The story behind Goran Dragic’s popular hat. And how Jimmy Butler got one
Just days before the NBA season was suspended because of the coronavirus, Goran Dragic walked into the Miami Heat locker room with a hat that caught his teammates’ attention.
With the Heat guard’s initials — G and D — stitched onto the front of the hat, a dragon is snaked through the two letters as an homage to Dragic’s nickname, “The Dragon.” The hat featuring Dragic’s logo is simple, but it has become popular among Heat teammates and fans.
“That’s my logo from my camp back home [in Slovenia],” Dragic said to the Miami Herald before play was suspended. “We designed this logo two years ago with the Miami Heat. It’s my initials with the Dragon. ... It’s just something that I’m really proud of. It’s a cool hat. The logo is cool.”
The problem is Dragic, 33, doesn’t have many of those hats at the moment. During a Sunday Instagram Live discussion with Heat television host Jason Jackson, Dragic said he only received five hats from the first batch that was recently produced.
All-Star Heat teammate Jimmy Butler took two of the five hats before the season was suspended, wearing one around the locker room after a game in early March. Other Heat teammates, especially Bam Adebayo, (maybe jokingly) weren’t too happy that Butler got a hat before they did.
“I didn’t know this was going to be such a big issue,” Dragic said with a smile during his chat with Jackson. “Everybody wants to have this hat right now. We still need to make those hats. Of course, the coronavirus and everything stopped it. But as soon as this is over, I promise everybody is going to get their hats. Maybe, we’re even going to start selling online and try to raise money to donate.”
Dragic made the logo his Twitter profile picture on Tuesday as a reminder of what awaits.
“I’m waiting for these tough times to be over so I can bring hats,” he said on Instagram Live.
Here’s what else Dragic touched on during his Instagram Live discussion with Jackson ...
▪ Dragic has become close friends with Butler in their first season as teammates. Why?
“He’s himself, I’m just being me and we just connected,” Dragic said. “Of course, he loves soccer and I love soccer. We talk a lot about this sport. But, you know, when you get a new teammate, it’s always hard to connect. First, you need to get to know him and see his personality and everything. After training camp, we just jelled. He’s such a funny guy. I love being around him and he’s a great teammate.”
▪ Although Dragic never publicly complained about being moved to a bench role this season, he said he was “shocked, mad” when he first learned he would likely be playing as a reserve during a discussion with coach Erik Spoelstra last offseason.
“Coach Spo called me and we had a good breakfast and meeting together,” Dragic recalled. “He told me, ‘Hey, G. I think the best way for you is to come from the bench. What do you think about this?’ As soon as I heard this, I was a little bit in shock. Shocked, mad. [There were a lot] of emotions going through my head. But at the end of the day, this was the best thing to do for the team. ... The only thing I had to do was to embrace that role, and I did it.”
In his first full season off the Heat’s bench, Dragic averaged 16.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 54 games this season after playing in a career-low 36 games last season due to right knee surgery.
▪ Dragic said this Heat season, which was suspended after 65 regular-season games, “is one of the most exciting seasons that I was a part of.”
