When Steve Nash and Blake Griffin talk about player development, it lands differently. Neither is guessing. Both lived it, just through very different systems. On NBA on Prime, the two offered a blunt diagnosis of why Europe keeps producing fully formed basketball players while the United States keeps producing raw, unfinished ones.
Nash went straight to the foundation.
“It’s pay to play in the States. You know, capitalism is wonderful, but it’s not great for player development. In Europe, to play, it’s free. You go to your local club. It’s subsidized, more or less, mostly by the community. So there are no hidden motives. There’s no ‘we have to win or the kid is leaving for the next club.’ Everyone is there for the long term, to develop.”
“And I think what you get from that is coaches. There are thousands of amazing coaches in the United States. It’s not like great coaching only exists in Europe. But over there, they have a structure where you generally stick with your coaches, and you learn to play the game the right way, under the right pretenses.”
:Here, it’s been totally commercialized. It makes it really hard for coaches to get their hands on a program or a kid and say, ‘We are going to develop you the right way, as a group, to play skill basketball, team basketball, and learn to play a variety of ways.’”
“Over here, it’s very much like Swin said: get in your bag, learn skills. Some skills coach is charging you by the hour at the park, whatever it is. It’s gotten out of hand. Unfortunately, I don’t want to take money out of anyone’s pockets, but it makes the structure really difficult to teach kids to play the long game.”
Griffin picked up exactly where Nash left off.
“I think the U.S. did a good job of sort of bridging that gap and developing its players skill-wise, but at the same time, Europe does a great job of teaching basketball, the game of basketball, how you play, how you space, how you win, how you move.”
“So I think that now I’m a little bit frustrated when I go watch younger teams play. It’s five out, you know, you’re playing zone on both ends of the floor, miss or make, and five out is great, but you know, it’s not NBA players. You don’t have to space all the way to the three-point line.”
“So I think it has to be both. It has to be all encompassing, teach everything about the game, and Europe has that right.”
Both were careful to stress that this is not a Europe-versus-America argument. It is not about choosing creativity over structure or freedom over discipline. The answer is balance. Individual skill matters. Shot-making matters. Ball-handling matters. But those skills need to live inside a system that teaches reading the floor, making the right play, and understanding how winning basketball actually works over time.
Right now, Europe has that balance. The United States, despite all its resources, does not. The problem is not talent. It is alignment.
And the proof is no longer theoretical. It is playing out every night in the NBA.
Before 2000, European-born players were novelties. They combined for just four All-Star selections, two All-NBA selections, and zero MVP awards.
From 2000 to 2014, that gap began to close. European players earned 31 All-Star selections, 22 All-NBA selections, and one MVP. The league was adjusting.
Since 2015, the shift has been undeniable. European players have collected 37 All-Star selections, 27 All-NBA selections, and five MVP awards. This is not a phase. It is a takeover.
Look at the league right now. Four of the five best players on the planet are European-born: Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, and Victor Wembanyama. These are not just stars. They are system-breakers. Players who force defenses, coaches, and entire rosters to adapt around them.
All four were developed in environments that prioritized reading the game, understanding spacing, and playing within a team concept long before chasing highlights.
There has not been an American-born MVP since James Harden won the award in 2018. That is seven straight seasons without one, and realistically, that streak is not ending soon. Jokic, Giannis, Luka, and Wembanyama are positioned to control the award for years. More are already coming behind them.
That is the warning Nash and Griffin were sounding. When development becomes about exposure instead of teaching, when youth basketball turns into a marketplace instead of a classroom, ceilings drop. The United States still produces elite athletes. Europe is producing elite basketball players.
Until American development slows down, re-centers itself, and puts the game ahead of the business around it, the gap will keep growing. And the next generation of superstars will keep arriving from places where patience, structure, and understanding the game still come first.
