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NBA All-Time vs. Foreign-Born All-Time: A Real World Series

All this commentary about Paul Pierce’s self-ranking, the Redeem Team’s mission in Beijing, and NBA defections to Europe has inspired me to select rosters of the dozen all-time greatest NBA/ABA performers, to see if an all-time international unit would stack up well against them. A decade ago, the very idea would have been preposterous. Today, as more international players figure in NBA All-Star Game balloting, it’s interesting to see how far the best of the rest have come. Bear in mind these lists represent place of birth, so some of the international dozen moved as youth, or became American citizens. FWIW- Kobe Bryant was born in The States. Within each squad, the players are not listed here by rank or relative merit, but by position. Therefore, in no particular order, my all-time World Series of Basketball rosters:

ALL-USA

C Bill Russell, NBA- Leadership, big game focus, the ultimate defensive stopper.

F Larry Bird, NBA- Ballhandling ability, great court vision, deep shooter

F Elgin Baylor, NBA- Creative, tremendous rebounder, averaged more than 34 ppg. three times

G Michael Jordan, NBA- Clutch performer, long defender, explosive scorer

G Oscar Roberston, NBA- Savvy passer, averaged 30 ppg and 10 rpg, 10 apg for six yrs.

F Julius Erving, ABA/NBA- Attacks basket, long striding, underrated passer and handler

G Jerry West, NBA- tenacious defender, big game shooter, stops on dime

C Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBA- six titles, unstoppable in prime, durable on both ends

G Earvin Johnson, NBA- impossible matchup, genius passer, dictates to defense

F Karl Malone, NBA- mammoth presence, consistent shooter, finisher

G Isiah Thomas, NBA- quicksilver, tough as nails, winner at every level

C Wilt Chamberlain, NBA- Herculean, inside-outside game, never tires

ALL-WORLD

C- Hakeem Olajuwon, NBA/Nigeria- 100 moves, great shot blocker, smart passer

F- Dirk Nowitzki, NBA/Germany- verstatile scorer, good handles, tough to match up

F- Tim Duncan, NBA/Virgin Islands- inside/outside game, top defender, heady player

G- Steve Nash, NBA/South Africa-Canada- cat-quick, great distributor, huge motor

G- Drazen Petrovic, NBA/Crotia- dynamic shooter, pro cred, zone buster

G- Butch Lee, NBA/Puerto Rico- great penetrator, streetball chops, NCAA champ

F- Oscar Schmidt, Brazil- unflappable, ageless, long range sniper with size

C- Pat Ewing, NBA/Jamaica- lane defender, steady jumpshooter, runs floor well

G- Sarunas Marciulionis, NBA/Lithuania- big guard, determined scorer, pro/world rep

C- Arvydas Sabonis, NBA/Lithuania- passing wiz, adds inside depth, phenom in prime

F- Kresmir Cosic, Yugoslavia- BYU star, international legend, confident scorer

C- Yao Ming, NBA/China- Another big to face Russell, Wilt and Kareem

Intriguing contest. The U.S. has the defensive advantage, particularly in transition, and both teams boast giants who can pass. Under international rules, however, we know movement away from the basketball, well-timed passes and cohesiveness trump dunks (see last two Olympic Games). The Yanks have the versatile types to overcome the usual translation problem between the NBA and FIBA game style. Were this a post ‘96 US-World All-Star faceoff, I’d give the backdoor-cutting internationals the edge (and no, Carmelo Anthony was not born in Puerto Rico). With the teams I selected, the World’s best shot would be to alternate a tiny Nash-Lee backcourt, fearless and attacking, with a larger Marciulionis-Petrovic tandem, unguardable from the perimeter. Duncan, Ewing and Hakeem would have to play Wilt, Russ and Kareem almost even for the game to be competitive. FIBA rules allow plenty contact.

Yao wouldn’t get much burn against those NBA Top 50 types, but he’s suited up to draw a giant away from the basket in a pinch. Hakeem, Sabonis and Duncan feed cutting teammates better than the American pivots- could Oscar (the Brazilian one, not “The Big O”) and his deadeye mates sink enough shots off screens to down the Hall of Famers? A best-of-seven series would tell. Most American  fans never peeped Schmidt or Sabonis at their respective bests, but the same could be said of “Doc”.

Here’s a major distinction- the indefatigable will shared by Russell and Jordan. While it’s fun to speculate, there are two major points. Prior to 1988, U.S. Olympic teams, limited primarily to collegians and industrial (the old AAU- Phillips 66′ers, Akron Goodyears, Peoria Caterpillars) players, were rarely even challenged by an Olympic or Pan Am Games opponent. The Yugoslavs, Puerto Ricans (led by “Butch” Lee) and Brazilians put up the occasional stern test. The world has bridged the gap somewhat, even though the Olympics now allow American pros. Of course, pre-’88 national teams from Europe and the Caribbean featured adult professionals. History is on the American side, but recent history favors a mix of shooters, passers and bangers whose strengths are suited to international rules.

BCB

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 7th, 2008 at 4:31 pm and is filed under NBA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.