Former NBA star Xavier McDaniel has claimed that the league changed the rules in order to make it easier for overseas players. McDaniel made an appearance recently on the No Nonsense With Tim Thomas and Scoop B Podcast, where he spoke on what he doesn’t like about today’s NBA.
“What I don’t like about the game…all the rule changes in the NBA are set up for European players, and the players in Africa, the players in China, when they come over here,” McDaniel said. “I’ve been telling people, it’s more money in the world than in the United States, so what better way to have guys like the Greek Freak, (Joel) Embiid, who is from Cameroon, Luka Doncic, fabulous player too, not to take nothing away from them.”
(starts at 2:22 mark):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLtflwsOHak
That’s an interesting take from McDaniel. He pointed to his days in the league when the game was more physical and players could get away with more, and clearly thinks overseas players wouldn’t have been able to deal with it.
McDaniel himself was known for his physical style of play and tried to intimidate his opponents. Someone like him certainly would have had a hard time playing in today’s NBA, as he would have been ejected on a fairly consistent basis.
McDaniel would end up having a fine career in his day, as he played 12 seasons in the NBA, in which he averaged 15.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. He made the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 1986 and was an All-Star in 1988.
As for the rule changes, I don’t think it was about the European players. The NBA wanted more offense and scoring in order to make the game more appealing to casual fans. As much as basketball purists may be offended by it, the casual fan would much rather watch a game that finishes 120-117 than one that ends 80-77.
It is why scoring has gone up in leagues like the NFL as well and they certainly haven’t made changes for Europeans, Africans, or whoever else.
Gilbert Arenas Also Feels Rules Were Changed For European Players
There is one other former player who does agree with McDaniel, Gilbert Arenas. Arenas took a shot at European players by stating the rules were softened up for them.
“The NBA took away aggression to open up the Euro league,” said Arenas. “When they first started getting here, it was too rough for them and they didn’t make it. So eventually they softened the rules to open up international… so when they say that Euros will run the league in the next five years, why do you think that? This is not our league this is not the American style. This is the Euro style. Drive in, suck the defense in, kick the ball to the three-point line. It’s a three-point shooting league because they’re copying Eurostyle.”
I wouldn’t be surprised if there are other former players who do agree with McDaniel and Arenas. A lot of them aren’t fans of the way the game is played today and it would be easy to just dump the blame on overseas players.
Arenas even blamed European players for poor defense in the NBA. He claimed that you learn how to play defense in college, which these Europeans did not attend.
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