The Europeans looking to dominate NBA
The invasion of European players onto the NBA scene hasn’t exactly been a revolution over past decades in the league, but year-on-year, more and more players take the trip across the pond to play prime time ball in the US.
Arguably, it’s more surprising that more guys haven’t been able to enjoy much longevity in the NBA after coming from Europe. Basketball in England alone is growing in participation every year, even after UK Sport’s continuous attempts to bury it in the ground with ever-decreasing funding; basketball remains the second most played sport in school across Britain.
As the sport continues to grow at home and around Europe, many youngsters this year from the continent will be looking to grow their reputation in the league. We all know guys like Dirk, Parker and Deng putting up all star seasons each year but here’s some players who’ll be looking to take that next step and establish themselves in the league this season, some of them wanting to establish themselves as new stars in the league.
Jonas Valančiūnas (C) – Toronto Raptors
Jonas was picked fifth by the Raptors in the 2011 NBA Draft but Toronto decided to let him mature for one more year in his native Lithuania before bringing him over to Canada. His first season however was a relative disappointment against the potential he had going in to the season.
Centers in the NBA do take 3+ years to mature and physically develop generally however due to the position requiring a constant balance of good offensive AND defensive numbers that no other position on the court demands.
Valančiūnas still managed over the course of the season to grab 6 boards a game while averaging 9 points and a block in the 23 minutes on the court he averaged, this was enough to merit and place in the All-NBA Second Team. One or two injuries also played their part in his season, neck and back troubles limited his season to 60 games.
A big factor in the season gone by was the trade that brought Rudy Gay to Toronto which almost certainly cost Jonas some possessions on attacking plays. So what makes next season look so promising?
Like I said earlier a center just needs time to develop physically, Valančiūnas will put on muscle weight over the summer along with now having a full season of experience to take in to the Raptors’ opener at home to the Celtics on October 30th.
Don’t expect an all-star call up this season but he will play significantly more minutes with less competition at center. The signs for potential stardom are promising for Valančiūnas after being named MVP of the Summer League as well as FIBA young player of the year for a second time already in his short basketball career.
Ricky Rubio (PG) – Minnesota Timberwolves
In 2009, Ricky was chosen fifth in a loaded 1st round; due to his age however he had to ply his trade in the Spanish league with Barcelona before making the trip over to suit up for the Timberwolves. Rubio is an extremely talented Point Guard. The young Spaniard has proved that when paired with another elite player in Minnesota (Kevin Love) and a talented big man (Pekovic) he can pass his team’s way above .500% in the win column.
Setbacks have left him with a lot still to prove in the league though. Kevin Love never seems to stay healthy long enough to pair up with Rubio and provide Minnesota with reliable offence (and defence for that matter with Love’s rebounding numbers.) The biggest pitfall of Rubio’s short NBA career was during a loss to the LA Lakers in March of 2012. He was pivoting on his standing foot ready to make a run to the rim when he tore his ACL, the same injury that plagued RGIII and D-Rose over the past 18 months. This put him out for the entire season although he still managed to come 2nd in the rookie of the year voting behind all star Kyrie Irving.
As I say, Rubio still has to prove himself, 12 months away from a possible contract extension puts extra pressure on his individual play not just his ability to pass the ball around. Averaging just over 10ppg and close to 8apg are solid numbers, but one of the two need to rise for him to show he has all star potential. Hopefully an injury free season for the Minnesota Timberwolves will help the 2X rising star and all rookie first team player prove that.
Nikola Pekovic (C) – Minnesota Timberwolves
2012/13 was a major breakthrough year for Pekovic putting up numbers that easily makes the Montenegrin one of the top five centers in the league, and potentially a 2014 all star considering he keeps his performance level up next season wherever he may be.
Pekovic started out his career playing across numerous countries throughout Europe, achieving most of his success with back to back Greek titles for Panathanaikos where his play was picked up on by the Timberwolves who gave him a 3-year, $10m contract, a steal taking into account his production over the past two seasons.
His first season in the league didn’t exactly warrant being put on any sort of top 5 list but what we saw in his 2nd and 3rd year did. In his rookie season aged 24 he averaged just 5ppg and 14mpg, just a rotation player, he showed tenacity at the board but lacked the killer instinct to finish at the rim.
In 2012/13, he started every one of the 62 games he played in, averaging 31mpg grabbing 9 boards and showing a low post attacking game averaging nearly 17ppg. These numbers will continue to rise as long as he stays injury free.
Currently however, he is a restricted free agent, easily worth a 4-year $50m deal. Nobody has stumped up the cash as of yet, a shocking move on the part of most head offices with cap space but with a loaded draft class coming up the potential to change the face of a franchise in a year’s time is making a lot of GM’s anxious to do any business this summer (not including Brooklyn or the weird situation going on in Motor City).
Marc Gasol (C) – Memphis Grizzlies
Not often does a 48th pick in the NBA draft end up becoming an all star, but Marc Gasol has shown that by personifying the Memphis ‘grinding out’ style and that it can reap rewards for you and your team.
Coming into the league with the shadow cast down from his already successful two time champion Pau in the bright lights of LA. Marc found himself in a very different basketballing world. Memphis have worked their way up from the ground to become championship contenders, not through fantastic individual play, but through a whole roster working together to create a unit tough to take down.
Gasol himself, not only made the all star team in 2012, but a stellar defensive year earned him a place in the All-NBA Defensive 1st team in 2013. He has a chance at being defensive player of the year next season as well as being an All-NBA 1st team member. Here’s why.
Not only is he a man who prides himself on defence (9 boards, a steal and two blocks a game) and gives his team a great big man presence, but he also put up impressive offensive statistics. 14 Points a game with a .842 Free throw percentage as well as showing a good IQ with four assists as well. Gasol has come out of the shadow’s and placed himself firmly at number one not just in his family tree but as the number one big man in the whole of the NBA.
European imports are becoming a more typical sight in the NBA especially among Central and Eastern European countries that have strong domestic leagues and play in the Euroleague. Guys like Gallinari, D-Mot, Fournier, Ibaka and countless other players are still young and looking to make a name for themselves on top of contributing to their team.
