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Miami Heat president Pat Riley heaped praise on Goran Dragic after the Miami Heat point guard's MVP-caliber performance at EuroBasket this summer, per the Sun Sentinel's Ira Winderman.
Riley, who gave up two first-round picks to acquire Dragic from the Phoenix Suns in 2015, feels the Slovenian has been well worth the price they paid for him, particularly last season. He was apparently also a fan of Dragic's Hulk pose, which Dragic unleashed upon winning the championship.
“I think since he's been here, he has proven to be that,” Riley said of Dragic as an elite presence. “I think last year, he had, to me, an All-Star year last year, if you stop and think about the numbers that he put up.
“What he did over in Slovenia this year in the games, by being the MVP, and getting 35 points in just three quarters of a game — and then I loved his Hulk pose that I saw. So he didn't have to deal with the conditioning test.”
After a rough first full season with the Heat, Dragic bounced back with one of his best seasons of his career in 2016-17. He tied a career-high with 20.3 points and 5.8 assists and was an integral part in the Heat’s incredible 30-11 run during the second half of last season.
Riley believes Dragic is the one player head coach Erik Spoelstra relies on the most based on how the Heat play. And after Dragic's amazing performance in leading his home country of Slovenia to its first European championship ever, ‘The Dragon” will also be relied upon heavily to lead the Heat back to the postseason.
