European Players Bringing Back Fundamentals for U.S. Players

As much as it pains me to say this, I have to admit that I think it's a damn shame that the NBA had to go outside of U.S. soil to find players who could bring back the very fundamentals of the game that were once taught by every U.S. basketball coach from, the sport's creator, Dr. James A. Naismith to the legendary John Wooden and even more recent coaches like Pat Riley and Hall of Fame inductee, Larry Brown.

Whether I like it or not, the fact remains that, after decades of unbridled success and growth, the sport of basketball, and more specifically, the professional brand, has, until very recently, lost both, its appeal and substance, to the point where, the majority of adolescent basketball players who were born and bred on U.S. soil inside of the last three decades, know nothing about the game except highlight reel dunks and game-winning three-point jump shots.

If you don't believe me, just look at the history of the NBA game for the last two decades. Beginning in 1986, when my beloved Boston Celtics (and even more beloved Larry Bird) hoisted their last NBA championship trophy, to the Miami Heat's thrilling championship victory last season, the NBA has been in an almost steady decline, fundamentally wise, until the U.S. was forced to both, import European players and adapt, to the "team-basketball" style of international clubs across the globe that once existed on every club in the NBA years ago.

I hate to say it, but even the man who is generally recognized as the greatest basketball player of all-time, Michael Jordan, has probably had more of a negative effect on young basketball players than anyone could have ever imagined.

To be totally honest about it, once Jordan's legendary career began to "take flight" with his legendary forays to the basket and gravity-defying feats of athleticism, young basketball players across the U.S, have done nothing but try to emulate Jordan in an effort to leave every basketball fan in the world gaping in amazement at, both, their athleticism, and selfish me-first, look-at-how-may points I scored style.

Fortunately, though, the NBA has been revitalized recently by an influx of international basketball players from across the globe - and in particular, the multi-faceted skills of the Canadian-born Steve Nash and German-born "freak of nature," Dirk Nowitzki.
Just this preseason, the NBA has been trying to promote its game internationally with numerous preseason games being played in Europe and as more and more international players earn spots on NBA rosters, the league has much more of a global feel to it - and will one day, undoubtedly have a division on European soil. The number of European players in the league has doubled in just the past 5 years and is now at an all-time high - with more to come for sure.

Why are the European players making such a big impact now after being widely viewed with skepticism for years?
Simple, because they have proved they can play the game no matter what continent they're from - and unlike many of their young American counterparts, play with the same fundamentals that they have been so well-schooled in throughout their respective basketball upbringings.

From early European pioneers like Sarunas Marciulionis, Vlade Divac and Drazen Petrovic to the second wave of European stars to gravitate to the NBA in the mid-'90s, Toni Kukoc, Dino Radja and Arvydas Sabonis, European players have increasingly shown they are more than the soft, slow-footed, perimeter shooters they were widely believed to be years ago.
Players like Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Boris Diaw, have shown that they are multi-faceted players who can help their respective teams in more than one way.

For sure, there have been plenty of European players who were expected to succeed in the NBA in a big way, but failed miserably. From players like Nikoloz Tskitishvili, the fifth overall pick in '02, to other high draft picks, Bostjan Nachbar and Jiri Welsch, several European players have shown that they could not make the adjustment that many NBA personnel people thought would be a piece of cake.

However, on the whole, selecting a European player, especially a young frontcourt player, seems to be a lot safer these days than picking an athletic young American player who can leap tall buildings in a single bound, but is either turnover prone or doesn't know the difference between a drop-step move and a jump-hook.

Maybe I shouldn't be so upset at the lack of fundamental basketball that has been played by U.S. players over the last two decades but it does bother me immensely to know that the five-man fundamentals that were so thoroughly taught by the aforementioned coaches and other legends like, Red Auerbach and Red Holzman were so frivolously thrown away like yesterday's newspaper.

However, I guess if it takes bringing in some European players and coaches like the Phoenix Suns' Mike D'Antoni, and San Antonio Spurs' Gregg Popovich, to revitalize the purity of the sport I love so much, then so be it.

I guess I should be thankful that, as the NBA gets set to embark on another new season, the return of "team basketball" is looking better and brighter than it has in eons.