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You never know before the season, when you get new players, how the chemistry is going to develop and how the season is going to go.
I always had this in my head that I could play in this league, that I'm good enough... but of course you have to prove that on the floor.
I was always good at penetrating in Europe, but in Europe, you don't have so many shot-blockers as there are in the NBA, so it was easier.
Sometimes on the outside courts we'd play and guys would get into fights. I never backed down, even if the guy was stronger and I'd get punished.
It doesn't matter who it is. If I'm going to see an open gap, I'm going to penetrate and try to finish over those guys. I'm not afraid of big guys.
I started playing soccer first and then basketball. I had a leg injury when I was young and my mom said, 'come on, try to choose a different sport.'
Not everyone in this world has the same start in life. From that standpoint, we are trying to give as many kids as we can equal opportunities to succeed.
I mean, at the beginning of a season you never know how things are going to turn out. You're always going in positive, believing in the work that's been done.
If you come into a season without goals, you're just going through practice and it doesn't mean anything to you. But if you set goals, you're pushing yourself.
When I was younger, I showed my nation that I would always play for my national team, no matter who was there. If we had a good team or a bad team, I was there.
I always try to play hard as possible to help my team - it doesn't matter if it's on defense or offense. I would say when I was young I was playing like that, too.
Somebody said that I'm the worst player in the NBA, and my last name should not be Dragic, but 'Tragic.' Every time I was in a practice court, I had this in my mind.
I'm a pure lefty. Everything. I eat with my right hand, but when I was a kid, I was eating with my left. My mom was getting on me that that's not nice, so I switched my hands.
They teach that in Europe. When you penetrate and you feel some guy next to you, you just pump fake and stop and turn. It's an old move I used all my career, so it comes natural.
I always cherish my ancestors, my grandpa, great-grandpa, what they did for us, especially my dad who moved from Bosnia. He started a new life in Slovenia so basically I grew up there.
Soccer helped especially with my footwork. When I played soccer, I was on offense scoring goals - I didn't pass the ball so much so it probably didn't help much with being a point guard.
I always say I'm hurting sometimes, have a lot of injuries. But if you win a game, I feel great. But if you lose the game, those injuries, they come up. I don't know how to explain it, winning is such a unique thing.
Every opponent is different. Some guys are going to be in pick-and-roll a little bit higher, and then you have opportunities to drive for layups. Some guys are going to zone deeper and then the mid-range shot is open.
When I came to the league, a lot of people were saying Dragic's name was 'Tragic.' That hurts a little bit. I always have those comments in the back of my head and try to prove to all those people that they were mistaken.
Even people back home, when I went to the NBA they were questioning whether I was good enough, I'm skinny, I don't have outside shot. As a player, sometimes that criticism, you just have to take that and try to convert it into motivation.
I already said to D-Wade and Steve Nash and those guys, 'I don't know how you guys do it.' Of course, I want to be a famous basketball player, but not to that standpoint where you go out and you don't have peace. You cannot enjoy your personal life. I would rather be with my family and do what I want.
When I came to the league, back in Europe I was so much faster than the other guys, I was always penetrating. I didn't use my jump shot. When I came to the league it was tough to get to the basket. All those guys, they went under the pick-and-roll. It was long threes, especially for me coming from Europe.
Of course, if you have D. Wade on your team, he's the best closer in the history of this sport, so the ball needs to go in his hands, but I was always ready. I was always ready. I remember every time he would play pick-and-roll, he said, 'G, just be ready. Maybe you're going to be open. I need to hit you.'
My first time alone in Spain playing basketball - that kind of made me tougher, especially for my character and my personality. It's not easy when you're alone. Some nights you have bad games or bad days and it's not easy. I think that is the one thing that changed me, to make me a better person, a tougher guy.
When I was a kid I watched Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Allen Iverson - all these great point guards. But then when I was 14, 15-years-old I found a similar guy who played like me - Beno Udrih. He's lefty too and he played in my hometown so I was a huge fan of his. Then after awhile I saw Manu Ginobili when he was playing in Italy.
That nickname was given to me by Steve Nash when I came to the league and nobody could say my last name, Dragic. Everybody was saying Dragika - nobody could say it. So he said, 'From now on you're The Dragon. It's much easier.' The funny thing is he didn't know the capital city of Slovenia is Ljubljana and the logo is the dragon.
I mean, I was always hoping to play in the NBA. Of course, when that thing happened, you're like, 'Finally, I did it, but the work starts now.' I didn't want to just be known as OK, I came to the NBA, and then in a few years, you're gone. First my goal was to be the best Slovenian player in the league. Of course, after that, your appetite goes up.