The NBA Officially Belongs to International Players

In the six years since Udrih last graced an NBA court, the sport has evolved in ways that seem to favor players raised in the European system. 

“The game has changed,” Udrih said. “It’s faster and more one-on-one. But if you know where your spots are on the floor, you don’t really need speed. Luka is very naturally strong. He doesn’t need a lot of space to get his shot off and he knows how to get a defender off of him. At the end of the day, I think European players know who they are early in their careers. You know who you are, what you can do, and you stick with it. Here in America, everyone’s trying to do what Steph Curry does. Kids want to be Steph, that’s great. I have no problem with that. But the thing is, if the kid can’t shoot, they should not fucking be allowed to shoot!”

As much as things have changed, some stereotypes endure. Asked what incoming European players can do to avoid the cigarette allegations, Udrih has an immediate response: “Eating habits. Like for Luka, if he even lost ten pounds, that’d be huge for him. Once he figures that out, he’s going to be dangerous. The schedule here is so much more stressful than it is in Europe. It’s just so much more intense, you’re in the public eye, there’s so many things to do off the court as well. But if you just focus on your body and basketball, [it’s a] much different story.”

One lazy scouting term often applied to African players, meanwhile, drives Mbah a Moute up the wall. “That they’re ‘raw,’” he fumes. “That’s the thing people always say. Raw, can’t shoot, don’t have any skills. That was annoying because then you [as a player] go in fighting an uphill battle with coaches. As soon as coaches saw an African player, they put us in this box that we’d just be a defender who rebounds and blocks shots.”

He’s also well aware of the diaspora putting players with African roots all over the world. “A lot of African players were born in France,” he notes. “Victor Wembanyama, his dad is from Africa! I count Giannis on that too. He’s definitely Nigerian. Once you get the European [upbringing, the perception is] a little different, even if you have an African name.” 

When Mbah a Moute was drafted in 2008, he estimated there were 10 or so African players getting actual playing time. To get to the place we’re at now just 15 years later speaks to how much the international forefathers have done for the game. The skills that modern players have built on top of their basic fundamentals are things that Udrih could have only fantasized about doing. Similarly, Mbah a Moute knows he walked so Embiid and Giannis could run.

“Basketball players are bigger than basketball today,” Mbah a Moute declared. “There’s fashion, there’s social media, there’s so many other doors that get opened for everybody else to start relating to them, no matter where they’re from. Their work ethic, their mindset, it’s been incredible to see.”

What the world has seen for the last three years—and what they will continue to see moving forward—is that the rest of the world is not only capable of producing high wattage basketball stars, they’re capable of taking over the whole damn sport.