For decades, the USA has been the undisputed juggernaut of basketball. From the fabled “Dream Team” to the fifteen Olympic gold medals, basketball is synonymous with red, white and blue. At the core of America’s dominance is the NBA, unanimously considered the best basketball league in the world.
Historically, the NBA has selected its chosen few from home territory. Hakeem Olajuwon was the first notable foreign player but had spent four years in the American college system at Houston. The same went for two other well-known international players: Detlef Schrempf and Rik Smits, who played four years at the University of Washington and Marist College, respectively.
Brazil’s Oscar Schmidt was the first internationally trained player to be drafted by an NBA team, taken in the sixth round by the New Jersey Nets in 1984. However, he had no desire to make the leap to the NBA. It wasn’t until 1985 that the NBA had its first player go directly from Europe to America. The Phoenix Suns selected 6’8″ Bulgarian center Georgi Glouchkov in the seventh round of the ’85 draft. Five months later, the man nicknamed the “Balkan Banger” made his NBA debut. Glouchkov scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds in 11 minutes against the Atlanta Hawks. Not a bad start with all of America’s eyes on him.
Unfortunately, Glouchkov flamed out in a major way. The language barrier proved too difficult, and it was long rumored that a combination of steroids withdrawal and Glouchkov’s insatiable appetite for both American junk food and women was too damaging. Either way, the NBA’s brief exposure to a European-trained player was souring.
There were also extraneous circumstances out of the NBA’s control that provided quite a roadblock. American scouts were unable to access roughly 50% of Europe and Asia. The former Soviet Union and the U.S. were still figuring out a minor issue: the struggle for global domination between communism and capitalism. It wasn’t until after the Iron Curtain dissolved that the NBA finally starting integrating more foreign players.
Yugoslavian Drazen Petrovic became the first true international star, making the All-NBA Third Team in 1993. A car crash tragically cut Petrovic’s life short that summer, taking away the face of European basketball. Fortunately, Petrovic wasn’t the only foreign player making an impact on the NBA world. Croatian Toni Kukoc helped the Chicago Bulls to three championships from 1996-98, while Vlade Divac and Sarunas Marciulonis became quality role players. The 1996 NBA draft, famous for producing stars such as Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson, also made history when five international players were chosen in the first round.
The floodgates smashed open after Dirk Nowitzki turned into a star for the Dallas Mavericks. The soft-shooting seven-footer astounded fans across the country with his unprecedented blend of outside shooting and footwork. Suddenly, everybody was hunting for the next Dirk. Everybody was scouring the globe for the next European sensation. The San Antonio Spurs unearthed Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker in 1999 and 2001 respectively, and the Memphis Grizzlies found their franchise player in Pau Gasol in 2001. The foreign extravaganza peaked in 2002 when the Houston Rockets selected Chinese center Yao Ming first overall, the first internationally trained player taken with the number one pick.
Of course, it wasn’t all perfect. In the middle of the brouhaha, the Detroit Pistons infamously passed on Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh to select Darko Milicic second overall in 2003. Nikoloz Tskitishvili also failed miserably for the Denver Nuggets. Nevertheless, the early returns were promising. Nowitzki, Yao, and Gasol were elite big men, while Ginobli and Parker helped San Antonio to three championships in six years. Peja Stojakovic and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, both from the 1996 draft, grew into multiple time All-Stars and played double-digit seasons in the NBA.
Fast forward two decades and every team in the NBA currently has an international player on the roster. In fact, the three best players under the age of twenty-five are all foreign-born: Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece, Nikola Jokic of Serbia, and Joel Embiid of Cameroon.
Jokic, Antetokounmpo, and Embiid are the three biggest names for now, but they aren’t the only ones. They’re followed by Luka Doncic and Ben Simmons, while not far behind comes Pascal Siakam, Kristaps Porzingis, Buddy Hield, DeAndre Ayton, Domantis Sabonis, and Lauri Markkanen. If you include Canadian basketball, Jamal Murray is another name that can be added to the list and perhaps even R.J. Barrett in the future.
Of course, many of those players wouldn’t be who they are today without the help of the American colleges. However, it should be noted that neither Jokic or Antetokounmpo spent any time in America before the NBA. Embiid, too, spent minimal time in the U.S. before entering the association.
The future of basketball lies, for the first time, not with the Americans but with the rest of the world. Five of the last ten number one overall draft picks were born outside of the U.S. 24.5% of all NBA players hail from a foreign country. The league’s most promising rising stars won’t be playing for Team USA anytime in the near future.
This isn’t to say the U.S. is running out of talent. As of right now, America still sits on top of the basketball world. Developing players like Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum are also as promising as they come. The overwhelming majority of NBA players are still homegrown. And, of course, Zion Williamson will soon be making his own mark on the basketball world.
However, for what might be the first time in history, the U.S. won’t have the best player in the FIBA World Cup. In fact, the U.S. won’t even have the second-best player, thanks to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic. And, with the rise of Luka Doncic, America might not have the best player for a while.
In 1992, the legendary Dream Team set out, with all intents and purposes, to destroy the rest of the basketball world. They’re, perhaps, the most dominant sports team in the history of athletics, overwhelming opponents by an average of 44 points every game. The U.S., however, will never again replicate that devastating romp through the world. In the following years, the rest of the world has dragged itself closer and closer to America’s level of play. One day, there’ll be another country talented enough to challenge the best America has to offer. And, when that day comes, the greatest era of basketball will finally begin.
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