh] and it didn't quite get there. Can you put into perspective what this means for you, because I kind of feel like Heat fans are happier for you than anyone else because you stuck through it all this time.

GORAN DRAGIC: Yeah, I mean, it means everything to me. That's why I came to this organization, to win something, and unfortunately it happened the way it happened in the past with CB and some other players.

But I'm not a quitter; I always try to stay with it and do my job. All these people in the organization, they believe in me. All the fans, I really appreciate their support. And like I said, I try to give every game 100 percent, and at the end of the day I can look myself in the mirror and say, okay, I did it, I gave everything that I got, and if this was enough, it was enough; if not, not.

Like you said, I'm really happy to be in this position right now. It's been an amazing season for me, and yeah, we're still not done, so hopefully we're going to have a lot of good games left.

Q. Do you feel kind of like the bridge in a way from the CB/Dwyane [Wade] group to this group? Because obviously UD [Udonis Haslem] is still there with you, too, but you are the tie to a team that did get to Game 7 of a second-round series against Toronto and had a chance. Do you feel like you're carrying the torch in some ways? Dwyane and Chris seem as excited as anybody else about this.

GORAN DRAGIC: I mean, you can say it like that. Yeah, of course, I played with those guys and we won a lot of games, but then when D-Wade left and CB got hurt, we changed a lot of things. Definitely I feel like now that we are here, it means even more to them and to me. I see on social media CB and D-Wade, they're always rooting for us, and it means a lot to us as a team. To see what they did in the past, it means a lot to us, too.

I was not a part of that, but as soon as you put that Miami Heat jersey on, it's like, okay, you need to compete and do your job, like the guys that did it before me.

Q. Dion Waiters is on the Lakers, the other side. I wanted to ask about your experience playing with him as a teammate and your thoughts when he ended up on the Lakers after you guys split ways.

GORAN DRAGIC: Yeah, Dion was great. Me and him really had a good chemistry on the floor. That year we called it 7-11. We went through a lot of ups and downs that season. We won 11 games and 30 losses, and then we flipped the season and won 30 games and 11 [losses].

But yeah, unfortunately with him he had a lot of injuries, too, so he was in and out of the rotation. It's just the way it goes.

Now I'm happy for him that he's with the Lakers. He's a great dude, great teammate, and I wish him all the best.

Q. What's been the message from guys like UD and Andre [Iguodala] over these past few days, and how important is that experience? I think they're the only two guys on the roster that have been to The Finals before. How important is that experience and their voice in preparation for this series?

GORAN DRAGIC: You know, they were simple. They said, guys, we deserve this, and just enjoy it. Enjoy the moment, be present, and like you said, preparation is the big key. Those two guys, they know what it takes to win, and they give us that confidence that we can do it.

You know, everybody is locked in. Everybody is paying attention. Everybody is on the same page, and can't wait to start.

Q. You talked a little bit ago about what is expected of you as soon as you become a Heat player, that hard-working mentality. What is Erik Spoelstra's role in embodying that culture and having everyone buy into it?

GORAN DRAGIC: I mean, first of all, he's a great coach. He understands what players need, and he challenges you right away as soon as you get there. He says, you need to work on this and this and try to get better. That's how he was with me, and I love it.

From there on, he's one of the smartest coaches in the league. He knows what the team needs. He knows where the ball needs to go, and he builds around that to bring the best possibilities from the player on the floor.

He's always there for the players. That's why he gives confidence to everybody.

Q. What do you think is going to make the difference in this series?

GORAN DRAGIC: I mean, a lot of things: We need to defend, we need to rebound, play team ball. I think that's going to be the key for our success, to play together as a team and try to make it tough on them.

Q. A little bit on the light side; can you explain a little bit how the celebration goes on in the bubble? You probably have to call some people. And then Jimmy Butler said something the other day about Zoki (Zoran) being his favorite Dragic. Do you have a favorite Jimmy?

GORAN DRAGIC: Yeah, after the game we went back to the hotel, eat dinner, and then after that we were in the lobby bar and just have one or two beers, having fun, listening to some music, and that was it.

You know, for Jimmy, he's one of the funniest guys that I've ever met in this league, and a great competitor, great teammate, and he always brings the best out of other guys, and he's challenging them. But at the same time he likes to joke around, and one of his jokes is that I'm his brother, that me and my brother Zoki, and his name is Zoki, so he's always messing around with me that his favorite Dragic is my younger brother Zoki, but he never met him, so...