# Best International NBA "Could've Been"



## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

What international player could've made the biggest impact on the NBA if circumstances were different (and how good an NBA player could that person have been)? The guy might never have come or might have come but had bad luck in some way (unsympathetic coach, bad system, injuries, etc.).

*DISQUALIFIED*: Arvydas Sabonis, because it's too obvious. Had he never gotten hurt and been able to come over in the late 80s, I think anyone would admit he would've been a perennial All-Star.


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## HB (May 1, 2004)

I am surprised you didnt have Drazen on there. If not for the accident, he could have been a very successful NBA player


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## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

HB said:


> I am surprised you didnt have Drazen on there. If not for the accident, he could have been a very successful NBA player


I figured he was a very successful player (as was Arvydas despite how much better he could've been). So I figured the same about Drazen--he was already a 20ppg scorer. I was thinking it would be more fun to pick from among guys with no or limited chances. But Drazen was great, no doubt. That mid-90s Nets team was fun. Kenny Anderson, Derrick Coleman, Drazen, etc.


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## HB (May 1, 2004)

Good point, I see what you mean


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## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

All right, I voted (in an attempt to stimulate this thread). I chose Dejan Bodiroga. I think that the Kings, who drafted him in the 2nd round in 1995 and who own his NBA rights to this day, would have been the perfect team for him, considering their ball-movement based style of play. Bodiroga primarily would have played the three off the bench, and been a great facilitator. He isn't exceptionally quick by any standards, but lack of athleticism can be minimized in that kind of a system based on passing and movement without the ball. 

When I've seen him play in WCs and such events, I've been amazed at his intelligence: he has one of the highest basketball IQs I've ever seen.

By no means could Bodiroga have been an All-Star. But I think he could have played major minutes on those good Kings teams, both backing and playing alongside Stojakovic. He may have been able to average about 9 ppg, 6 rpg, 3.5 apg and just been a flat-out winner (as he has always been, everywhere). And so _maybe_ the Kings would have actually won one somewhere in those years.


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

Since Sabonis was disqualified, I went with Katash, who came thisclose around the NBA strike season. The other name that comes to mind is Oscar Schmidt.


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## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

Krstic All Star said:


> The other name that comes to mind is Oscar Schmidt.


VERY true. I can't believe I forgot him. I'm sure he'd have been a good scorer in the NBA; maybe not quite the star he was internationally, but a starter and productive player.


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## Rule_By_His_Own_Hand (Jun 20, 2006)

Spanoulis or Galis and it's not even close.


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

^ Even over Schmidt?


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

Krstic All Star said:


> ^ Even over Schmidt?


I read that and thought 'yeh I influenced him woo' then I peeled up through the thread and realised you were enlightened before I came along. Darn, need to work on finding international obscurities a little harder :yay:

Good thread, I also went with Bodiroga just like Luther. He wasn't the most flash but would have definately been solid in the league somewhat like Garbojosa but slighlty better in my mind.


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## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

Rule_By_His_Own_Hand said:


> Spanoulis or Galis and it's not even close.


I think it's not even close that neither one of these would be anywhere near the best. Galis was a fully known quantity after playing college ball at Seton Hall, but still only was a 4th round draft choice and never did make the NBA. I think he was a classic tweener guard who probably lacked the athleticism for the NBA. And as for Spanoulis, he was admittedly mis- and under-used in Houston. But while he is NBA-caliber, he'd be a role player because of his limited playmaking, perimeter defense and outside shooting. He's best-suited as a guard off the bench who comes in and wreaks havoc with his penetration and penetration-and-dish ability.


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## Baracuda (Jan 10, 2007)

Oscar!


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## starvydas (Jul 16, 2002)

luther said:


> All right, I voted (in an attempt to stimulate this thread). I chose Dejan Bodiroga. I think that the Kings, who drafted him in the 2nd round in 1995 and who own his NBA rights to this day, would have been the perfect team for him, considering their ball-movement based style of play. Bodiroga primarily would have played the three off the bench, and been a great facilitator. He isn't exceptionally quick by any standards, but lack of athleticism can be minimized in that kind of a system based on passing and movement without the ball.
> 
> When I've seen him play in WCs and such events, I've been amazed at his intelligence: he has one of the highest basketball IQs I've ever seen.
> 
> By no means could Bodiroga have been an All-Star. But I think he could have played major minutes on those good Kings teams, both backing and playing alongside Stojakovic. He may have been able to average about 9 ppg, 6 rpg, 3.5 apg and just been a flat-out winner (as he has always been, everywhere). And so _maybe_ the Kings would have actually won one somewhere in those years.


Very well said Luther, I voted for Bodiroga too. He could have been what Boris Diaw was to the Phoenix Suns two years ago, a multiple-threat type of player (either coming off the bench or not). I actually think Bodiroga has a better skillset in terms of ballhandling and shooting and maybe even passing, but I would say he was still one of the last "old school" Euro, who I would think could have been quikcly labelled "another soft unathletic Euro". Let's face it, Bodiroga is not known for his strong finishes on the break but for his game-winnning decisions.

Another player you might want to add on your list and who is quite unknown these days is Kresimir Cosic (1948-1995) from Zadar, Croatia who was the first ever then-Yougoslav drafted and was a two-time All American at Brigham Young University in 1972-1973. 

Cosic can be considered the best Yougoslavian player ever, along with Drazen Petrovic and Radivoj Korac. He dominated Europen basketball for 15 years whether with his professional club or national team. He was seen in Europe in the early 1970s as the first (white) European player who could really compete with the (black) American players, which obviously earned him much respect and helped him have a sucessful coaching career after his playing days. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kresimir_Cosic

^^ The Wikipedia article shows this man also had a fulfilling life outside of basketball


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## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

starvydas said:


> ... I would say he was still one of the last "old school" Euro, who I would think could have been quikcly labelled "another soft unathletic Euro". Let's face it, Bodiroga is not known for his strong finishes on the break but for his game-winnning decisions.


That might be true. But you know, people are turning toward that style of play now in the NBA because, frankly, _it's more fun to watch_. The '90s, thank god, are long-since over, and NBA teams have been reinvigorated by the old Kings and recent years' Suns, Raptors, Sonics, Nets, Magic, Hornets and other teams who, at some point in recent years, have at one time or another gone to a running game again. 

There is nothing less exciting than watching players whose only interest is individually breaking down their defenders. Sure, you can get some great AI crossovers. But far more often, you get somebody overdribbling and hoisting a bad shot, or backing his man down and putting up some soft turnaround. Give me four men without the ball cutting anyday, with everyone looking for the cutters. Give me intelligence, skills. I'll take it over athleticism because it makes for a higher scoring, more entertaining game. If I just wanted to watch the best athletes, I'd go to the pre-draft camps and watch them run and jump.


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