Best basketball country outside of the US?

[KyrieTheFuture]

What are your choices? Spain, Canada and Australia have all produced some good talent, Africa obviously has some good talent but I don't know if any specific country has produced a lot.

[KirbyPls]

Guatemala and it's not close.

[Black and White]

Australia are rising, but I will go with Spain

[Demitri98]

Spain
Lithuania
Philippines are going to pump out some good players in about 20 years.

[NumberSix]

Greece.

[outbreak]

I don't think I'd put australia anywhere near the top euro countries. We've had a few decent players but we haven't really had any real top players besides bogut and exum (who's more like an american who grew up in australia)

[Fire Colangelo]

Canada's looking good.

[East_Stone_Ya]

france

[hawksdogsbraves]

Spain
Lithuania
Philippines are going to pump out some good players in about 20 years.

How do you figure? Their average height for a man is 5'4 :oldlol:

[SpecialQue]

Spain.

[Milbuck]

Enough joking around guys. We all know there's no basketball outside of the US. Let's stop messing with Euroleague.

[outbreak]

Enough joking around guys. We all know there's no basketball outside of the US. Let's stop messing with Euroleague.

yet your favourite player is from greece by way of nigeria

[oarabbus]

From the (very little) I know, Spain or Lithuania.

But in ~10 years China will be a dominant foreign basketball force. Book it. 1,300,000,000 people is just too many to not have at least a couple thousand (which would be .0001% of their population) extremely athletic >6' people, and basketball is blowing the **** up over there.

[PAOK]

in the last 10 years obviously spain... but in the late 80s and 90s it was ex-Yugoslavia

[bdreason]

Spain and Argentina.

[duskovujosevic]

ex yugoslavia and ex soviet from 70's to early 00's. since 2002 spain.

[Euroleague]

Spain and Argentina.

No.

[f0und]

No.

why not? they've produced some quality NBA talent. manu, nocioni, scola, long haired dude that used to play for detroit and had a game like a poor man's dr. j, and a few others.

for the past decade, spain and argentina were the only legit threats to the US in the olympics and WBC.

[Euroleague]

why not? they've produced some quality NBA talent. manu, nocioni, scola, long haired dude that used to play for detroit and had a game like a poor man's dr. j, and a few others.

for the past decade, spain and argentina were the only legit threats to the US in the olympics and WBC.

Several good players does not make them one of the best, or as you said top 3 basketball countries in the world. Get serious.

[SpecialQue]

Several good players does not make them one of the best, or as you said top 3 basketball countries in the world. Get serious.

There's absolutely no need to be a dick about it. Dude wasn't even trolling you like 99% of ISH does.

[Black and White]

We aren't US/Spain/Argentina/Canada/Australia territory but our team doesn't look so bad

Steven Adams, Abercrombie, Kirk Penny, Alex Pledger

Would laugh if we beat Greece, but if Nigeria can knock them off I bet we can :D

[Milbuck]

I'm convinced Euroleague is packing a 2cm'er. No other explanation for that much anger.

[Black and White]

I'm convinced Euroleague is packing a 2cm'er. No other explanation for that much anger.

Thats more length than I thought he had :lol

[9512]

France is a dark horse in this. They won the 2013 Euro basket just months ago.

I guess their relatively large population of blacks from Guadeloupe, Martinique, etc does help.

Not a single player with a significant role is white. Just half white at most.:roll: could you imagine France without foreigners? Lol

[Euroleague]

There's absolutely no need to be a dick about it. Dude wasn't even trolling you like 99% of ISH does.

I wasn't being a dick. How was I being a dick? I am just stating the truth. You can't be one of the top 2-3 best in the world just off 5-6 players over 10-12 years, which is basically what they did.

I would say in terms of developing players, and the level of their league, that Argentina is actually one of the weakest countries in the world in basketball. For comparison, in South America, Brazil would be much, much stronger under those same criteria.

[Euroleague]

France is a dark horse in this. They won the 2013 Euro basket just months ago.

I guess their relatively large population of blacks from Guadeloupe, Martinique, etc does help.

Not a single player with a significant role is white. Just half white at most.:roll: could you imagine France without foreigners? Lol

France has one title in their history, that title this summer. They also have one of the worst leagues in Europe. Besides Parker they don't really have any significant players.

Diaw, Batum, Dacoury, Ostrowski, Bilba, and Rigadeau are not significant players really.

So in the big scheme, they have in their entire history, a single gold medal and one significant player.

The best team of their club history is freaking Limoges of the 90s......

I would say French basketball is fairly average among European countries actually.

[oarabbus]

There's absolutely no need to be a dick about it. Dude wasn't even trolling you like 99% of ISH does.

For once he was right though. I don't know **** about non-US basketball but I still know it's a joke to put Argentina amongst the top non-US basketball countries. It's stupid to think because Manu and Scola are good, Argentina is great.

[moaz]

Not Greece

[SamuraiSWISH]

Lithuania is the one consistently competing with us. They're usually big guys, very physical, pretty good basketball skills. Canada is on the rise, but Wiggins isn't the great savior as hyped. He can't lead them over the USA.

Spain, and Argentina had a golden era run in the 2000s where they came in second place, interchangbly ... but that has definitely come to an end with the rapid aging of: Pau Gasol, and Manu Ginobili.

[Suckafree]

We aren't US/Spain/Argentina/Canada/Australia territory but our team doesn't look so bad

Steven Adams, Abercrombie, Kirk Penny, Alex Pledger

Would laugh if we beat Greece, but if Nigeria can knock them off I bet we can :D

Steven Adams: Very Very good. Will most likely be in the NBA for a decade or so. Everything you want out of a Center

Kirk Penny: OK. Can shoot the shit out of the ball, can't do much else.

Abercrombie: Average. No handles, Inconsistent Jumper, drifts in and out of games. Avgeraged like 2 points for the suns summer league team, doesn't even look convincing in the weak NBL. However, can play good to great D on perimeter players from time to time

Pledger: Good size, does **** all else. Cant catch, shoot or post up. Just lucky he's 7'1 and hits free throws. Only blocks shots as a result of being massive. Always in foul trouble. Homeless mans Roy Hibbert

However, although were lacking from an individual talent standpoint we always tend to punch above our weight in international competition. Combine that with some young talent currently playing d1 ball (Fotu at Hawaii, Webster at Nebraska, Salt at Virginia and Loe at St.louis) and we have a stronger team than the current crop of Abercrombie/Pledge/Corey web/Anthony/Casey Frank Etc. While we probably wont do well at the upcoming world champs (Will probably be knocked out in the round of 16 by Lithuania or Aus) by 2018 all these guys should be well established and have some experience playing FIBA ball. I'm looking forward to see how many of these guys will eventually ply for the tall blacks at some point. Hopefully one day we can run out with a squad something like this:

T.Webster/??
C. Webster/??
Abercrombie/Te Rangi
Fotu/Anthony/Salt
Adams/Loe/Pledge

Still nowhere near as good as the 02' squad but definitely an upgrade of what were running with at the moment

[alexd]

in the last 10 years obviously spain... but in the late 80s and 90s it was ex-Yugoslavia
/thread

[9512]

France has one title in their history, that title this summer. They also have one of the worst leagues in Europe. Besides Parker they don't really have any significant players.

Diaw, Batum, Dacoury, Ostrowski, Bilba, and Rigadeau are not significant players really.

So in the big scheme, they have in their entire history, a single gold medal and one significant player.

The best team of their club history is freaking Limoges of the 90s......

I would say French basketball is fairly average among European countries actually.

Nice brush up of French basketball history to some who likely don't know it.

But I was speaking more along the lines of the present and then the future. True Parker is the one significant player who's had great success but I see him as the poster boy somewhat pioneer for the future of French basketball.They have the programs in french sports academies and the growing fan base of basketball thanks to the popularity of Parker and his success.

The real pioneers of French basketball in the NBA before parker were Olivier saint Jean (later tariq Abdul wahad) in 1997 and Jerome moiso (of UCLA then drafted by the NBA and disappeared) in 2000.

I know wahad is coaching high school ball in the bay area but it seems moiso disappeared off the face of the earth.

And what about joakim Noah? Dude's riding on his dad's popularity and milking it for all it's worth. He's played ball in the USA most of the time but yet gets himself naturalized French citizen in 2007. He's still as of yet not played for "les bleus" ...

[outbreak]

is it true that the new zealand team is made up of steven adams siblings? I remember the commentators in one game saying he had 10+ brothers or something and like 5 or 6 of them play on the national team with him.

[Suckafree]

is it true that the new zealand team is made up of steven adams siblings? I remember the commentators in one game saying he had 10+ brothers or something and like 5 or 6 of them play on the national team with him.

This fact is so stupidly overblown by ESPN and the american sports writers. They talk about how theres 18 kids and the boys are all like 6'10 while the girls average about 6'2. Firstly, Steven is the biggest of the family checking in at around about 7' while the rest of the brothers hover around 6'4 - 6'9 so they are more likely closer to a 6'5/6'6 average. Still a freakishly big family though

While its true that he has brothers who are very big and very athletic they have never really been good enough for the national team (Tall blacks). I believe the oldest of the brothers, Warren, originally played for the tall blacks in the late 80's early 90's but was nothing more than a role player. He also has a brother playing in the national pro league in NZ (Which is decidedly weak) who again is just a role player, he plays about 15-20 mins a game in one of the worst teams in the comp. Another of the older brothers, Rob, was a good player ten or so years ago but not good enough to play for the tall blacks. So thats three brothers that I know of (Out of about 9 or so) that actually played basketball at a high(ish) level but nothing like what ESPN makes it out to be.

[Black and White]

Steven Adams: Very Very good. Will most likely be in the NBA for a decade or so. Everything you want out of a Center

Kirk Penny: OK. Can shoot the shit out of the ball, can't do much else.

Abercrombie: Average. No handles, Inconsistent Jumper, drifts in and out of games. Avgeraged like 2 points for the suns summer league team, doesn't even look convincing in the weak NBL. However, can play good to great D on perimeter players from time to time

Pledger: Good size, does **** all else. Cant catch, shoot or post up. Just lucky he's 7'1 and hits free throws. Only blocks shots as a result of being massive. Always in foul trouble. Homeless mans Roy Hibbert

However, although were lacking from an individual talent standpoint we always tend to punch above our weight in international competition. Combine that with some young talent currently playing d1 ball (Fotu at Hawaii, Webster at Nebraska, Salt at Virginia and Loe at St.louis) and we have a stronger team than the current crop of Abercrombie/Pledge/Corey web/Anthony/Casey Frank Etc. While we probably wont do well at the upcoming world champs (Will probably be knocked out in the round of 16 by Lithuania or Aus) by 2018 all these guys should be well established and have some experience playing FIBA ball. I'm looking forward to see how many of these guys will eventually ply for the tall blacks at some point. Hopefully one day we can run out with a squad something like this:

T.Webster/??
C. Webster/??
Abercrombie/Te Rangi
Fotu/Anthony/Salt
Adams/Loe/Pledge

Still nowhere near as good as the 02' squad but definitely an upgrade of what were running with at the moment

Its def up from here, Abercrombie had mad potential when he first started but has since dropped off, having a player like Adams is def going to give us the right building block to put a team around, the guards are where we are weak, Pleg just needs to sit there and be a big body and get in the way of people,

I agree we wont go far in this world champs but we will see in the next one.

[outbreak]

This fact is so stupidly overblown by ESPN and the american sports writers. They talk about how theres 18 kids and the boys are all like 6'10 while the girls average about 6'2. Firstly, Steven is the biggest of the family checking in at around about 7' while the rest of the brothers hover around 6'4 - 6'9 so they are more likely closer to a 6'5/6'6 average. Still a freakishly big family though

While its true that he has brothers who are very big and very athletic they have never really been good enough for the national team (Tall blacks). I believe the oldest of the brothers, Warren, originally played for the tall blacks in the late 80's early 90's but was nothing more than a role player. He also has a brother playing in the national pro league in NZ (Which is decidedly weak) who again is just a role player, he plays about 15-20 mins a game in one of the worst teams in the comp. Another of the older brothers, Rob, was a good player ten or so years ago but not good enough to play for the tall blacks. So thats three brothers that I know of (Out of about 9 or so) that actually played basketball at a high(ish) level but nothing like what ESPN makes it out to be.

thanks for clarifying, i assumed it would be something like that or where a couple brothers had been involved in the system. I doubted it was a full line up of his family like the commentators were saying.

[Black and White]

thanks for clarifying, i assumed it would be something like that or where a couple brothers had been involved in the system. I doubted it was a full line up of his family like the commentators were saying.

Thats just fabiricated, of course some of his brothers would be in the system here and there as they would have grown up playing together but he is the only one that has really elevated to the pro level, hes doing great too

[Rooster]

France is a dark horse in this. They won the 2013 Euro basket just months ago.

I guess their relatively large population of blacks from Guadeloupe, Martinique, etc does help.

Not a single player with a significant role is white. Just half white at most.:roll: could you imagine France without foreigners? Lol

France is doing well. Even at the last Olympics their only losses came at the hands of USA and Spain, the 2 best teams in the World. Countries that produces at least a number of decent NBA players are usually good. Countries like Spain and Argentina and now France. All the countries that used to be Yugoslavia have a fair amount of decent NBA players. If you combine them together they will just like Yugoslavia. Lithuania are always tough because they have good NBA players and players that played NCAA ball. Not so much with Greece unless Giannis can take them there by way of Nigeria.