Is the 2020s the decade of the international player?

[Swish1906]

Yes, Doncic, Gilgeous-Alexander and Wembanyama are soon to follow. Tatum, Booker and Edwards need to go up another level to stop this invasion of international basketball

Tatum and Booker don’t have another level…Ant is right now the best shot for the USA since the old stars are all…old

[Stan]

Lmao, could you ask a more obvious question.

[EmpireFalls]

Not enough credit given to Jordan’s GOAT case as arguably the greatest “Boomer pulling up the ladder behind them” act we’ve ever seen.

He raised the profile of the league so much that the talent pool has now doubled, tripled, and possibly even quadrupled since his prime. He was the best of an extremely homogenous talent pool who grew up in American HS and American college ball. The ‘92 Dream Team was playing against semi-pros in complete awe of them, fast forward to ‘04 and these countries had real infrastructure and were able to even beat the US.

Mike got to win his titles vs. Clyde, Charles, Patrick, Gary, Karl, and John. Bron gets to see Dirk, Giannis, Nikola, Manu, Tony, Jamal, Luka, the list goes on and on.

And it’s only getting worse. The nature of basketball is such that it selects for super rare genetic outliers with height and athleticism - as you increase the talent pool, eventually outliers like Giannis, Wembanyama, Embiid, Jokic appear - and they just did not exist 30-40 years ago.

[SelfishPlayer]

Championships matter...

Giannis and Jokic have both been finals MVPs in 2 of the first 4 years this decade.

That's not enough, Kevin Durant has that...

[shi-woo]

No, and this narrative needs to stop it's insulting to the game of basketball.

The game has grown so much, all of us here are legit obsessed with this game, and for good reason. It's become one of the best sports, and most popular the world over, and kids don't need rich parents to play it like other sports. You just need a ball, and a hoop, same with soccer.

The game is now being championed by every country, and what used to be just an American sport, with a few LOL highlights from the South East Asian countries and China, is now exploding everywhere.

Look at the push the WNBA is making over the last few years, and how much money and attention is being thrown into it to get people to watch it and care (and people are starting to come around).

Some of the most recognizable athletes in the US are basketball players, whether American or not, they are a huge part of this countries pop culture, and America dominates that scene.

America may be the Brasil of basketball, but no one watches soccer and says it's a decade of international players. They accept the fact that it is globally one of the most popular sports, and on a planet with almost 9 billion people, it's ludacris to assum the best leagues in the world aren't going to have a fair amount of mixed cultures.

Baseball is the same way, Japanese players just don't come over nearly as much as they could. NBA is just on that level now globally and i'm all about it. Expect more and more of it going foward, it's not just a decade thing, it's here to stay

[TheGeneral99]

Championships matter...

Giannis and Jokic have both been finals MVPs in 2 of the first 4 years this decade.

That's not enough, Kevin Durant has that...

The thread was asking if the 2020s is the decade of the international player.

So far every MVP of the 2020s has been an international player.

So far 2 of the 4 finals MVPs of the 2020s has been an international player.

So to answer OP's question, yes so far the 2020s has been dominated by international players.

I'm not sure what you are even arguing.

[SelfishPlayer]

Giannis and Jokic have both been finals MVPs in 2 of the first 4 years this decade.

That's not enough, Kevin Durant has that...

The thread was asking if the 2020s is the decade of the international player.

So far every MVP of the 2020s has been an international player.

So far 2 of the 4 finals MVPs of the 2020s has been an international player.

So to answer OP's question, yes so far the 2020s has been dominated by international players.

I'm not sure what you are even arguing.

The job is half done. It's 2024. Lebron and Steph have half of the CHIPS! There is no dominance besides things being as they always have been, championship wise...

[thinktank]

Not enough credit given to Jordan’s GOAT case as arguably the greatest “Boomer pulling up the ladder behind them” act we’ve ever seen.

He raised the profile of the league so much that the talent pool has now doubled, tripled, and possibly even quadrupled since his prime. He was the best of an extremely homogenous talent pool who grew up in American HS and American college ball. The ‘92 Dream Team was playing against semi-pros in complete awe of them, fast forward to ‘04 and these countries had real infrastructure and were able to even beat the US.

Mike got to win his titles vs. Clyde, Charles, Patrick, Gary, Karl, and John. Bron gets to see Dirk, Giannis, Nikola, Manu, Tony, Jamal, Luka, the list goes on and on.

And it’s only getting worse. The nature of basketball is such that it selects for super rare genetic outliers with height and athleticism - as you increase the talent pool, eventually outliers like Giannis, Wembanyama, Embiid, Jokic appear - and they just did not exist 30-40 years ago.

Your name is perfect for this post. Good stuff.

[EmpireFalls]

Not enough credit given to Jordan’s GOAT case as arguably the greatest “Boomer pulling up the ladder behind them” act we’ve ever seen.

He raised the profile of the league so much that the talent pool has now doubled, tripled, and possibly even quadrupled since his prime. He was the best of an extremely homogenous talent pool who grew up in American HS and American college ball. The ‘92 Dream Team was playing against semi-pros in complete awe of them, fast forward to ‘04 and these countries had real infrastructure and were able to even beat the US.

Mike got to win his titles vs. Clyde, Charles, Patrick, Gary, Karl, and John. Bron gets to see Dirk, Giannis, Nikola, Manu, Tony, Jamal, Luka, the list goes on and on.

And it’s only getting worse. The nature of basketball is such that it selects for super rare genetic outliers with height and athleticism - as you increase the talent pool, eventually outliers like Giannis, Wembanyama, Embiid, Jokic appear - and they just did not exist 30-40 years ago.

Your name is perfect for this post. Good stuff.

Ha, I try. A game like tonight is a perfect example though. You’ve got a kid from Slovenia who played for Real Madrid in his youth who’s just running rings around the league despite being openly out of shape and hobbled. It’s indicative of deep failure on American basketball, AAU, and in my humble opinion, the hyper-individualist 21st century US. All aspects of life really. We think we’re still by far the global hegemon, we aren’t.

[Mr Puddles]

Yes. And

• It's a good thing for the NBA
• It doesn't mean the US product has gotten worse, it just means that the international players have gotten better

It's essentially a biproduct of the NBA becoming global.

My guess is that in a decade or so time, the US will be the equivalent of what Brazil is to soccer. A big nation with the biggest population, which will be a favorite but not always necessarily the best at basketball.
Countries like France, Serbia will be like larger European counties in Fifa - no one will be surprised if they win, but they might not always be among the favorites every decade.
And countries like Slovenia will be like the smaller European and South American fifa countries (Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Uruguay etc.) Dark horse

[thinktank]

Not enough credit given to Jordan’s GOAT case as arguably the greatest “Boomer pulling up the ladder behind them” act we’ve ever seen.

He raised the profile of the league so much that the talent pool has now doubled, tripled, and possibly even quadrupled since his prime. He was the best of an extremely homogenous talent pool who grew up in American HS and American college ball. The ‘92 Dream Team was playing against semi-pros in complete awe of them, fast forward to ‘04 and these countries had real infrastructure and were able to even beat the US.

Mike got to win his titles vs. Clyde, Charles, Patrick, Gary, Karl, and John. Bron gets to see Dirk, Giannis, Nikola, Manu, Tony, Jamal, Luka, the list goes on and on.

And it’s only getting worse. The nature of basketball is such that it selects for super rare genetic outliers with height and athleticism - as you increase the talent pool, eventually outliers like Giannis, Wembanyama, Embiid, Jokic appear - and they just did not exist 30-40 years ago.

Your name is perfect for this post. Good stuff.

Ha, I try. A game like tonight is a perfect example though. You’ve got a kid from Slovenia who played for Real Madrid in his youth who’s just running rings around the league despite being openly out of shape and hobbled. It’s indicative of deep failure on American basketball, AAU, and in my humble opinion, the hyper-individualist 21st century US. All aspects of life really. We think we’re still by far the global hegemon, we aren’t.

I couldn’t agree more. I travel a ton, and USA is #1 might be the greatest fallacy of all time.

[durden_tyler]

How is this a topic? This is no Dream Team era anymore and over the years, the game has grown exponentially internationally. It was only a matter of time before the “best players” in the world are scattered across all nations.

You Americans should start watching FIBA ball and other leagues. The split should be around 50:50 eventually half international players and half Americans in the league and even then, that will increase towards international.

If am not mistaken it’s a record 125 (?) of 450 (?) in the initial rosters this season.


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[D.Brasco]

Yes. And

• It's a good thing for the NBA
• It doesn't mean the US product has gotten worse, it just means that the international players have gotten better

It's essentially a biproduct of the NBA becoming global.

My guess is that in a decade or so time, the US will be the equivalent of what Brazil is to soccer. A big nation with the biggest population, which will be a favorite but not always necessarily the best at basketball.
Countries like France, Serbia will be like larger European counties in Fifa - no one will be surprised if they win, but they might not always be among the favorites every decade.
And countries like Slovenia will be like the smaller European and South American fifa countries (Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Uruguay etc.) Dark horse

Don't forget Canada, which is producing a lot of basketball talent now as well.

[Slade3]

Yes international players are dominating the MVP award....and you still have Doncic who is bound to win it, and then Wemby on the come up. And Jokic still isn't even done he's only 28 years old, his style of play will give him an extended prime.

America's main hope is Edwards which is why they're pushing so hard for him to be the face of the NBA, while ignoring the current 3x MVP.

Jokic is 29.