Goran Dragic had two prior chances to claim his stake in the All-Star Game — the 2013-14 season with the Phoenix Suns and the most-recent 2016-17 season, averaging 20.3 points and a whisker shy of six assists per game in both. Yet the roar of The Dragon went unheard, with an All-Star mention still evading him.

“It was really tough, because I had unbelievable numbers,” Dragic told Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports. “You can only hope that you play well and somebody sees that, they give you a chance.”

This season seemed to be heading the same way, despite the Miami Heat sitting in fourth place in the East by the time the selections were made, but after a slew of injuries for Team LeBron, the Slovenian lefty got his call.

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“I was really happy because this was my wish for a long time,” said Dragic. “As a kid, you’re always dreaming about those moments. And I put a lot of work in.”

“I mean, for me, All-NBA was probably a higher honor. It’s kind of big but maybe the All-Star gets more recognition. Maybe because of that, people are more into it. But it’s an awesome experience, a lifetime experience that I’m going to embrace and try to have fun.”

Despite not garnering the high averages he did in prior seasons, Dragic's 17.4 points, 4.7 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game are spearheading this Heat roster into contention, currently hanging onto the eighth spot in these playoffs.

Now making an appearance as part of the weekend's festivities — all that is left for Dragic to do is to continue to keep the Heat in its quest for the postseason, as spots 4-through-8 are only separated by 3.5 games.