USC Basketball: Ex-Trojan Star to Play in All-Star Tribute Game

Valentina Martinez | Aug 18, 2024

Apr 19, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic (9) drives to the basket against Miami Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) in the second quarter during a play-in game of the 2024 NBA playoffs at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Former Trojan Nikola Vucevic will compete in a tribute game honoring NBA All-Star guard Goran Dragic on Aug. 24.

"The Night of the Dragon" is set to take place at Stozice Arena in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The game will feature two star-studded lineups. Current and former NBA players will take the court together, including Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Luis Scola, Dejan Bodiroga, Predrag Danilovic, Nikola Vucevic, and Rasho Nesterovic.

The event is sponsored by the Goran Dragic Foundation and the charity will host a gala dinner the night before where the teams will be drafted. The must-watch event was sold out in only 20 minutes.

Dragic announced he retired from the NBA after 15 seasons in December.

"I have lived my greatest dream and I am extremely grateful for the countless people in my life who have enabled me to play this long," Dragic said. "It starts with my parents, Marinko and Mojca, my brother, Zoran, my kids, Mateo and Vikorita and their mother Maja, and the rest of my family who always allowed this passion of basketball to be a priority for me."

Many of the players that will take the floor at "The Night of the Dragon" are part of the group known as the Balkan Boys, which originated in the NBA bubble.

It began with a dinner that included Vucevic, Jokic, Marjanovic, Doncic, and Dragic, all players from Balkan countries.

Some of Balkan boy’s 💯
🇧🇦 🇭🇷 🇸🇮 🇷🇸 🇲🇪
📸 by Terry Stotts pic.twitter.com/5gAer9KApN

— Jusuf Nurkić 🇧🇦 (@bosnianbeast27) August 28, 2020

So it's no surprise that Vucevic will competed in Dragic's tribute game at the end of the month.

Vucevic is signed to the Chicago Bulls for three more years. The veteran center averaged 18 points and 10.5 rebounds through 76 games last season. Vucevic started all but two of those contests and played an average of 34 minutes per game.

The Bulls failed to reach the playoffs last season which was disappointing for both fans and players. Vucevic had a solid season, but struggled from the three-point line, averaging just 29%.

Vucevic brings a veteran presence to the floor on a team filled with a majority of young players. The center has the ability to space the floor well but is somewhat of a liability on defense. Overall, Vucevic has a very dependable skill set with connective passing.

There has been some trade speculation about the center, but nothing has come to fruition yet.

The center played college hoops for USC before being drafted 16th overall in the 2011 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.