Scottie Pippen didn’t mean to sound harsh. But the truth rarely comes sugar-coated. In a recent interview with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, the six-time NBA champion voiced a concern that many basketball purists and front office executives have been murmuring for years:
“A lot of Americans have lost jobs because we haven’t mastered the advantage of shooting the ball like our European counterparts.”
That single sentence encapsulates a quiet revolution in the NBA—a shift from American athleticism to international efficiency. While the U.S. once produced the bulk of the league’s dominant scorers, rim attackers, and iso savants, the global game has crept in and taken over with one foundational weapon: the jump shot.
In today’s NBA, it’s not enough to leap high or defend hard. If you can’t shoot, you can’t survive.
Pippen’s concern is backed by trends: over the last seven seasons, every NBA MVP has been born outside of the United States: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), Nikola Jokic (Serbia), Joel Embiid (Cameroon), and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada) have each owned the league’s biggest individual prize.
Even looking forward, names like Luka Doncic (Slovenia) and Victor Wembanyama (France) headline MVP discussions. An American-born player might not win the award again until 2030. We predicted two years ago, European players would dominate the NBA and that an American-born player would have to wait for a while to win one.
These international stars have one thing in common: Polish.
From shooting mechanics and footwork to decision-making and off-ball movement, their game is shaped by repetition and efficiency rather than flair.
Jokic doesn’t need to jump over you; he’ll shoot over you. Luka doesn’t beat you with speed; he beats you with angles. Wembanyama? He’s 7’4″ and shoots like a guard.
Pippen’s point also brings into focus the best international shooters the NBA has seen. Dirk Nowitzki, arguably the most iconic European shooter ever, changed the power forward position forever with his one-legged fadeaway. Peja Stojakovic, Bojan Bogdanovic, Danilo Gallinari, and Lauri Markkanen further cemented the notion that Europe produces floor-spacers.
Even now, players like Franz Wagner, Kristaps Porzingis, and Bilal Coulibaly enter the league with already fluid mechanics and high shot IQ.
Contrast that with the U.S., where many athletic prospects struggle to develop a reliable jumper. Of course, America still boasts some of the game’s best shooters, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, Devin Booker, and Klay Thompson remain elite.
But Curry is more the exception than the rule. For every American guard who lights it up from deep, there’s another who’s still trying to find consistency.
Pippen’s words are not a condemnation; they’re a wake-up call. AAU circuits, high school mixtapes, and college systems often prioritize spectacle over substance. International players, meanwhile, learn the basics first and the flash later. They play professionally in their teens. They’re coached by tacticians, not recruiters. That matters.
It’s not that the U.S. lacks talent. But the global takeover is real, and Pippen sees it clearly: if the shot doesn’t come first, the roster spot might not come at all.
