The NBA has become a truly global sport over the years, and we have seen an influx of international stars join the league over the years. In fact, a lot of the best players in the league are from overseas, with Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo notably being one of them.
Recently, Giannis Antetokounmpo got real on the international growth of the NBA. He claimed that it has been “incredible”, noting that it was a lot harder to be an international franchise player when he first came into the league.
I asked Giannis about international basketball & being the face of the NBA:
“I don't believe being the face of the NBA makes you play better or worse… When it’s all said & done, I wanna say ‘hasta luego, kisses, bye-bye’ & I’ll be on a tropical island”
pic.twitter.com/LguUxhSTmv
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) February 11, 2023
It’s been incredible. Doesn’t really matter where you’re from right now. Guys can come and compete. Guys can win games. Guys can carry teams… You can be a franchise player… When I came in 10 years ago… there was only Dirk… Now it’s way more. From Luka, From Jokic, From Embiid, From Siakam, Me, Gobert, Both Bogdanovic… Guys are stepping up and helping the team win in the best way possible. People before us set the path for us… We have to set the path for the next generation.
The international nature of the game has resulted in a huge talent boom in the league. There is no doubt that we have seen MVP-level players like Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic really step up and dominate in the NBA, and hopefully, we see the league continue to grow in that area.
Luka Doncic Believes International Players Get More Respect Today
Previously, Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic expressed his belief that international players today get “more respect” than they used to in the past. He noted that there are a lot of “really good” international players in the league, and people like to “enjoy great basketball players”.
“I think we probably get more respect than we used to. You have a lot of international players that are really good and people enjoy great basketball players. It doesn’t matter from where you are. They just enjoy.”
There is no doubt that international players being able to compete at the highest level and become franchise players has caused a lot more respect for them in the NBA sphere. The game will continue to get better the more talented players there are in the NBA and a large amount of the incoming talent will likely be international.
Though a lot of international players hail from Europe, perhaps we will see more talent from other continents enter the league. It is inevitable that this happens as the game keeps growing worldwide, and the league develops outreach programs all over the globe.
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