Hall of Famer Vlade Divac never quite became a superstar in the NBA, but he has gone down as one of the finest international players of all time. So, it was only fitting that when Divac appeared on Byron Scott’s Fast Break podcast, he was asked to share his list of the five greatest international players ever.
“Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Drazen Petrovic, Arvydas Sabonis,” Divac said.
Divac hilariously said those four are enough to beat anybody. Scott insisted, though, that he name a fifth. After some deliberation, Divac went with Peja Stojakovic. That’s a pretty good list, but there are some obvious omissions here. We’ll get to them after looking at these five.
Nikola Jokic has won one NBA title, one Finals MVP, three MVPs, one assists title, and one rebounding title in his career so far. Jokic averaged a triple-double this season and also in the last one, but Divac didn’t need to see that to recognize his greatness. He called the Denver Nuggets superstar the greatest European player ever in 2024.
We get to Luka Doncic next, and he has won two scoring titles so far. While Doncic doesn’t have a championship or an MVP, he has been one of the best players in the NBA for years now. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar has made the All-NBA First Team six times and is a bona fide superstar.
Doncic was also shining on the court before he got to the NBA. He led Real Madrid to the EuroLeague title in 2018 and was named MVP for his exploits. Doncic remains the youngest winner of the award at just 19. You’d imagine it’s only a matter of time before the Slovenian wins the ultimate prize in the NBA.
Speaking of players having success before getting to the NBA, Arvydas Sabonis falls into that category. Sabonis spent the best years of his career in Europe.
Sabonis won three USSR league titles, two ACB league titles, one FIBA Club World Cup, and one FIBA European League (EuroLeague). He was named Euroscar Player of the Year six times and was crowned EuroBasket MVP in 1995. Sabonis also led the Soviet Union to the gold medal at the 1988 Olympics. He was a special talent.
Sabonis only came over to the NBA in 1995 at the age of 30. Injuries had already slowed him down a bit by then, but he still did well in his seven seasons, averaging 12.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Divac believes Sabonis would be mentioned alongside Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird today had he gone to the NBA earlier.
Drazen Petrovic is another who joined the NBA later in his career, but not as late as Sabonis. Petrovic notably won two EuroLeague titles in 1985 and 1986. He was named Euroscar Player of the Year four times, won the FIBA World Championship MVP in 1986, and EuroBasket MVP in 1989.
Petrovic looked set to become a star in the NBA as well after a slow start, but lost his life in a car accident in 1993. He had made the All-NBA Third Team in his final NBA season, 1992-93, by averaging 22.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game.
Lastly, we get to Stojakovic, who won a championship in the NBA in 2011. He also finished fourth in MVP voting in 2004 and made three All-Star teams in total. As for the international stage, Stojakovic was named EuroBasket MVP in 2001.
So, all of these five are/were very good players. There are a couple of others, though, who have very strong cases for the top five.
Hakeem Olajuwon is one of the first names that come to mind. Olajuwon won two titles, two Finals MVPs, one MVP, and two DPOYs in the NBA. He led the league in rebounding twice and blocks thrice. He might just be the greatest international player of all time.
There are also other NBA MVPs we can point to, in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, and Joel Embiid. You can’t really argue with anyone who puts them in there.
Victor Wembanyama will soon have a strong case, too, with the way he’s going. Wembanyama, the 2026 DPOY, is already in the NBA Finals in just his third season, and it’s only a matter of time before he starts racking up major accolades.
