ESPN (DR) / The Ringer (DR)
By Joël Pütz | Sports journalist
Victor Wembanyama has illustrated this well in recent months, European basketball players are stronger than ever, especially in the NBA. The sulphurous polemicist Stephen A. Smith did not mince his words on the subject a few months ago.
Who will be the next face of the NBA ? No offense to American fans, there is a good chance that the latter comes from Europe or the rest of the world. While LeBron James, Stephen Curry and even Kevin Durant are getting closer to retirement, the vast majority of the main stars of the moment were not born in the United States.
You just have to look at the last MVP winners to realize that. Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo have five between them since 2019; as for Joel Embiid and even if he is now a member of Team USA, he obtained his trophy before his naturalization. And that’s without mentioning potential candidates for the award like Luka Doncic or, in a few years perhaps, Victor Wembanyama.
The biggest phenomenon of the moment in the world of the orange ball, drafted in first position a little over a year ago by the Spurs, the Frenchman embodies a good part of the hopes in France. Once again, we are talking about a player from the FIBA system, who was developed in France instead of going through the university box, as was necessary for a long time before making his way to the NBA.
Stephen A. Smith bluntly on international basketball players
Unsurprisingly, such a development has not escaped the attention of the main American observers, even if Jayson Tatum and other Anthony Edwards have the potential to be monsters on the floor. Some time ago, polemicist Stephen A. Smith did not mince his words on the subject during his appearance on the Dan Patrick Show :
When you see some of the great players that come from Europe, the fact that they play the right way, you realize that a lot of guys in the United States only think about dunking. This is why, whether it is their footwork, their hands, their basketball IQ, whether it is Jokic or Luka of course, Wembanyama who arrives from France, there is an art to the game that we have underestimated for far too long. They seem to have the upper hand with these guys.
Do players really learn to play basketball? In Europe, you don’t hear that often. They play at a very young age, they are taught the fundamentals of the game, they know how to play, not just as spectacular individual players, but also as members of a team, a little more than what the we are willing to grant them.
If he is not often the most complimentary towards European basketball players, even Stephen A. Smith cannot deny their rise in recent years. The United States must prepare: the next face of the NBA may not be American…
