# Is there a 'Euro style?'



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

In past years, there was the perception that there was a real 'European style' of play, characterized by being fundamentally sound offensively, but weak defensively. While Euroleague certainly plays differently than the NBA, is it still accurate to say that Euros have a certain and distinct style, as opposed to Americans? I'm not sure anymore myself.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

Honestly, I believe they are pretty similar. 

Ofcourse some teams have different styles of play but on the whole (with the increase of shooters in the NBA) there isn't much difference. The obvious is that NBA looks different because the players skill levels are higher and the players are more athletic, but euroleague has an abundance of slashers and big time dunkers aswell. 

The interior game of the NBA is far far better than that of its European counterparts which is noticeable in even just the players with most PF in the NBA being African-American. 

I even think tactically European basketball may be a notch above the NBA which is often the reason we out-do the Americans come championship time :biggrin:


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## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

The biggest difference in my opinion isn't so much quality of offense v. defense, but points of emphasis throughout players' development. Traditionally, European players seem better skilled across the board. That is, power forwards and centers work on ball-handling, outside shooting, facing up, driving, etc., more than Americans have traditionally done. But that has changed in more recent years as more American bigs want to move outside, patterned somewhat after KG and Dirk. 

The defensive differences, I think, come down to two major things: one, european ball has always allowed for zones, while the NBA has only recently introduced and refined its use; and two, the NBA has had superior athletes. Put an inferior athlete in the league and make him suddenly play man-to-man, and he gets burned. It's not just being worse at the skills of defense, it's having different physical ability and being in a different system than you're used to.

The differences in style do seem to be coming closer, as one would expect with the continued "cross-pollination."


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## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

One other thing I was just thinking, I think we Americans might be a little too quick to over-generalize with talk of a "Euro" style. For example, Lithuania, Spain, France, Greece and Serbia don't all play the same way. (Well, obviously, even within each country the players will tend to be different, as anywhere. But you know what I mean--the traditional styles of play of national teams, or of teams within their domestic leagues.) From my observation, Lithuanian teams have been organized halfcourt offenses with good shooters; Spain's teams have been more athletic, wild and uptempo; France is similar to Spain, with athletic players who traditionally don't seem too interested in pounding in the post; Greece is a much more physical nation, with scrappers on defense and in the posts and creative guards; Serbians lean toward halfcourt, but aren't afraid to use a break and generally are multifaced players.

See what I mean? So what is the Euro style? And that doesn't even get into non-Euro nations, like Argentina or China or (so on...)

This is a good thread. I enjoy thinking about how to characterize teams, styles, etc. You can really wrap your mind around how big the game is.


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

^ Some nice observations - ones that might not be apparent to those who just get to see NBA games on a regular basis. Is there an East/West divide?


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## HB (May 1, 2004)

I have always thought of it as free flowing basketball with not too much emphasis placed on grinding it out type basketball that some teams in the NBA exhibit.

Luther does make a good point though, styles probably vary from region to region


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

I agree with luther, but I also think that there is no such thing as an "American style". The only thing teams like the Warriors and Pistons have in common is their affiliation to the NBA.


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## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

croco said:


> I agree with luther, but I also think that there is no such thing as an "American style". The only thing teams like the Warriors and Pistons have in common is their affiliation to the NBA.


Very good point.

But you know what, I bet that Europeans who only see the occasional NBA game (if there is such a thing...I'd imagine NBA games are easier to see there than EL games here), American basketball does "all look alike." It's a fact that people are able to distinguish more subtle differences in something they are familiar with. That is why, historically, people often believed people of other races all looked the same. It's why people who only listened to classical music would hear rock 'n' roll (and in later years, old rockers with hip-hop) and think it all sounds the same. It's why certain paintings or sculptures seem identical to the casual eyes. 

Perhaps the European fanatic who sees only a few American games says that "American basketball" is all about athleticism, all about isolation and beating a guy off the dribble, about chucking 3s or dunking and nothing in-between, about man defense...and in a way, that fan would be right. From a certain perspective, those are general tendencies of the NBA game. But of course, there are plenty of players and teams that fall onto different points of the basketball spectrum.


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

People just like generalizations way too much, it makes it easier to compare something, but it also takes away from discussing which is necessary if you want to make a fair and evaluated comparison. That isn't just the case in sports of course, it is popular in cultural and societal aspects. 

The biggest difference between the NBA, FIBA, European ball or any professional game is the blockade in our heads.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

croco said:


> The biggest difference between the NBA, FIBA, European ball or any professional game is the blockade in our heads.


Agreed, well almost because the rules are different which causes the game to appear different also. 

Basketball is basketball all around the globe. Ball in hoop. :yay:


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