7. Winning The Apple of Inspiration
The 48-win Suns didn’t reach the postseason in 2013-14, but Dragic earned yet another prized offseason award last summer when he was honored by the president of his native Slovenia with the prestigious “Apple of Inspiration” award.
This one kind of flew under the radar for most Suns fans, but it was a huge achievement for Dragic, not only to be recognized by the president of his country for his basketball accomplishments, but also for his status as a role model and his charitable work in the community.
“I will try to be what I am, to be an inspiration to the young, on and off the court,” he said. “I play for Slovenia to show the spirit of Slovenian people and share it with the whole world.”
To earn an award from your homeland for playing a sport in another country and being an inspiration to your people back home is a pretty remarkable accomplishment. Pretty sure Sasha Vujacic never did that.
Next: No. 6