Alongside his brother, who shined in this year's NBA season, the 24-year-old native of Ljubljana had an excellent Eurobasket tournament. Zoran was Slovenia's second scorer at the championship. "Zoki" has been determined to make it, even after last year's not so successful season, when the team from Spain’s Andalusia region practically gave up on him. However his thrilling performances for Slovenia's national team impressed his new coach, Joan Plaza, and he thus became one of Malaga's key player.
The 196-centimeter tall shooting guard significantly improved his play in the Euroleague. He improved his shooting and is one of the biggest surprises of the season. Unicaja now faces the final matches of Spain's championship league. Zoran will then look forward to national team action and his first Basketball World Cup. In his interview for MMC, the younger of the Dragić brothers also talked about going to the NBA League and Goran's possible absence from the World Championship. At the moment he sees Beno Udrih as the only one who can replace Goran's absence.

Zoran, this is with no doubt an interesting season for you. At the beginning you weren't in the coach's plans, but now you're Malaga's key player. What's your view on the season?
I think I have a successful season behind me. It could be even better. I'm happy to be part of the team, despite the fact that at the beginning of the season I wasn't even sure if I would stay in Malaga. I've proven that I deserve to be in the team. And that additionally motivated me.
You mentioned that it's difficult to be a key player for a foreign team. For example, would it be easier if you were Spanish? Do they see you differently now?
For sure. They don't look at you that way when you arrive. The Spanish are Spanish, they have their league, which is the best in Europe, and they look on Spanish players differently. You have to show them what you can do, for them to see what you have. Now they look at me differently, but this is my second season here. They see the progress I've made. Besides that my game is full of energy, which is something they really like.
Last season under coach Jasmin Repeša you did get a chance, but then played less and less. Now under coach Joan Plaza you play a lot and are one of the team's key players. Does Plaza's game plan suit you more and do you have a better relationship with him?
I can say yes. Under Plaza I've been playing the whole season on position 2. That's what the coach wants. Before that I was played as a forward. Under Repeša I did play at the beginning, but then he put me on the bench. After that I didn't get a lot of chance to play. The situation now is different.
In the Euroleague you came up short in reaching the quarterfinals. Was that a huge disappointment? Is it comparable to the disappointment in the Copa del Rey competition, which you hosted, but from which you were quickly eliminated?
It was, but on the other hand we knew it would be difficult to beat Panathinaikos in an away game. Panathinaikos is one of the best European clubs and so the criteria of the referees were in accordance to that. We were the outsiders. I think our key game was the one in Istanbul, against Fenerbahce. We were ahead by nine points two minutes before the end, but lost the game. If we would have won that game, everything would have been different. At the Copa del Rey tournament we did expect more. We hosted the cup tournament and we were in good form. Zaragoza surprised us. We were in the lead all throughout the game, at one point even by 15 points, but then they caught fire and started hitting shots. We were disappointed. Malaga always gets eliminated in the first round.

You played excellent at the Eurobasket. Do you think you were able to bring this excellent form from the national team into the club? Did you gain self-confidence from that experience and thus quickly become a key player for your club?
It's true that we played a lot of games. We had a good rhythm of games and practice sessions and were in great form. However I think my character was decisive. Ever since I improved my shooting, I started believing in myself. When I then arrived in Malaga I started playing on position 2 and everything changed. I was no longer a one-dimensional player. I'm no longer dangerous only when I charge to the basket. I have become more self-confident as a result of my improved shooting. So, I no longer lacked confidence. I always was confident, but all I needed was to improve my shooting confidence.

What do expect from this summer? Are looking forward to your first appearance at a World Championship? You already have two European Championships behind you, so will this be a new challenge?
I can't wait. Back when Memi Bečirović coached the national team, I was the last one to be dropped from the squad, although I really wanted to go to the World Championship. This year I'm really looking forward to my first appearance, and I hope that no injury will prevent me from taking part. It surely will be a new experience. I'm especially happy that the championship will be held in Spain.
You also have a great opportunity for achieving good results. Your opponents seem perfect for that.
On paper we can all say that we got drawn in the easiest group. I think we have a good chance of making it in the second round. That's our primary goal. After that, when we face the better teams, anything will be possible.
You are also going to be working with Jure Zdovc for the first time. Do you see him as the right replacement for coach Božidar Maljković?
I have no preferences. That was the decision of our basketball association. Jure Zdovc is a good coach and has achieved the best result with our national team to date. I'm happy that he's taken over our team. We have never worked together, but I don't expect any essential differences.
And if we could also touch on Goran at the end. He has a truly fantastic season behind him. He got the NBA's Most Improved Player Award. How did you see his excellent season?
I knew he was capable of that. He's capable of a lot of things and I think he can achieve a lot more in the NBA. I'm really happy for him. Sadly I wasn't too focused on everything that was going on, as I have a lot to do with my own carrier as well. I congratulated him. We haven't talked since he won the award, but we did talk two days before that, when he already knew he was going to get it.
How much will Goran's absence be felt, if really misses out on the World Championship. Is it even possible to fill such a hole?
It will surely be felt. He's a unique point guard. We don't have another point guard and leader like that. Maybe, if Beno Udrih comes. Maybe then we'll be able to fill that hole somehow. But I'm worried as to who would replace him, because he definitely can't be replaced. We could say that his absence could be somewhat replaced only by Beno.