From Luka Doncic to Kristaps Porzingis and most recently even Victor Wembanyama, Americans seem to me skeptical over European Basketball. So let's talk about it.
They really aren't. We take a tiny sample size of Euro players, we get the best of the best Euro players, then we pretend that Euros are so much better. The world is getting better but they are nowhere being close to the talent level we have here. Skillwise they do more to make complete team players but the NBA is a combo of extreme individual talent and the proper players around those superlative players. But there is a lot to learn and I think the NBA is already taking the best aspects of Euro ball most importantly they will take their players.
It’s funny how the media went from severely underrating Luka to severely overrating Wemby. They just can’t seem to evaluate European players with any accuracy.
They're up in their feelings. Can't handle that there are things the United States cannot dominate unquestionably. Same reason they pretend REAL football doesn't exist and even calls it soccer while they call handegg AMUUUURIIIICCAAAAN football.
In Europe is all about team play. Egocentric show off players are not appreciated. You are valued on basis of your connection and relation within the team.
Jokic is proof of that and you can see the positive effect it had on his American and Canadian teammates. Jokic said before the WCF Jamal was the best player on the team. I don't think even Murray would agree with that but it has to be nice for him to here and just shows Jokic has no ego. This America loves Jokic, probably my favorite athlete ever to watch.
Then how do you explain Luka? Don't get me wrong, I like the dude but his game is way to selfish. I don't think it's worth it scoring 40 50 point games and not winning.
Stephen Smith can state 'he was in Europe, I never saw him play' but is still considered someone who knows where he is talking about in the US. Unbelievable.
You have to understand that Jokic won 2 regular season MVP awards and most of those talking heads had *STILL NOT WATCHED* him play, until the Nuggets swept the Lakers. Such negligence in any other line/field of work would have gotten you fired in days. Yet those morons still have a job. Baffling.
Steven Smith is a illiterate, race-baiting stooge with NO experience or knowledge of the game. All he does is stir up controversy and lies anf.hope the outrage will cover his obvious stupidity and lack of knowledge. He wouldn't exist outside of the ESPN cesspool.
Stephen A. Smith was a small college Div I team player who barely produced for his team. So his credibility with me is ZERO! He's just pissed off because there are players who have better fundamental and team skills than he ever did, they have more talent in their little pinkies than he has in his whole body. The thing to realize is that the European players are better at fundamentals of the game than U.S. grown players. This is funny because it was about 30 years ago the European countries/teams hired American coaches, and all of them taught fundamentals and team play. The game of Basketball over the last 20 or so years has become playground pick-up style, all run and gun with minimal defense and shooting from the 3 on bad shot selection. BORING! I'm not going to watch that on TV, I'll just go to my local court instead. The European players are bringing back a style of the game that is sorely needed. Moving the ball around, great shot selection, playing tight defense, basic hustle all game long, and getting your teammates involved (unselfish play). That is what Jokic and the Nuggets proved this year (all along).
@@calkelpdiver > all run and gun with minimal defense and shooting from the 3 on bad shot selection. BORING! Ι couldn't agree more with that ... I cannot watch this version of basketball to be honest so, even at my age, I prefer to go to the local court and play basketball myself. If you want a prime example of that madness, go find that video where Kyrie Irwin gets hurt vs the Bucks in the playoffs. Middleton gets the ball, they are 5 vs 4 with 17 seconds to go and he just CHUCKS A THREE with noone under the basket that could possibly contest for a rebound. That's *not* basketball. Can you imagine having Ivkovic of Obradovic as a coach and make that choice? You'd get traded next day :P
@@sejuanisupportonly7385Imagine if they got slapped by the coach...They will become highlights in newspaper unlike Europe...Almost all player in NBA are so soft and overpowered by Star ⭐ empowerment
but the sad thing is, that this would say 95% of the american youth... and i bet all i have, that from this 95% 99% dont know in which country barcelona or madrid is...
@seelenwinter6662 Really not that sad, people in America have no reason to care or learn about other countries or cultures when American culture is represented everywhere else.
It's still absolutely unbelievable that Doncic wasn't the #1 (or even #2) draft pick in a class that had Ayton going at #1, a prospect who could have easily fallen as far as 5th or 6th in many other recent draft classes. I blame the awful front offices of the Suns and Kings for this mess more so than the U.S. sports media landscape. Just to put this into perspective: Doncic was the Euroleague MVP and led his team to the Euroleague championship when he was barely 19 years old. That's the highest honors you can achieve in the 2nd best league in world while playing against grown men night in and night out as a teenager. It's completely and utterly absurd that he wasn't picked ahead of Ayton and Bagley.
I agree, probably no draft prospect ever has come with such accolades at only 19. There's nothing you could possibly do in American college basketball that would be as impressive, Luka was Euroleague and Spanish League MVP! P.S. The Kings may have learned their lesson, they drafted a euroleague MVP recently
i think the suns not taking luka with their position (having another upcoming superstar guard with booker and ayton being from the city itself AND a talented center to pair with book) is understandable. but that kings fan in front of his TV celebrating bagley III over him will live forever
It’s because of the “Dream Team”. Americans are use to seeing the Dream Team destroy every other team. They had zero competition and destroyed individual players that even considered coming to the NBA. Those days are gone but the elderly media still clings on to the Dream Team experience.
@@iansanchez966 what player are you talking about? i dont think there has been a euroleague MVP drafted recently and the kings havent drafted anyone from europe.
@@aj1092 Sasha Vezenkov. My bad, the Kings did not draft him, they acquired his draft rights in a trade and will be bringing him to the NBA next season
I started a joke calling them Mexican cities on CZcams video. And at the end I made a smile face :) indicating that I was joking. People were too stupid to realize that was joke. Which some asked where I was from, so I commented that I lived under a bridge. And I named actual bridge that is one of the bridges that connects USA to Mexico. And people were still too stupid to realize that I was trolling.
What i love about American media pundits is how confidently and consistently they are wrong and again and again are proven wrong, and never learns or admit they are wrong. It's an amazing gift.
The US NBA media is horrible. It’s not just their ignorance on European basketball, it’s every thing. It’s the producers at the networks. They just take the easiest options and don’t produce a thoughtful product. Even the award winning Inside the NBA is entertaining but not really thoughtful.
Inside the NBA to me, is a basketballl-themed variety show built on the chemistry of its loveable hosts. Ernie is supposed to be the "straight-man" but at this point, he just goes along with Shaq and Chuck's tomfoolery, so we get hardly any analysis going in the show. I love it but Inside the NBA is kind of emblematic of an all-encompassing problem within the NBA and its fanbase, they don't take the sport of basketball seriously enough.
Even in US, they are ignorant as well. There are many humble and hardworking players that don't get the recognition. Media want to overhype players with big egos and undisciplined, creating dramas so they have something to write and get money from.
@@thelastjerkbender2505 What're you talking about? They talk about it all the time. Shaq doesn't really contribute, but Chuck does bring up the Xs and Os of why teams tactics work/don't work and if needed, Kenny is there to break it down on the board for you. You talk about it like it's not enough, but they have at least 3 games to cover in the span of an hour and actually are the LEAST BIASED channel. Just because it's not a fucking video essay every time the game is over doesn't make the analysis unreliable. Hell, Charles Barkley talks about space and elbows and even demonstrates how modern players pivoting discourages space-making; that's something none of the other channels do. I know that there's a hate parade on modern basketball media and I'm here for it, but I draw the absolute line on what you say about NBA on TNT just being a "variety show". The comedy makes it memorable, but the analysis is what makes it worthy as the best damn sports panel in the United States.
Until about 10 years ago, there used to be some friendly games between top EL teams and some NBA teams prior to season opening probably initiated by the NBA to propagate the NBA basketball and name to the Europe. Well, after a while, the top European teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Fenerbahçe started winning some of those games against the NBA teams. Then the NBA stopped organizing that kind of events. When the NBA teams started losing the games, they most probably thought, that scheme was lessening the value of the NBA.
@@clarenceonyekwere5428look up the last time the Dallas Mavericks (an NBA team) played Real Madrid (a euro league team)… actually I’ll save you the trouble of a quick google search: they played on October 10th, 2023
@@rvp12010's. I'm from Turkey. For example Fenerbahce played 4 games against NBA teams here. Series ended with 2 wins and 2 losses in a timespan of 10 years. When San Antonio Spurs came in 2012 they barely win 100-95. And if course we thought "Is this is an NBA team?" We expected a loss with 30 points margin. Rest is history :) Turkish basketball education teaches reverse dribble, dribble between legs, lay ups. Prioritizes diagonal/cross runs under rim, and speed over body up someone and consistency. You can see all of this in Cedi Osman. Bro plays Turkish Basketball in NBA for years, it's crazy. He isn't changing unlike other foreign players. 😄... I don't know why i said all of this. Thanks if you read it lol.
@@Sean-zr7vsEngland also won back to back World Wars, yet they don't make such stupid claims as Americans do. And by the way, the only reason USA won WW2 is because the Soviets did the hard work defeating the Nazis. The American contributions are extremely overrated
European players has been taught sound fundamentals, playing team basketball.Developing basketball IQ . No surprise they are dominating NBA.Back in days waiter was dishing assists left and right, was essential part of Bulls and yet he was underrated solely because he was european.
It’s not only a different coaching but also different rules and court dimensions that lead european players to be more team spirited. In Europe there is less space and a higher tolerance to physicality, this annihilates a lot of 1-2-1 plays and incents to have more team plays instead. This develops better the basket IQ.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves Europeans are not dominating the nba. Only a few special players from europe are. You act as if the league has a bunch of Europeans dominating lol. The few special players from Europe are to good for euro league and needed to be in the nba for real competition
I mean there is still only a handful of European players doing well in the NBA. So I have no clue what you mean about "dominating" the NBA. Let's not get ahead of ourselves now.
good players are doing good things people either act like europeans are ass or act like they were created by god himself to dominate basketball why cant anyone be in the middle and just be happy they're finally starting to spread into the nba
I think another factor is the audience in the arenas. European players have to withstand enormous pressure from a young age because of the opposing and sometimes own spectators. They and their families are insulted in the worst way, they are thrown at and spat at and even have to flee in various situations. Many top stars from the USA would break under these circumstances. And for the foreigners in the NBA, the arenas and the spectators are like a child's birthday party.
@@sebastienpetrein5541 Most european leagues put the NBA to shame when it comes to heart and passion or craziness of the fans. I've watched games in Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Serbia and the NBA. And I also heard about the israelis and the russians being crazy. The atmosphere in the NBA is a joke, its like a funeral. 2500 Slovenians were able to take over the whole atmosphere in Miami at a Heat game.
"Thrown at or spat at"???? You do not know what you are talking about. Clear you have never beem to Europe. I can say that no European player has had to perform in a pressure cooker like Top 10 NCAA basketball. Nothing in Europe compares.
@@nyaswed1520I am European and I still live in Europe. And I am often in the ice hockey, football and basketball stadiums. The NCAA with their bands? Are you kidding me? 🤣🤣 Here you have the Americans who also played NCAA basketball describing their experiences. czcams.com/video/pnE5sU-qDaY/video.html
I'm American, but also a fan of Euro basketball. I was dumbfounded when Luka wasn't considered the best Prospect in NBA history. Hell, he wasn't even considered the best prospect in his own Draft class. I don't think the morons in the American media understand how rare it was for a guy to be playing so well in the 2nd best league in the world at the age of a college freshman.
he was never the 2nd best in the league. luka sucked his first year. he hasn't been close to MVP his entire NBA career. that's coming from the euroleague mvp. that alone shows the game in talent.
Thinking about Mehmet Okur. A center who had the perfect 3pt shots. And he was benched whenever he tried to shoot. If he played now, his value would quadruple
@@richardcarroll9864 First Detroit Pistons and later Utah Jazz player. Big man shooting 3-pointers probably started with him in the NBA. He was called the "money man".
Must be a coincidence that NBA pundits have way less problems accepting international players like Parker, Antetokounpo, Embiid or Wembanyama in contrast with Gasol, Nowitzki, Jokic or Doncic. It's almost as if those two groups of players had something in common.
In Europe they are teaching the kids early on the fundamentals of offensive and defensive game.. in the US they lost focus on that.. basketball isn't just slam dunking and shooting 3's
Under the pressure of the media, like ESPN coaches in the NBA do not give the main roles to European, Asian or African players, which is unfortunate. Thank you, coach of the Nuggets, for doing the opposite because the NBA would. Thank you Jokić for clearing the way for a new dimension of basketball...
do u even watch the NBA? coaches give the main roles to the best players, not whether they are American or not. Uncoachable players wont get minutes. Doncic, Giannis and Embiid lead their teams respectively, all non American and there are many more players NON AMERICAN playing their role effectively and efficiently. You can’t say coaches don’t give the main roles to European, Asian or African players when it’s so untrue 🤣 Players play their role and are made to fit into the coaches system
American here that was completely sold on Luka more than a year before he was drafted. It doesn't take much investigation to realize that he was playing against very high level competition in Euroleague.
@@theghostofthomasjenkins9643 Because the NBA is HIGHER level competition. That and winning in the regular season is very important to MVP voting. He has the numbers, but his team needs to finish with a better record to get the award.
@@cobra7282 euroball is the equivalent to college ball. i will say that euro players do come out of europe more skilled than most US players are out of college. however, just like college ball, it's got different rules that don't translate to the NBA. most euros also lack the athleticism to run floor and keep up with US players. the game is too fast for them.
@@theghostofthomasjenkins9643 This is simply untrue. Euroleague (where Luka played) in particular is miles ahead of the college level. While the NBA is full of more talent, Euroleague rules make the game much tougher in a lot of ways.
3:50 that's my team Panathinaikos in the early-mid 2010s. The coach was the legendary Obradovic who won 64 club titles including 9 Euroleagues, basically the goat of coaches outside the States. The guy initiating the offence (and the guy who Ben Simmoned that last lay-up lol) is Dimitris Diamantides AKA the Human Octupus, he greatest player ever who didn't play in the NBA, along maybe Dejan Bodiroga (Euroleague's current Comissioner). Finally the guy making the basket at the end is Mike Batiste, currently in the coaching stuff of the Toronto Raptors, a legend of his own as one of the best American players to ever play in Europe.
So Dimitris Diamantidis (and NOT Diamantides) is even better than Nikos Galis? really? 😁🤭🙄 ela pali prasina xapia pires? even Spanoulis and Giannakis were better.
I completely understand that they don't care about euro league (they are watching a lot of sports already) but why the fuck are they so confident in what they say? Their analysis is hilarious when it comes to it. Shannon Sharp comparing inflated Westbrook stats in NBA to Luka in Euro was my personal favourite.
To be fair I think the real reason was never mentioned: almost alo european players ARE WHITE....PERIOD....I mean we are talking about THE most racist country in the world after all...
I honestly think you guys have misunderstood what mainstream American sports media actually is. It is theater, entertainment. They are impersonating the characters you would find in a barber shop, and they're actually very good at it. Take it for what it is and you will actually enjoy it.
Exactly. Dry af euros are not getting the marketing aspects. hence why they will continually be stuck in mediocrity in all forms , and run at the first opportunity to the nba and not stay in their trashy leagues.
You are forgetting the most successful Dutch player ever: Rik Smits. His game winner in game 4 of ecf against Orlando and the behind the back pass in the allstargame gave him his 15 seconds of fame :)
There is also Detlef Schrempf. But I would argue that both his and Smits' game have been "Americanized" to a certain extent as they each spent 4 years playing NCAA basketball prior to entering the draft.
@@ratedpending the title of this video is Why Americans Don't Understand European Basketball mind you. Last I've checked Germany is in Europe which should also put Schrempf in the discussion.
I'm from LA. I grew up watching and still cheer for the Lakers. So I saw a foreign player almost from the beginning in Vlade Divac. I knew he was different in the style he pllayed I just didn't know why since I was still young, but but even back then the media didn't give foreign players a chance. All I gotta say is this... Last 5 MVP's has gone to foreighn players. Players who didn't come up the AAU ranks, or US colleges. And judging by this year's USA team for the FIBA World Cup, Europe is tearing us up. Face it.
And think we are made of many different countries, but have almost the same population as the United States. What if all Europe had one basketball team. What would be the results you think?
The Euro players were always my favorite players because I could see how special they are and how great they are. Growing up as a Mavs fan since it’s my hometown team I saw Dirk all my life. It’s surprising how they still disrespect on them. Like Luka was facing adults as a teenage, he was ready for the league just too bad the Mavs are doing the same thing they did with Dirk to him. I’m like Jokić is a star player in the Nuggets and wish more teams would highlight their Euro stars or do better at building around them
European game is all about the team and tactics, where NBA is all about the Super Star and those that will give him the ball! European game … is the game, where NBA is just business!
Man, I remember facing KP in high school, he was a monster and was also playing in the Spanish league at 16-17, but the problem is that this team he played for was a mid team in the league, and only the top teams of each country go to play Euroleague, he could've been in a better team and play Euroleague for sure,, but he went to the NBA after a couple of seasons here in Seville if I remember correctly
Keep up the good work man! One day u will have a bigger community and more people might ectualy realize how fun is European basketball. Coaches should start listening to you as they are most of the times blind outside of the USA. Respect from Serbia
Detlef Schrempf (and a few others) were european players who played in the nba before the five players you mentioned as being the first europeans in the nba. Besides that great video
@@gonzo2495 It was and it wasn't. Germany was divided into two countries. Although Schrempf was from part of Germany that wasn't behind the iron curtain.
That team was one of the best that europe has ever seen. From 1-5 positions they where all beasts , even in the bench. And ofc the best coach that ever walked this planet.
It's a race thing too. Black Americans See basketball as "theirs" and underrate and talk down off Caucasian people no matter where in the world they are from
There's such a misunderstanding of all the different level of leagues in europe it's crazy, Iike comparing two players who didn't play in the same league, or one player "dominating" a national league being made up as if he's dominating the whole euroleague, because "europe" and "euroleague" start the same I guess. What you said about team tanking for developpment is interesting, it's true that europe teams are wins first and never would tank as there is no reward for it. I think it's better for competition, you get a higher level or sport and tactics if every team is made up of seasoned players instead of a "rebuilding cycle". It's tiring for a team to have to wait 3 years for an athletic rookie to learn the game, they should have already been taught it as teenagers. Dunking and "bag" is useless if you don't know how to play the actual game.
The main challenge is for the U.S. sports media to admit they simply don't know European basketball, a vast ocean of its own. Next, go to the Balkan and Baltic countries (do they even know the difference?), Greece, Italy, Spain, Germany, etc. Be humble and learn from these leagues, at all levels. Only then can they give an opinion. I doubt they will do that anytime soon. Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, DR, and PR are closer, and they still don't care. The basketball world is changing very fast, and the U.S. media is in for a rude awakening.
Keep in mind, those same analysts are responsible for selling the NCAA because it makes a lot of money for ESPN. If ESPN showed Euroleague games, they'd probably play during Stephen A's time slot.
This is such a complicated topic, on surface is seems that both NBA and Euroleague/regional leagues are both very similar because they're both basketball leagues but they're not, at all. NBA is a corporation, big business, everything is centred around money and it's all about individual superstars that generate most of that money, they are media stars, they are entertainers, showmen, influencers and European players in general don't know how to fit in that culture because in Europe in general it's almost diametrically opposite situation and so they don't have that "superstar" mentality, case in point Nikola Jokic. Second reason why European players are not very much liked by the NBA media is ideological, because they are foreigners and the US is patriotic, a lot in the US runs on the principle "if we didn't come up with it, we won't use it", the US is perceived as the best of the best in everything and if something doesn't originate in the US it's mostly ignored as worthless, it took decades for the US to adopt roundabouts for example and even then the implementation was poor not because the roundabouts are a poor solution but because they are not American, so now suddenly you have these foreign payers coming to NBA and having good stats, breaking records, winning titles and making money but don't want to be part of that flashy superstar culture and that's very frown upon by the media which fuels the moneymaking corporation that is NBA. It's slowly changing because every year brings more European players to NBA but it will still take at least a decade if not longer for the NBA media to show respect outright, now they only do it when they can't avoid it no more. In Europe on the other hand, at least in the Balkans where most European NBA players come from, sport has been historically an anti-establishment platform where people came together to chant against various regimes and political ideologies without persecution because they wouldn't be allowed to do that otherwise and so it has grown into this tribal cultural identity and the basketball teams just like the fans are all about the team, not individuals, you can be as superstar as you want if you don't listen to what the coach tells you, you will be kicked out no exceptions. In NBA players can fire coaches if they don't like them. So it's the same sport, but two very very very different approaches to playing it. The biggest different between NBA and European basketball is not technical, but cultural.
Absolutely the NBA and NFL and most American leagues are money centric, All businesses are, But also the pipeline from Junior High School-College-NBA is something they are trying to protect which is understandable too. The more money the NBA can generate from homegrown talents the more they can invest in that pipeline and the more money can be generated on all levels and the more resources given to schools and organisations to produce that local talent. It’s something that you see in pretty much every sport in a similar way As someone who watches F1 you realise that after 5-10 years you start to want to keep an eye on F2 which is a lower category, Then it’s about which F3 driver and then there are F4 and Formula Regional and Super Formula which probably means if you’re really interested you might keep up with 10-15 different racing series to see who the next super talented driver is and follow his journey to the top. It trickles all the way down to Karting series in which you might find drivers as young as 6-7 years old being given the “F1 Prospect” title at that age.
The USA is acting about Basket ball exactly how England acted with Football in the 40's and 50's (and to some extent up until the 90's) and look how that turned out for English international football. Just because you are the country that Organised the game and birthed its pro aspects does not mean 1) you are the best at it, and/or 2) you will not be over taken by other pockets of the game around the world, 3) it also does not mean the game will not evolve passed your established tactics, that is exactly what is happening now. The NBA needs to wake up and realise what time it is, or it will get left behind. Basket Ball is growing hugely in Europe, and has the potential to become a very big money aspect of the sport. There is more than enough potential for this across Europe, just look at European Football Clubs and the size and scope of the Champions league, which dwarfs anything in US sports, and by factors. Seriously the US has nothing even remotely close to the scale of the Champions League. Eventually the Euro league will be closer to the CL than NBA interms of impact, size, reach and status, unless NBA wake up and realise they are now in a race, and whilst they have a great lead, that lead is vanishing and at this point they dont even realise it
There are probably several reasons compounding the issue. Just comparing the culture alone the way Americans have the culture of exceptionalism and how individualism is something so engrained into the culture it changes the mindset and attitudes coaches players and teams all have on how to be the best. Add that with the nature of sports media and how sensationalism is constantly a part of what drives any media outlet in America. Those are just a couple of things that are apart of how people and analysts in the US are forming their perspective and that can impact people’s ability to look more objectively or zoom out to have a better understanding of the difference in how the game is played differently all over the world. When you look at other people no matter what aspect of life you are thinking about looking at it through your country’s native lens will make a difference on how you perceive qualities that you see as important vs what it takes for someone to succeed elsewhere. That doesn’t even touch how the game is played and that is also a huge factor so I think there’s a lot of hurdles Americans have to clear and be aware of to have a semblance of objectivity or evaluating prospects knowing how their play will translate. If I’m wrong about any of that I would be happy to learn how and why
As someone who isn't really thatmuch into Basketball at all, i just tend to say, that it pretty much common sense, that euro players are underrated in the U.S. Euro Basketball is just more tactical abd focussed on defensive and teamplay, whereas in the States it's more about Sports Entertainment...the Focus is more on the Stars of the Franchise and their triple double count....both styles of the Game are euqally important, but offense just seems to sell better. Also the youth leagues and youth Sports in Europa have different structures, so the focus on the physical aspects of a player are much lower. Since pretty much no one gives u a College Scholarship for beeing good in Sports...qell sometimes, but since there are no School or College Sports leagues, its just not part of the system.
Great video, a quick mention of Tony Parker would've made it perfect. TP had a massive influence on the way Pop changed his team tactics and a real trailblazer for the next generation of European talent.
Looking back it is fairly obvious that Luka was the best prospect since LeBron. He should've 100% been getting the Wemby level of hype. I understand why big media outlets didn't want to admit this, but the fact that this was not the consensus among NBA front offices in 2018, where we'd already seen movement offences and big, dynamic ball handlers take over the NBA, is honestly baffling. Even the kings who had Divac as there GM passed on Luka for Bagley.
You should make a video about the differences between European and American youth basketball, and how that translates in European-trained players having a better understanding of how to play as a team in comparison to players from the AAU system.
@@Valokaari The draft means that the teams have no incentive to have junior teams. Create an exemption so they can sign players from their junior team without those players having to go through the draft and every NBA team would have a junior team within a week.
Jokic put on an absolute clinic this year. This man dominated the entire league. It’s actually quite insane the impact that he’s had on the game. We have never seen a big man dime in the nba. We have never had a 7 footer set up the offense. Jokic is like someone created the perfect player on 2K. It’s almost cheating to have a player so good on your team. Before it’s over, Jokic will go down as the greatest big man EVER maybe even the single greatest player of all time
@@NuggetsNBAChamps Eh idk, it’s definitely a possibility- Bill and Wilt already get disrespected for playing segregation ball, Kareem got most of his chips playing with the best pure point-guard and arguably top 5 player in NBA History in Magic, Shaq absolutely dominated doing the lakers 3-peat, but wasn’t the best player for his final ring, Hakeem only managed to get 2 championships, less than most of the other players listed- realistically, it depends on how you rank players and what criteria you value. Jokic is already 2x MVP 1x Finals MVP and 1x Champion as the best player on his team, he still has a lot of his career left to play and I think it’ll be super interesting to see how it pans out.
@@lenfer1607 ngl at this point its really the 3 second rule - and people dont realize how much it can change the sport. Imagine if nothing you do on offense will bring JJJ out of the paint? You might think "well, Curry would just shoot over the zone" but not every team has reliable shooters, or ball handlers to create a motion offense. The entire team needs to think like a PG over in Europe while US teams can play "Lebron Ball" and use a drive & kick every play if they want to
I LOVE the growing number of international players. I want to watch the best basketball players on earth. Hope they find a way to expand the league without making the owners angry tho
My coach always told me that I had no opponents besides myself, there was no one I had to beat, no one I had to better than and that you learn a lot more from a loss than a win. Seek inspiration from others, watch them and study them, take the best parts of their play and focus on which you wish to implement. Fight for the team while improving yourself constantly, I did that. If I had a score of 9 yesterday I had to make it 10 today (just a number example), so I was indeed my number 1 opponent. We won the football (soccer) school tournament in (Denmark), things were going well and I got a youth contract .... then I fractured my spine and it just wasn´t meant to be. But yes, none of that macho coaching stuff I watch in American movies, but since I have never trained in the US I don´t know how accurately things are portrayed in movies.
Most of american ballers in nba are not playmaking oriented players, even pgs but from europe even center can be your playmaker (arvydas and domantas sabonis, jokic, vlade divac and so on)
The NCAA tournament is fantastic but it is still played by students and not by professionals so it is not remotely comparable to the Euroleague. Another determining factor is the winning mentality of the Europeans and the pressure they can handle because if they lose they go to a lower category not like in the NBA or NCAA which if you finish last in the league nothing changes.
Wemby is the living proof, that American sports media only cares about flashiness. Nobody noticed Doncic back in the day even though he did much more in Europe than Wemby, because he hadn't been so flashy and fun to watch.
Doncic is 6’7 230, strong and skilled and nobody even the players tought he would become as good as he is now. But Wemby is 7’5 in shoes, 230 pounds with an 8FT WINGSPAN, he move like KD, he is mobile, agile, quick, and he can shoot and pass the ball, 54% from midrange (wich is KD/MJ/Jokic level), 82% (Like Jokic/Zmbiid) from the freethrow line and he get A LOT of Freethrows so he will be an elite scorer like Embiid easily, and only 28% from 3 but Doncic and Jokic also shot 28% in Europe and Porzingis 31%. AND THAT’S HIS WEAKEST PART OF HIS GAME 😂 His defense is what make him a generational, game changer talent, Gobert was an ALL STAR with only his defense, well Wemby is Gobert+AD, he is taller than Gobert and can move, block shot with an insane wingspan and quickness like AD. AD was the reason the Lakers beat Warriors and Memphis, because of his crazy good rim protection and perimeter defense, and Wemby can be better than him. So Luka could be like a Harden+Bird+Magic hybrid type of player, that’s amazing, but Wemby could be like a KD/Hakeem/Porzingis hybrid, so tell me what hybrid looks better and has the biggest potential ? For me its the KD/Hakeem/Porzingis, he could be the best defender in the league and a Top 5 offensive player in the league at the same time, but Doncic will only be a Top 5 offensive player and Top 100 defensive player, you see the difference ?
@@Anthonydu01630 thanks for the article internet keyboard sports analyst. I'm a wemby fan, he has a higher potential. His weakest part of his game is not 3pt shot but rather his shot selection and getting open against aggressive defense. If you watched full games, not just highlights you'd see what I mean. Btw I was talking about american media. We don't have to compare Luka's hype to Wemby. MPJ was in the same draft class and he was hyped to become a superstar because he was dunking on 16 y.o. highschoolers. Don't tell me he had more game than Luka dominating pro leagues lol
@Dan-dg2pc not entirely, tbh. the NBA is flashier for sure, but Wemby isn't the exemplification of this trend. it's more about the unhealthy obsession with the KD frame, because that's the accepted prototype of an "unguardable" player. 6'10" (or above), long wingspan, great handle
The 2 first european players that went to the NBA were the bulgarian Glushkov and the spaniard Fernando Martín, they failed in different ways, but there are a couple of lessons there (or more than a couple) regarding how the NBA thought about and treated those guys, and their consideration about FIBA basketball back in those days, and how things slowly changed on both sides
European basketball was flourishing long before first European played NBA, it is after football most popular sport… Also NBA was popular, i watched it in Europe as a teen eighties and nineties… It’s not just because of the NBA, basketball in Europe is top, we see how much talent there is… Ex Yugoslavia, ex Soviet Union, Spain, France, Italy…
Good video man but u don’t talk about Fernando Martin who enter the league before Vlade Divac for example in 1986, he wasn’t that good but if u are talking about the first 5 he was before and then also u don’t talk about Pau Gasol, do u know Spain is on Europe? Just wondering
Im not trying to be negative, I enjoyed the video but just wondering because u just mention one time Spanish to say that Luka won the league and shows one Spanish player in all video two times, Ricky Rubio, I think Spain has being more relevant that only this
Excellent video, a smart perspective to a narrow usa mind. They are no longer the only power house in basketball. Luka said once: It´s easier to score in the NBA than in Euro-League
i just recently made this same comment on instagram its a European not an European because the Eu in European is pronounced yu so phonetically the word does not start with the vocal E but with the consonant Y. Kind regards still great video, good points
Why Europeans Are So Good At Basketball : czcams.com/video/NF9yZRDF8X8/video.html
They really aren't. We take a tiny sample size of Euro players, we get the best of the best Euro players, then we pretend that Euros are so much better. The world is getting better but they are nowhere being close to the talent level we have here. Skillwise they do more to make complete team players but the NBA is a combo of extreme individual talent and the proper players around those superlative players.
But there is a lot to learn and I think the NBA is already taking the best aspects of Euro ball most importantly they will take their players.
It’s funny how the media went from severely underrating Luka to severely overrating Wemby. They just can’t seem to evaluate European players with any accuracy.
They're up in their feelings. Can't handle that there are things the United States cannot dominate unquestionably. Same reason they pretend REAL football doesn't exist and even calls it soccer while they call handegg AMUUUURIIIICCAAAAN football.
Same thing with and after Dirk 😅
Seems like a cycle
Well, luka is white and wemby is black. Skin color sells in America
Cos he's black
The only issue of wemby is his body, you can't said shit about his skill and I love both
In Europe is all about team play. Egocentric show off players are not appreciated. You are valued on basis of your connection and relation within the team.
Jokic is proof of that and you can see the positive effect it had on his American and Canadian teammates. Jokic said before the WCF Jamal was the best player on the team. I don't think even Murray would agree with that but it has to be nice for him to here and just shows Jokic has no ego.
This America loves Jokic, probably my favorite athlete ever to watch.
And with that in mind you have to play smart every possession
in US you are valued on your insta followers
Then how do you explain Luka? Don't get me wrong, I like the dude but his game is way to selfish. I don't think it's worth it scoring 40 50 point games and not winning.
@@michaelanthonymoreno170110 assist a game guy is selfish 😂😂
Stephen Smith can state 'he was in Europe, I never saw him play' but is still considered someone who knows where he is talking about in the US. Unbelievable.
You have to understand that Jokic won 2 regular season MVP awards and most of those talking heads had *STILL NOT WATCHED* him play, until the Nuggets swept the Lakers. Such negligence in any other line/field of work would have gotten you fired in days. Yet those morons still have a job. Baffling.
Steven Smith is a illiterate, race-baiting stooge with NO experience or knowledge of the game. All he does is stir up controversy and lies anf.hope the outrage will cover his obvious stupidity and lack of knowledge. He wouldn't exist outside of the ESPN cesspool.
Stephen A. Smith was a small college Div I team player who barely produced for his team. So his credibility with me is ZERO! He's just pissed off because there are players who have better fundamental and team skills than he ever did, they have more talent in their little pinkies than he has in his whole body.
The thing to realize is that the European players are better at fundamentals of the game than U.S. grown players. This is funny because it was about 30 years ago the European countries/teams hired American coaches, and all of them taught fundamentals and team play. The game of Basketball over the last 20 or so years has become playground pick-up style, all run and gun with minimal defense and shooting from the 3 on bad shot selection. BORING! I'm not going to watch that on TV, I'll just go to my local court instead.
The European players are bringing back a style of the game that is sorely needed. Moving the ball around, great shot selection, playing tight defense, basic hustle all game long, and getting your teammates involved (unselfish play). That is what Jokic and the Nuggets proved this year (all along).
@@calkelpdiver > all run and gun with minimal defense and shooting from the 3 on bad shot selection. BORING!
Ι couldn't agree more with that ... I cannot watch this version of basketball to be honest so, even at my age, I prefer to go to the local court and play basketball myself.
If you want a prime example of that madness, go find that video where Kyrie Irwin gets hurt vs the Bucks in the playoffs. Middleton gets the ball, they are 5 vs 4 with 17 seconds to go and he just CHUCKS A THREE with noone under the basket that could possibly contest for a rebound.
That's *not* basketball.
Can you imagine having Ivkovic of Obradovic as a coach and make that choice? You'd get traded next day :P
@@sejuanisupportonly7385Imagine if they got slapped by the coach...They will become highlights in newspaper unlike Europe...Almost all player in NBA are so soft and overpowered by Star ⭐ empowerment
"From Real Madrid in Barcelona", this got me laughing so hard....
exactly hahahha
but the sad thing is, that this would say 95% of the american youth... and i bet all i have, that from this 95% 99% dont know in which country barcelona or madrid is...
@seelenwinter6662 Really not that sad, people in America have no reason to care or learn about other countries or cultures when American culture is represented everywhere else.
@@XGAMING-lf7yg Thanks for making everybody else's point more clear than they could,
0:13 😆
Yeah, and Wu-Tang is West Coast!🤙
It's still absolutely unbelievable that Doncic wasn't the #1 (or even #2) draft pick in a class that had Ayton going at #1, a prospect who could have easily fallen as far as 5th or 6th in many other recent draft classes. I blame the awful front offices of the Suns and Kings for this mess more so than the U.S. sports media landscape.
Just to put this into perspective: Doncic was the Euroleague MVP and led his team to the Euroleague championship when he was barely 19 years old. That's the highest honors you can achieve in the 2nd best league in world while playing against grown men night in and night out as a teenager. It's completely and utterly absurd that he wasn't picked ahead of Ayton and Bagley.
I agree, probably no draft prospect ever has come with such accolades at only 19. There's nothing you could possibly do in American college basketball that would be as impressive, Luka was Euroleague and Spanish League MVP! P.S. The Kings may have learned their lesson, they drafted a euroleague MVP recently
i think the suns not taking luka with their position (having another upcoming superstar guard with booker and ayton being from the city itself AND a talented center to pair with book) is understandable. but that kings fan in front of his TV celebrating bagley III over him will live forever
It’s because of the “Dream Team”. Americans are use to seeing the Dream Team destroy every other team. They had zero competition and destroyed individual players that even considered coming to the NBA. Those days are gone but the elderly media still clings on to the Dream Team experience.
@@iansanchez966 what player are you talking about? i dont think there has been a euroleague MVP drafted recently and the kings havent drafted anyone from europe.
@@aj1092 Sasha Vezenkov. My bad, the Kings did not draft him, they acquired his draft rights in a trade and will be bringing him to the NBA next season
"Real Madrid in Barcelona" gets me everytime LOL
It hurts
I started a joke calling them Mexican cities on CZcams video. And at the end I made a smile face :) indicating that I was joking. People were too stupid to realize that was joke. Which some asked where I was from, so I commented that I lived under a bridge. And I named actual bridge that is one of the bridges that connects USA to Mexico. And people were still too stupid to realize that I was trolling.
What i love about American media pundits is how confidently and consistently they are wrong and again and again are proven wrong, and never learns or admit they are wrong. It's an amazing gift.
It's not a gift. it's a mental illness. Mentally ill sociopaths have no shame.
I can honestly say that European football (soccer) pundits are equally confident AND consistently wrong about pretty much everything and everyone.
@@NotAfraidToQuestionThings true but at least almost all of them are former professionals, Stephen A is just a frace
They are clickbaiters and you are taking that bait, it's that simple.
They're not paid to be right. They're meant to be outrageous and get viewers.
The US NBA media is horrible. It’s not just their ignorance on European basketball, it’s every thing. It’s the producers at the networks. They just take the easiest options and don’t produce a thoughtful product. Even the award winning Inside the NBA is entertaining but not really thoughtful.
Agreed. It is not just ignorance of European basketball (it is that too) but ignorance of basketball in general.
Inside the NBA to me, is a basketballl-themed variety show built on the chemistry of its loveable hosts. Ernie is supposed to be the "straight-man" but at this point, he just goes along with Shaq and Chuck's tomfoolery, so we get hardly any analysis going in the show. I love it but Inside the NBA is kind of emblematic of an all-encompassing problem within the NBA and its fanbase, they don't take the sport of basketball seriously enough.
Best media in the world they know everything all Einsteins
Even in US, they are ignorant as well. There are many humble and hardworking players that don't get the recognition. Media want to overhype players with big egos and undisciplined, creating dramas so they have something to write and get money from.
@@thelastjerkbender2505 What're you talking about? They talk about it all the time. Shaq doesn't really contribute, but Chuck does bring up the Xs and Os of why teams tactics work/don't work and if needed, Kenny is there to break it down on the board for you. You talk about it like it's not enough, but they have at least 3 games to cover in the span of an hour and actually are the LEAST BIASED channel. Just because it's not a fucking video essay every time the game is over doesn't make the analysis unreliable. Hell, Charles Barkley talks about space and elbows and even demonstrates how modern players pivoting discourages space-making; that's something none of the other channels do. I know that there's a hate parade on modern basketball media and I'm here for it, but I draw the absolute line on what you say about NBA on TNT just being a "variety show". The comedy makes it memorable, but the analysis is what makes it worthy as the best damn sports panel in the United States.
There is a lot of chauvinism and racism towards European white players in the NBA. A. Smith is one of them.
Nah I think it's more Kendrick Perkins
@@swishcheese6001 A. Smith, Perk, and many others as well. Black racism in the USA is today may be stronger than white racism.
@@swishcheese6001 nah. SAS is an actual racist, KP is a pretty stupid dude that just blabbers what he gets fed
White players in general, not just native born Europeans.
@@geraldfarr8279 Really ? Who for example is not a native European at all?
Until about 10 years ago, there used to be some friendly games between top EL teams and some NBA teams prior to season opening probably initiated by the NBA to propagate the NBA basketball and name to the Europe. Well, after a while, the top European teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Fenerbahçe started winning some of those games against the NBA teams. Then the NBA stopped organizing that kind of events. When the NBA teams started losing the games, they most probably thought, that scheme was lessening the value of the NBA.
Yeah lil bro they definitely still do that
When was that?
@@deepstroketitusNot with EL teams, they play with non-Euro teams for now
@@clarenceonyekwere5428look up the last time the Dallas Mavericks (an NBA team) played Real Madrid (a euro league team)… actually I’ll save you the trouble of a quick google search: they played on October 10th, 2023
@@rvp12010's. I'm from Turkey. For example Fenerbahce played 4 games against NBA teams here. Series ended with 2 wins and 2 losses in a timespan of 10 years.
When San Antonio Spurs came in 2012 they barely win 100-95. And if course we thought "Is this is an NBA team?" We expected a loss with 30 points margin. Rest is history :)
Turkish basketball education teaches reverse dribble, dribble between legs, lay ups. Prioritizes diagonal/cross runs under rim, and speed over body up someone and consistency.
You can see all of this in Cedi Osman. Bro plays Turkish Basketball in NBA for years, it's crazy. He isn't changing unlike other foreign players. 😄... I don't know why i said all of this. Thanks if you read it lol.
I think this comes from a specific cultural mindset that develops in a country who decides that their national competitions are world competitions.
When you are the enders of World Wars you are the Worlds Champions. That's how that works. Countries in Europe can't claim that title.
Just about every country in europe can claim that mate.@@Sean-zr7vs
It seems that you need some history lessons, what did they teach in you in school beside blatant propaganda ?
@@Sean-zr7vs That is the exact mentality he was talking about
@@Sean-zr7vsEngland also won back to back World Wars, yet they don't make such stupid claims as Americans do.
And by the way, the only reason USA won WW2 is because the Soviets did the hard work defeating the Nazis. The American contributions are extremely overrated
USA is about athleticism, Europe is about skill
NBA is very much about the skill - the individual one - playing 1on1, while european game is more team first and more IQ tended
US is about flashy, europe is about skill
Flashy requires skill as well ;)
My take - High level European ball is all about ball movement while American ball is centered around 1 on 1 skills.
US is about ego and stardom, Europe is about team game
European players has been taught sound fundamentals, playing team basketball.Developing basketball IQ . No surprise they are dominating NBA.Back in days waiter was dishing assists left and right, was essential part of Bulls and yet he was underrated solely because he was european.
It’s not only a different coaching but also different rules and court dimensions that lead european players to be more team spirited. In Europe there is less space and a higher tolerance to physicality, this annihilates a lot of 1-2-1 plays and incents to have more team plays instead. This develops better the basket IQ.
So putting a ball through a hoop.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves Europeans are not dominating the nba. Only a few special players from europe are. You act as if the league has a bunch of Europeans dominating lol. The few special players from Europe are to good for euro league and needed to be in the nba for real competition
I mean there is still only a handful of European players doing well in the NBA. So I have no clue what you mean about "dominating" the NBA. Let's not get ahead of ourselves now.
good players are doing good things people either act like europeans are ass or act like they were created by god himself to dominate basketball why cant anyone be in the middle and just be happy they're finally starting to spread into the nba
I think another factor is the audience in the arenas. European players have to withstand enormous pressure from a young age because of the opposing and sometimes own spectators. They and their families are insulted in the worst way, they are thrown at and spat at and even have to flee in various situations. Many top stars from the USA would break under these circumstances. And for the foreigners in the NBA, the arenas and the spectators are like a child's birthday party.
it depends on the country, try to found some video of games in Greece or Turkey and would see a pressure that put NBA to shame
@@sebastienpetrein5541 Most european leagues put the NBA to shame when it comes to heart and passion or craziness of the fans. I've watched games in Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Serbia and the NBA. And I also heard about the israelis and the russians being crazy. The atmosphere in the NBA is a joke, its like a funeral. 2500 Slovenians were able to take over the whole atmosphere in Miami at a Heat game.
"Thrown at or spat at"???? You do not know what you are talking about. Clear you have never beem to Europe. I can say that no European player has had to perform in a pressure cooker like Top 10 NCAA basketball. Nothing in Europe compares.
@@nyaswed1520ha please
@@nyaswed1520I am European and I still live in Europe. And I am often in the ice hockey, football and basketball stadiums. The NCAA with their bands? Are you kidding me? 🤣🤣 Here you have the Americans who also played NCAA basketball describing their experiences. czcams.com/video/pnE5sU-qDaY/video.html
I'm American, but also a fan of Euro basketball.
I was dumbfounded when Luka wasn't considered the best Prospect in NBA history.
Hell, he wasn't even considered the best prospect in his own Draft class.
I don't think the morons in the American media understand how rare it was for a guy to be playing so well in the 2nd best league in the world at the age of a college freshman.
he was never the 2nd best in the league. luka sucked his first year. he hasn't been close to MVP his entire NBA career. that's coming from the euroleague mvp. that alone shows the game in talent.
He's slow 💀but he's good no doubt
You're dumbfounded? 😂
You don't know how racist basketball Americans are?
@@theghostofthomasjenkins9643 Luka ow in final, laying down 20 Points in First Quartier in a Playoff Game to get there.. Not the best haha
Thinking about Mehmet Okur. A center who had the perfect 3pt shots. And he was benched whenever he tried to shoot. If he played now, his value would quadruple
Never heard of him.
@@richardcarroll9864 First Detroit Pistons and later Utah Jazz player. Big man shooting 3-pointers probably started with him in the NBA. He was called the "money man".
@@codingstyle9480Dirk really boosted it.
Before Okur you had some big men trying 3s.
“If you put Martha Stewart and Stephen A Smith in the same room…” Quote of the year. I actually did lol
And ESPN chose to lay off Van gundy and not him 😅
Must be a coincidence that NBA pundits have way less problems accepting international players like Parker, Antetokounpo, Embiid or Wembanyama in contrast with Gasol, Nowitzki, Jokic or Doncic. It's almost as if those two groups of players had something in common.
exactly
I'd say it's more recent media, I remember Ginobili got accepted really easily when he started performing and is extremely respected by media
Yeah, but he is from South America, so almost there, and not flawed because of the European taint.@@MarioSantos-zx4bj ;)
@@Ned-Ryerson I don't think they care if they're truly European and just say European when talking foreign
@@MarioSantos-zx4bjginobili had a nice flashy style which people liked
In Europe they are teaching the kids early on the fundamentals of offensive and defensive game.. in the US they lost focus on that.. basketball isn't just slam dunking and shooting 3's
Great definition about sport vs entertainement
Under the pressure of the media, like ESPN coaches in the NBA do not give the main roles to European, Asian or African players, which is unfortunate. Thank you, coach of the Nuggets, for doing the opposite because the NBA would. Thank you Jokić for clearing the way for a new dimension of basketball...
do u even watch the NBA? coaches give the main roles to the best players, not whether they are American or not. Uncoachable players wont get minutes. Doncic, Giannis and Embiid lead their teams respectively, all non American and there are many more players NON AMERICAN playing their role effectively and efficiently. You can’t say coaches don’t give the main roles to European, Asian or African players when it’s so untrue 🤣 Players play their role and are made to fit into the coaches system
@@Therythman KAREEM AND KYRIE FROM NEW YORK THOUGH
@@Therythman Kareem is american, you mean Hakeem?
It's funny how that bald guy talked so confidently about Luka when he was 100% wrong. Who's that guy and where is he now?
American here that was completely sold on Luka more than a year before he was drafted. It doesn't take much investigation to realize that he was playing against very high level competition in Euroleague.
wasn't he MVP there? then why isn't he mvp or even close to it in the nba?
@@theghostofthomasjenkins9643 Because the NBA is HIGHER level competition. That and winning in the regular season is very important to MVP voting. He has the numbers, but his team needs to finish with a better record to get the award.
@@cobra7282 euroball is the equivalent to college ball. i will say that euro players do come out of europe more skilled than most US players are out of college.
however, just like college ball, it's got different rules that don't translate to the NBA. most euros also lack the athleticism to run floor and keep up with US players. the game is too fast for them.
@@theghostofthomasjenkins9643 This is simply untrue. Euroleague (where Luka played) in particular is miles ahead of the college level. While the NBA is full of more talent, Euroleague rules make the game much tougher in a lot of ways.
3:50 that's my team Panathinaikos in the early-mid 2010s. The coach was the legendary Obradovic who won 64 club titles including 9 Euroleagues, basically the goat of coaches outside the States. The guy initiating the offence (and the guy who Ben Simmoned that last lay-up lol) is Dimitris Diamantides AKA the Human Octupus, he greatest player ever who didn't play in the NBA, along maybe Dejan Bodiroga (Euroleague's current Comissioner).
Finally the guy making the basket at the end is Mike Batiste, currently in the coaching stuff of the Toronto Raptors, a legend of his own as one of the best American players to ever play in Europe.
Dominique Wilkins won a title with them in 1996
Obra is a legendary coach, he won my team Fenerbahçe their only EuroLeague title
I thought it was Spanoulis?
Diamantidis locked down Kobe once. Tim Duncan couldn't overpower him in the post
So Dimitris Diamantidis (and NOT Diamantides) is even better than Nikos Galis? really? 😁🤭🙄 ela pali prasina xapia pires?
even Spanoulis and Giannakis were better.
I completely understand that they don't care about euro league (they are watching a lot of sports already) but why the fuck are they so confident in what they say? Their analysis is hilarious when it comes to it. Shannon Sharp comparing inflated Westbrook stats in NBA to Luka in Euro was my personal favourite.
to be fair, SAS doesn't understand many things.
he is, however, a dear personal friend of mine 😂
He doesn't understand a sport he played at the d1 level? Makes sense.
To be fair I think the real reason was never mentioned: almost alo european players ARE WHITE....PERIOD....I mean we are talking about THE most racist country in the world after all...
These American so-called analysts /media just can't accept that it's a new ballgame,European ballgame
I honestly think you guys have misunderstood what mainstream American sports media actually is. It is theater, entertainment. They are impersonating the characters you would find in a barber shop, and they're actually very good at it. Take it for what it is and you will actually enjoy it.
Nope. What Americans do is fucking up all the sports for sake of money
Guys like Stephen A, Nick Wright, etc, are there to give hot takes and cause drama. It keeps fans debating and getting all fired up about things.
These days you can find actual sports experts instead lol
Exactly.
Dry af euros are not getting the marketing aspects. hence why they will continually be stuck in mediocrity in all forms , and run at the first opportunity to the nba and not stay in their trashy leagues.
Yeah it's good if u like bad acting lts like watching a boring soap opera at best lol
You are forgetting the most successful Dutch player ever: Rik Smits. His game winner in game 4 of ecf against Orlando and the behind the back pass in the allstargame gave him his 15 seconds of fame :)
There is also Detlef Schrempf. But I would argue that both his and Smits' game have been "Americanized" to a certain extent as they each spent 4 years playing NCAA basketball prior to entering the draft.
@@israteeg752Detlef Schrempf is German
@@ratedpending the title of this video is Why Americans Don't Understand European Basketball mind you. Last I've checked Germany is in Europe which should also put Schrempf in the discussion.
@@israteeg752 chill I thought you were saying Detlef Schrempf was in the conversations of best Dutch basketball players
No one gives a sht about him
I'm from LA. I grew up watching and still cheer for the Lakers. So I saw a foreign player almost from the beginning in Vlade Divac. I knew he was different in the style he pllayed I just didn't know why since I was still young, but but even back then the media didn't give foreign players a chance. All I gotta say is this...
Last 5 MVP's has gone to foreighn players. Players who didn't come up the AAU ranks, or US colleges. And judging by this year's USA team for the FIBA World Cup, Europe is tearing us up. Face it.
And think we are made of many different countries, but have almost the same population as the United States. What if all Europe had one basketball team. What would be the results you think?
@@istanbuloite
Europe has more than double the population of the US..
@@PradedaCechUSA has more than double the population of any of the European countries. That’s why he posed that hypothetical genius 😂
The Euro players were always my favorite players because I could see how special they are and how great they are. Growing up as a Mavs fan since it’s my hometown team I saw Dirk all my life. It’s surprising how they still disrespect on them. Like Luka was facing adults as a teenage, he was ready for the league just too bad the Mavs are doing the same thing they did with Dirk to him.
I’m like Jokić is a star player in the Nuggets and wish more teams would highlight their Euro stars or do better at building around them
jesus that Ball movement in 3:50 is beautiful, does anyone have the link to that?
European game is all about the team and tactics, where NBA is all about the Super Star and those that will give him the ball!
European game … is the game, where NBA is just business!
Man, I remember facing KP in high school, he was a monster and was also playing in the Spanish league at 16-17, but the problem is that this team he played for was a mid team in the league, and only the top teams of each country go to play Euroleague, he could've been in a better team and play Euroleague for sure,, but he went to the NBA after a couple of seasons here in Seville if I remember correctly
Keep up the good work man! One day u will have a bigger community and more people might ectualy realize how fun is European basketball. Coaches should start listening to you as they are most of the times blind outside of the USA. Respect from Serbia
Bro how do you have just 200+ subs? This content is really good! Hope your channel keeps on growing!
Detlef Schrempf (and a few others) were european players who played in the nba before the five players you mentioned as being the first europeans in the nba. Besides that great video
Yeah but he mentioned the caveat that these were the first players to come directily from Europe rather than going through the NCAA system
@@vladimirmihajlovic2485 which is still wrong, since Fernando Martin didn't play in the NCAA and he played in the '86-'87 season
Germany was not behind the iron curtain. ;)
@@gonzo2495 It was and it wasn't. Germany was divided into two countries. Although Schrempf was from part of Germany that wasn't behind the iron curtain.
@@ShavoSoaDer yeah, i forgot the GDR ;)
3:49 that Panathinaikos clip was just beautiful basketball. Love to see it.
That team was one of the best that europe has ever seen. From 1-5 positions they where all beasts , even in the bench. And ofc the best coach that ever walked this planet.
It's a race thing too. Black Americans See basketball as "theirs" and underrate and talk down off Caucasian people no matter where in the world they are from
The same reason Europeans think there better fundamentaly and think blacks are just athletic
Keep up the good content!🙌🏽 As a Latvian myself I appreciate the angle of European basketball you showed💯
There's such a misunderstanding of all the different level of leagues in europe it's crazy, Iike comparing two players who didn't play in the same league, or one player "dominating" a national league being made up as if he's dominating the whole euroleague, because "europe" and "euroleague" start the same I guess.
What you said about team tanking for developpment is interesting, it's true that europe teams are wins first and never would tank as there is no reward for it. I think it's better for competition, you get a higher level or sport and tactics if every team is made up of seasoned players instead of a "rebuilding cycle". It's tiring for a team to have to wait 3 years for an athletic rookie to learn the game, they should have already been taught it as teenagers. Dunking and "bag" is useless if you don't know how to play the actual game.
The main challenge is for the U.S. sports media to admit they simply don't know European basketball, a vast ocean of its own. Next, go to the Balkan and Baltic countries (do they even know the difference?), Greece, Italy, Spain, Germany, etc. Be humble and learn from these leagues, at all levels. Only then can they give an opinion. I doubt they will do that anytime soon. Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, DR, and PR are closer, and they still don't care. The basketball world is changing very fast, and the U.S. media is in for a rude awakening.
Are you telling me Americans have no idea of anything outside their borders? I'm SCHOKED!!!!
I just stumbled across your channel. You have some excellent content my man, please continue the good work. Well done.
That intro was pure poetry, the music, the takes... comedy!
The first European player who went to the NBA directly from Europe was Fernando Martin in 1986.
My favorite new channel! Talk about it my man! 😤💪
Duuuude, great work. Cheers from Argentina, and a lot of love for FIBA basketball
Keep in mind, those same analysts are responsible for selling the NCAA because it makes a lot of money for ESPN. If ESPN showed Euroleague games, they'd probably play during Stephen A's time slot.
This is such a complicated topic, on surface is seems that both NBA and Euroleague/regional leagues are both very similar because they're both basketball leagues but they're not, at all. NBA is a corporation, big business, everything is centred around money and it's all about individual superstars that generate most of that money, they are media stars, they are entertainers, showmen, influencers and European players in general don't know how to fit in that culture because in Europe in general it's almost diametrically opposite situation and so they don't have that "superstar" mentality, case in point Nikola Jokic.
Second reason why European players are not very much liked by the NBA media is ideological, because they are foreigners and the US is patriotic, a lot in the US runs on the principle "if we didn't come up with it, we won't use it", the US is perceived as the best of the best in everything and if something doesn't originate in the US it's mostly ignored as worthless, it took decades for the US to adopt roundabouts for example and even then the implementation was poor not because the roundabouts are a poor solution but because they are not American, so now suddenly you have these foreign payers coming to NBA and having good stats, breaking records, winning titles and making money but don't want to be part of that flashy superstar culture and that's very frown upon by the media which fuels the moneymaking corporation that is NBA.
It's slowly changing because every year brings more European players to NBA but it will still take at least a decade if not longer for the NBA media to show respect outright, now they only do it when they can't avoid it no more.
In Europe on the other hand, at least in the Balkans where most European NBA players come from, sport has been historically an anti-establishment platform where people came together to chant against various regimes and political ideologies without persecution because they wouldn't be allowed to do that otherwise and so it has grown into this tribal cultural identity and the basketball teams just like the fans are all about the team, not individuals, you can be as superstar as you want if you don't listen to what the coach tells you, you will be kicked out no exceptions. In NBA players can fire coaches if they don't like them. So it's the same sport, but two very very very different approaches to playing it. The biggest different between NBA and European basketball is not technical, but cultural.
Absolutely the NBA and NFL and most American leagues are money centric, All businesses are, But also the pipeline from Junior High School-College-NBA is something they are trying to protect which is understandable too.
The more money the NBA can generate from homegrown talents the more they can invest in that pipeline and the more money can be generated on all levels and the more resources given to schools and organisations to produce that local talent.
It’s something that you see in pretty much every sport in a similar way
As someone who watches F1 you realise that after 5-10 years you start to want to keep an eye on F2 which is a lower category, Then it’s about which F3 driver and then there are F4 and Formula Regional and Super Formula which probably means if you’re really interested you might keep up with 10-15 different racing series to see who the next super talented driver is and follow his journey to the top.
It trickles all the way down to Karting series in which you might find drivers as young as 6-7 years old being given the “F1 Prospect” title at that age.
The Intro was comedic gold...!!! You´re a genius...!!!
That martha stewert line was golden. Great video again
HOW, I mean how... How can u say "From Real Madrid in Barcelona"
The USA is acting about Basket ball exactly how England acted with Football in the 40's and 50's (and to some extent up until the 90's) and look how that turned out for English international football. Just because you are the country that Organised the game and birthed its pro aspects does not mean 1) you are the best at it, and/or 2) you will not be over taken by other pockets of the game around the world, 3) it also does not mean the game will not evolve passed your established tactics, that is exactly what is happening now.
The NBA needs to wake up and realise what time it is, or it will get left behind. Basket Ball is growing hugely in Europe, and has the potential to become a very big money aspect of the sport.
There is more than enough potential for this across Europe, just look at European Football Clubs and the size and scope of the Champions league, which dwarfs anything in US sports, and by factors. Seriously the US has nothing even remotely close to the scale of the Champions League.
Eventually the Euro league will be closer to the CL than NBA interms of impact, size, reach and status, unless NBA wake up and realise they are now in a race, and whilst they have a great lead, that lead is vanishing and at this point they dont even realise it
Thank you for the video. Your channel is underrated.
Great video man. Lots explained very well
Fernando Martin played for Portland way before any of those guys you mentioned as the first 5.
Great video man
It just doesnt really answer the question asked in the title.
Love your videos, keep it going!!!!
There are probably several reasons compounding the issue. Just comparing the culture alone the way Americans have the culture of exceptionalism and how individualism is something so engrained into the culture it changes the mindset and attitudes coaches players and teams all have on how to be the best. Add that with the nature of sports media and how sensationalism is constantly a part of what drives any media outlet in America. Those are just a couple of things that are apart of how people and analysts in the US are forming their perspective and that can impact people’s ability to look more objectively or zoom out to have a better understanding of the difference in how the game is played differently all over the world. When you look at other people no matter what aspect of life you are thinking about looking at it through your country’s native lens will make a difference on how you perceive qualities that you see as important vs what it takes for someone to succeed elsewhere. That doesn’t even touch how the game is played and that is also a huge factor so I think there’s a lot of hurdles Americans have to clear and be aware of to have a semblance of objectivity or evaluating prospects knowing how their play will translate. If I’m wrong about any of that I would be happy to learn how and why
As someone who isn't really thatmuch into Basketball at all, i just tend to say, that it pretty much common sense, that euro players are underrated in the U.S. Euro Basketball is just more tactical abd focussed on defensive and teamplay, whereas in the States it's more about Sports Entertainment...the Focus is more on the Stars of the Franchise and their triple double count....both styles of the Game are euqally important, but offense just seems to sell better. Also the youth leagues and youth Sports in Europa have different structures, so the focus on the physical aspects of a player are much lower. Since pretty much no one gives u a College Scholarship for beeing good in Sports...qell sometimes, but since there are no School or College Sports leagues, its just not part of the system.
The first 2 europeans to came straight from Europe were Georgi Glouchkov from Bulgaria (Suns) and Fernando Martín from Spain (Blazers)
Great video
Beautiful analysis, keep it up.
I noticed that American basketball recently feels a lot like football, so I'm glad this video answers my questions about this.
Great video, a quick mention of Tony Parker would've made it perfect. TP had a massive influence on the way Pop changed his team tactics and a real trailblazer for the next generation of European talent.
Coincidence? TP senior (father) played in Europe (Netherlands) for quite a time...
Sensational video man
Looking back it is fairly obvious that Luka was the best prospect since LeBron. He should've 100% been getting the Wemby level of hype. I understand why big media outlets didn't want to admit this, but the fact that this was not the consensus among NBA front offices in 2018, where we'd already seen movement offences and big, dynamic ball handlers take over the NBA, is honestly baffling. Even the kings who had Divac as there GM passed on Luka for Bagley.
You should make a video about the differences between European and American youth basketball, and how that translates in European-trained players having a better understanding of how to play as a team in comparison to players from the AAU system.
@@Valokaari The draft means that the teams have no incentive to have junior teams.
Create an exemption so they can sign players from their junior team without those players having to go through the draft and every NBA team would have a junior team within a week.
I feel like I'm getting in at the start of a small basketball CZcams channel that is about to take off. Great content 👍
Fantastic vid dude. Great job agree completely
Jokic put on an absolute clinic this year. This man dominated the entire league. It’s actually quite insane the impact that he’s had on the game. We have never seen a big man dime in the nba. We have never had a 7 footer set up the offense. Jokic is like someone created the perfect player on 2K. It’s almost cheating to have a player so good on your team. Before it’s over, Jokic will go down as the greatest big man EVER maybe even the single greatest player of all time
I would love for that to happen but him ending his career better than Hakeem, Shaq, Russell, Wilt or Kareem seems unlikely.
@@NuggetsNBAChamps Eh idk, it’s definitely a possibility- Bill and Wilt already get disrespected for playing segregation ball, Kareem got most of his chips playing with the best pure point-guard and arguably top 5 player in NBA History in Magic, Shaq absolutely dominated doing the lakers 3-peat, but wasn’t the best player for his final ring, Hakeem only managed to get 2 championships, less than most of the other players listed- realistically, it depends on how you rank players and what criteria you value. Jokic is already 2x MVP 1x Finals MVP and 1x Champion as the best player on his team, he still has a lot of his career left to play and I think it’ll be super interesting to see how it pans out.
The explanation is pretty simple, european basketball is first and foremost sport with marketing on top. NBA is sports entertainment
NBA is based on 1vs1, European basketball is a team effort. The fact that NBA playgrounds are bigger just amp this
Meh
@@sebastienpetrein5541that’s not true at all
@@lenfer1607 ngl at this point its really the 3 second rule - and people dont realize how much it can change the sport. Imagine if nothing you do on offense will bring JJJ out of the paint? You might think "well, Curry would just shoot over the zone" but not every team has reliable shooters, or ball handlers to create a motion offense. The entire team needs to think like a PG over in Europe while US teams can play "Lebron Ball" and use a drive & kick every play if they want to
nice vid bro! i cant really watch mainstream media on basketball it drives me crazy
Great video 👌👏
i dont think wemby can be a bust . he may not win rookie of the year but he is rly young he will adapt .
I LOVE the growing number of international players. I want to watch the best basketball players on earth. Hope they find a way to expand the league without making the owners angry tho
Expansion fees aren't going to make anyone angry.
really good video
no lies here 🤷🏾♂️ fire video bro
american pundents cant analyze it because all they are willing to analyze is dunking and all those flashy moves.
American pundit can't analyze a sport invented in America got it 😂
@@geminiseason6901 Glad you got it.
@@Darenimo ?
Volkov, Marchulionis, Dražen, Divac, Pasoalj - what a lineup in 1980s basetball.
Great video pal, thank you!
This was a great video
wembanyama is in good hands with the spurs. is he going to be a bust? no. why? two words: gregg popovich!
And Germany won the cup!
Keep doing this man, you have a future
Maaan, I watch your videos, thank you so much! You made my day lol
My coach always told me that I had no opponents besides myself, there was no one I had to beat, no one I had to better than and that you learn a lot more from a loss than a win. Seek inspiration from others, watch them and study them, take the best parts of their play and focus on which you wish to implement.
Fight for the team while improving yourself constantly, I did that. If I had a score of 9 yesterday I had to make it 10 today (just a number example), so I was indeed my number 1 opponent. We won the football (soccer) school tournament in (Denmark), things were going well and I got a youth contract .... then I fractured my spine and it just wasn´t meant to be.
But yes, none of that macho coaching stuff I watch in American movies, but since I have never trained in the US I don´t know how accurately things are portrayed in movies.
Some of the most fun players to watch these last few years are European players, I hope we continue to get many more stars from there going forward.
Most of american ballers in nba are not playmaking oriented players, even pgs but from europe even center can be your playmaker (arvydas and domantas sabonis, jokic, vlade divac and so on)
This video was perfect!
You are making great videos.. ; )
The NCAA tournament is fantastic but it is still played by students and not by professionals so it is not remotely comparable to the Euroleague. Another determining factor is the winning mentality of the Europeans and the pressure they can handle because if they lose they go to a lower category not like in the NBA or NCAA which if you finish last in the league nothing changes.
Wemby is the living proof, that American sports media only cares about flashiness. Nobody noticed Doncic back in the day even though he did much more in Europe than Wemby, because he hadn't been so flashy and fun to watch.
Doncic is 6’7 230, strong and skilled and nobody even the players tought he would become as good as he is now. But Wemby is 7’5 in shoes, 230 pounds with an 8FT WINGSPAN, he move like KD, he is mobile, agile, quick, and he can shoot and pass the ball, 54% from midrange (wich is KD/MJ/Jokic level), 82% (Like Jokic/Zmbiid) from the freethrow line and he get A LOT of Freethrows so he will be an elite scorer like Embiid easily, and only 28% from 3 but Doncic and Jokic also shot 28% in Europe and Porzingis 31%.
AND THAT’S HIS WEAKEST PART OF HIS GAME 😂 His defense is what make him a generational, game changer talent, Gobert was an ALL STAR with only his defense, well Wemby is Gobert+AD, he is taller than Gobert and can move, block shot with an insane wingspan and quickness like AD.
AD was the reason the Lakers beat Warriors and Memphis, because of his crazy good rim protection and perimeter defense, and Wemby can be better than him.
So Luka could be like a Harden+Bird+Magic hybrid type of player, that’s amazing, but Wemby could be like a KD/Hakeem/Porzingis hybrid, so tell me what hybrid looks better and has the biggest potential ? For me its the KD/Hakeem/Porzingis, he could be the best defender in the league and a Top 5 offensive player in the league at the same time, but Doncic will only be a Top 5 offensive player and Top 100 defensive player, you see the difference ?
@@Anthonydu01630 thanks for the article internet keyboard sports analyst. I'm a wemby fan, he has a higher potential. His weakest part of his game is not 3pt shot but rather his shot selection and getting open against aggressive defense. If you watched full games, not just highlights you'd see what I mean. Btw I was talking about american media. We don't have to compare Luka's hype to Wemby. MPJ was in the same draft class and he was hyped to become a superstar because he was dunking on 16 y.o. highschoolers. Don't tell me he had more game than Luka dominating pro leagues lol
@Dan-dg2pc not entirely, tbh. the NBA is flashier for sure, but Wemby isn't the exemplification of this trend. it's more about the unhealthy obsession with the KD frame, because that's the accepted prototype of an "unguardable" player. 6'10" (or above), long wingspan, great handle
congrats on 1k
The 2 first european players that went to the NBA were the bulgarian Glushkov and the spaniard Fernando Martín, they failed in different ways, but there are a couple of lessons there (or more than a couple) regarding how the NBA thought about and treated those guys, and their consideration about FIBA basketball back in those days, and how things slowly changed on both sides
European basketball was flourishing long before first European played NBA, it is after football most popular sport… Also NBA was popular, i watched it in Europe as a teen eighties and nineties… It’s not just because of the NBA, basketball in Europe is top, we see how much talent there is… Ex Yugoslavia, ex Soviet Union, Spain, France, Italy…
European players in the NBA are like the icing on the cake 😃
Exactly! There's way more cake than icing but the icing is better than the cake!
Great video. Agree with its sentiment towards European players. Underrated for the longest time
Good video man but u don’t talk about Fernando Martin who enter the league before Vlade Divac for example in 1986, he wasn’t that good but if u are talking about the first 5 he was before and then also u don’t talk about Pau Gasol, do u know Spain is on Europe? Just wondering
Im not trying to be negative, I enjoyed the video but just wondering because u just mention one time Spanish to say that Luka won the league and shows one Spanish player in all video two times, Ricky Rubio, I think Spain has being more relevant that only this
today the thunder just signed vasilije micić and the kings signed sasha vezenkov, i guess the times are changing a bit
yeah, Although micic is definitely past his prime
Dirk revolutionized what 7 footer should be. Now all big men need to be a good shooter to be relevant
Excellent video, a smart perspective to a narrow usa mind. They are no longer the only power house in basketball.
Luka said once: It´s easier to score in the NBA than in Euro-League
i just recently made this same comment on instagram its a European not an European because the Eu in European is pronounced yu so phonetically the word does not start with the vocal E but with the consonant Y. Kind regards still great video, good points