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White boys can't jump

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On an entirely different topic, it has been interesting following the NBA playoffs.  Many of the teams have Eastern European players, the most prominent being Nikola Jokic and Luka Dončic.  It has changed the face of the league with some of the NBA old guard not too happy about it.  Gilbert Arenas has been one of the most vocals critics, saying that these players get entirely too much credit.  He has taken a particular dislike to Jokic, who won MVP two years in a row before leading Denver to an NBA championship last year.  Arenas called Jokic "the worst MVP ever."

The frustration was compounded when the US failed to medal in the FIBA World Championships last year.  Team USA lost not once but three times, starting with Lithuania in the first round of bracket play.  It wasn't like the American team lacked for star power.  It was led by Anthony Edwards, Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Haliburton, but lacking a big man they proved no match for the bigger European teams.  In response, Team USA has vowed to avenge this ignominious loss in the Olympics by bringing all its big guns, including LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant.  Ironically, their teams all lost in the first round of the NBA playoffs, whereas Edwards, Brunson and Haliburton are still playing.

On the surface you can't help but notice the racial stereotyping here as the Europeans that Arenas has gone after are all white.  He doesn't attack Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is from Greece, or Viktor Wembanyama, who is from France.  I suppose he doesn't regard them as European.  

However, it seems to be something deeper.  We've gotten used to the great athleticism in the league.  To see a guy like Jokic, with what can only be described as a Dad bod, lofting moon balls over his opponents and tallying triple doubles on a constant basis must be particularly hard to take.  Why can't anyone stop him?  Surely, Shaq or some other glorious center from the past wouldn't put up with this nonsense.  However, Shaq is a big fan of Jokic.

Dončic is not particularly buff either, but he is quicker and jumps better than Jokic, and so he is generally given a pass.  Domantas Sabonis, who set a record this season for most consecutive double-doubles, also looks more athletic, but he too has faced a lot of criticism.  Fellow NBA players ranked him as one of the most overrated players in the league.  I guess it didn't help that his Sacramento team got booted in the play-in round.

Nevertheless, these players are good and are commanding big contracts in the NBA.  They have also boosted television ratings by expanding the NBA viewing audience to European countries.  None of the NBA brass is complaining.

It wasn't that long ago that the European leagues actively courted former NBA players to their rosters.  It got to the point that FIBA put a cap of two Americans on any one club team, so that its leagues didn't become an NBA minor league.  Back in 1998, the Lithuanian club Kauno Žalgiris won the EuroLeague championship, thanks to the leadership of Tyus Edney, who was named MVP.  He became a national hero but was too expensive for club owners so he shopped his talents elsewhere.

You will still find American faces in the European leagues but they no longer play such dominant roles.  Instead, NBA teams actively shop the European clubs for rising talent and draft their young players.  Dončic started out at Real Madrid as a teenager before being drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in 2018. There is no high school or college basketball over here, so players earn their chops on club basketball teams at a young age. The Slovenian shooting guard is only 25 and is now one of the dominant players in the NBA, with Dallas on the verge of knocking the Clippers out of the playoffs.

However, the NBA has long shopped for European players.  Vlade Divac, Rik Smits and Arvydas Sabonis immediately come to mind.  Mostly, they were role players so no one gave them much credit.  However, they set the groundwork for the wave of European players we see today in the NBA - a staggering 64 players, 14 from France alone.  Viktor Wembanyama is currently the hottest property - a 7'-4" center who has both speed and agility and can shoot from the outside as well as most shooting guards.

I suppose if you are an American player like Arenas, you worry that your fellow countrymen are being pushed out.  Will the NBA put a cap on European players?  It's doubtful as the league has too much to gain from all the interest these players have created in the game worldwide.  Not just in Europe but Africa and Asia as well.  After all, Giannis and Viktor were born to Nigerian and Congolese parents respectively. 

However, the star of the moment remains the Serbian giant - Nikola Jokic.  His amazing skills and laconic nature are a huge fan favorite and gives Dads everywhere the vicarious thrill of playing in the big leagues even if Jokic is far more athletic and tougher than he looks.  He has no problem running up and down the court, helping to lead Denver back in each of its games against the Lakers, as we watched the much more buff LeBron James and Anthony Davis literally run out of gas in the closing minutes.  Don't be fooled, Jokic is a stud.

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