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NBA BASKETBALL
Globalization, NBA Style
<December 11, 2001>
By
Jerry Mittleman
You can sense the change. It’s
subtle but definite. A gradual evolution is taking place
in the way European players are integrating into the
NBA, in the roles they are assuming and in the significance
of their presence.
There are many signs. For the first time, a European,
Pau Gasol (age 21) has been drafted as high as third;
he and Frenchman Tony Parker (age 19), another first
round pick, are both starters and having an immediate
impact on their teams. A third young European rookie,
Andrei Kirilenko (age 20), has been a significant factor
coming off the Utah bench. Kirilenko has impressed both
on offense and defense, the latter a rarity for Europeans
adjusting to the NBA.
In addition, a veteran European role player, Zelijko
Rebraca, has entered the league this year and as a reserve,
has contributed significantly to the early season success
of the Detroit Pistons.
Finally, Dirk Nowitzki and Peja Stojakovic, two young
Europeans, with three years of NBA experience each,
seem poised to emerge as genuine superstars.
Eastern European players began entering the NBA at the
close of the 1980s, during the initial stages of the
breakup of the Soviet system. What started as a trickle
developed into a steady stream. I counted 22 European
players on opening day NBA rosters, the great majority
from the former Soviet bloc nations. In addition, there
are 10 African-born players in the NBA. All are big
men, who came to America with raw skills only, and basically
learned the game in U.S. high schools and/or colleges.
The earlier group of Europeans included big name superstars
from the continent like Sarunas Marciulionis, Drazen
Petrovic, Arvydas Sabonis and Toni Kukoc. None approached
a similar level of stardom in the NBA, although Petrovic
appeared to be closing in on that level, at the time
of his tragic death. For the most part, Europeans have
been wide-bodied role players, brought over for their
height and physical presence under the basket.
Times have definitely changed. Players like Nowitzki,
Gasol (identified last spring by NBA scouts as a Nowitzki
clone) and Kirilenko, are agile, athletic and versatile
as well as tall. Parker is a natural point guard with
great instincts and an innate feel for the game. You’d
think he learned on the playgrounds of New York instead
of those of Gay Paree. Stojakovic can shoot the lights
out. We are looking at a new breed of Europeans, with
a few years of club league experience overseas and very
definite transportable skills.
A fascinating example of the “European influence” on
the NBA is the story of the Sacramento Kings. With Chris
Webber out due to injury, three of the Kings top seven
rotation players are European. With Vlade Divac playing
“point center” and creating open shots for Stojakovic
and the rest of the Kings, Sacramento definitely has
the look and feel of a European team. The Kings, who
last season led the NBA scoring, are once again one
of the most successful teams in the league.
The Kings aside, the so-called “Europeanization” of
the NBA is over-stated and certainly not the major reason
for the success of the “new Europeans.” Agile 7-footers
like Nowitzki and Gasol can create match-up nightmares
against any defense, and would succeed in any style
of play. A pure-shooting shotmeister like Stojakovic,
the latter day Petrovic, could score in any league.
We may be approaching the day, when a foreign player
arrives and immediately becomes the league’s most dominant
force, much like Ichiaro did in baseball’s major leagues
this year. If, as predicted, China’s Yao Ming, succeeds
Shaquille O’Neal, as the NBA’s next great big man, that
day might not be sooner than later.
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