Goran Dragic, or the Dragon as some would call him (though he is not Oriental) is one of the season's most pleasant surprises. He is the microcosm of the Phoenix Suns, who are the league's surprise team.

If the NBA had a bracket bet, Phoenix would be the team that breaks them all. Some pre-season predictions had them as low as 29^th (Bill Simmons, Grantland). While some of the early season surprises eventually sputtered and shows their true colors (Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics), the Suns shone with their real color..a playoff team!

Dragic is still being hurt by the stigma of the Phoenix being a tanking team, that's why he was not selected by the fans nor the coaches in the All-Star Game, despite being the main man on a playoff team. He takes it all in stride. In an interview with ESPN Radio transcribed by Valley of the Suns:

"Q: Your numbers though belie the guy who probably should be playing in the All-Star game - 20 points per game. When Kobe got replaced and you did not get the spot, how did you react to that?

Dragic: You know, I was sad. I was mad, I mean, full of emotions. That's what it is in this business. There's even next year, so hopefully I make it. I was working hard, trying to be here that I am now. It's a great honor to be here and to compete in the Skills Challenge."

"Q: On the outside a lot of us thought, 'How is this going to work?' Dragic, and Bledsoe, two point guards. Why has it worked when Bledsoe's been healthy, why is it working?

 Dragic: Nobody knew if that's gonna work, including me or Eric. We talked with the coach, Jeff (Hornacek), and he said, 'Let's try this.' You guys have to embrace your roles, have to accept what kind of roles you're going to have and try to help the team. I think so we did that.

Me and Eric, we talked a lot before the season, you know, because he played his whole life as a point guard, I played my whole life as a point guard, so it was something new for both of us. I think so, just talking, talking with him and trying to figure out those things on the court, think so that's why we are successful because we share. We share things, and we know if we want to be a successful team, we have to play together."

On his team's secret to success despite the injury of their second best scorer: "I think that's an easy answer. I think so because of chemistry. We have such a good chemistry in our locker room and on the court, that everybody knows what we have to do if you want to be a playoff team or win games. Of course, Eric, he got hurt, we need somebody to step in. Gerald Green did a great job. Channing did, he came up huge for us too. Including our bench, is great. You know, the Morris brothers, they're playing awesome. And I'm just happy to be part of this team because it's so much fun and so much good players on this team. We're just having fun."