Goran Dragić, one of the greatest Slovenian basketball players, who played 15 seasons in the NBA and captained the national team that won the 2017 EuroBasket, capped his career with an exhibition game featuring NBA stars and retired legends of the sport. A Ljubljana native, Dragić bid farewell to professional basketball at Stožice Arena, or as he put it, in his favourite place - on the court, surrounded by friends and family.

At 8pm on 24 August the arena was packed and more than 12,000 people were ready to celebrate Dragić, nicknamed the Dragon or simply Gogi, and his illustrious career. Reporting on the All-Star event, the NBA official site described his career as "one of the more underrated success stories in recent international basketball history", but Slovenian basketball experts and fans have long been fully aware of Dragić's greatness, both on and off court.

In 2014, while he was with the Phoenix Suns, his first NBA team, he received the NBA's Most Improved Player Award, and four years later, representing the Miami Heat, he became the first Slovenian to appear in an NBA All-Star game. He was instrumental in the Heat making it to the 2020 NBA Finals but an injury he suffered in Game 1 made him miss four games and Miami lost the series.

What is likely his greatest basketball achievement is leading Slovenia to their first and for now the only EuroBasket title in 2017. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament and has been since known in his home country as "the golden captain".

In recent days the players and coaches who had been invited to attend his farewell game kept stressing what a great person Dragić is off court as well. His rise from humble beginnings has been an inspiration to many, but knowing no one makes it without help, he has been committed to humanitarian efforts.

Proceeds from the game, which was sold out in record time, will go to aid young athletes from disadvantaged families, as will all the money raised through his charity campaign in the months leading up to the event and all the money raised in auctions at a gala dinner held on the eve of the game. The public broadcaster RTV Slovenija, one of the sponsors of the event, reported that unofficially, more than €600,000 has been raised. The official figure will be known soon.

The three-hour-long exhibition game was full of surprises, both for the spectators and Dragić himself. The national anthem was performed by the Slovenian Military Orchestra in a rendition that made every Slovenian present there join in. The whole arena then dedicated a moment of silence to Anita Ogulin, a charity worker who recently died and whose association has been part of the event's fundraising.

As was agreed in a secret pact with the audience beforehand, the first three minutes of the match went by in complete silence, bar a few isolated cheers for the first points scored. But then there was the first timeout and Dragić was invited to press a special button in the centre of the court, a move that made the whole arena erupt in the most famous sports fan chant in Slovenia - Kdor ne skače, ni Sloven'c (Those who don't jump aren't Slovenes).

Anyone who did not get goosebumps was likely not a true Gogi fan. But things got even more exciting when during one of the many fun timeouts an announcement came that Goran and his brother Zoran, also a professional basketball player, will face off in a 1 on 1 to settle once and for all who is the best.

Even though it was a playful contest, there were traces of the well-known sibling rivalry. Goran won 5:3, but if the buzzer had not gone off, the brothers would have probably still been playing.

As a kid Goran wanted to play football at first, but when an injury put an end to this dream, he discovered the thrill of basketball. To make his inner footballer happy, there was a mini football match, which all the players took extremely seriously, as well as a pre-recorded video address by football star Luka Modrić, who gifted Dragić a Real Madrid jersey signed by all of the Spanish club's players.

The exhibition game, which saw a "clash" between Goran Dragić's and Luka Dončić's teams, ended in a 106:86 victory for the former. An NBA superstar who was there when Slovenia won gold at the 2017 EuroBasket, Dončić did his part to entertain the audience and make Dragić's farewell unforgettable and so did the rest.

Serbian NBA player Boban Marjanović kept sinking threes despite his astounding height of 2.24 metres. Dončić made several attempts to score a logo three-pointer, and there were moments when another NBA superstar, Nikola Jokić, played as if the event was a serious playoff game before proceeding with banter.

Some of the retired participants, such as Dirk Nowitzki, could not actually play due to injuries, but Luis Scola and Steve Nash were not one of them, making it seem as if they never left the court. They were joined by many of the Slovenia national team players, both former and current.

The halftime show featured different performances, including appearances by the group Perpetuum Jazzile, known for their a cappella versions of famous songs, pop rock star Magnifico and boy-band sensation Joker Out. To further spice things up, there was also the acrobatic group Dunking Devils and a performance of Na Golici, a polka instrumental composed by Slavko Avsenik that always gets everyone going.

Dragić, who played 31 minutes and scored 23 points, had his family on his team during the last minutes of the game - his brother Zoran, father Marinko, son Mateo and nephew Marko. The clock stopped at 7 seconds to honour one of the jersey numbers associated with him. His national team jersey, with the number 3, has meanwhile been retired by the Slovenian Basketball Federation.

"This is one of the most beautiful nights of my life. I wrapped it up in my favourite place - on the court, surrounded by friends and family. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart," Dragić said at the end of the event, dubbed the Night of the Dragon. Visibly moved to tears, he waved as the audience chanted "Gogi" and "MVP".

The seven seconds left on the clock made it seem as if the game had never truly ended - the 38-year-old did say goodbye to playing professional basketball, but the game goes on.