With the Olympics coming to a close, and the Redeem Team finally claiming their gold medal, I was inspired to write on the top ten foreign players in the NBA,
Players who attended college in the U.S. are not up for consideration. When you don't see Steve Nash, Andrew Bogut, Sarunas Jasikevicius, Samuel Dalembert, and others on this list, now you know why.
As with other top-ten lists, this of course will come with much debate, but I ask that you simply argue your point for a player that you want on the list, and not insult my intelligence.
10. Leandro Barbosa (Phoenix Suns/Brazil)
Leandro Barbosa is only twenty-five years old, and shows a huge amount of upside. He serves as a back-up point guard to All-Star and former-MVP Steve Nash.
Despite this, Barbosa managed to average 18 points per game in 2006-07 and 15 in 2007-08.
Barbosa is the kind of guy that could be starting for many teams in the league. Once he becomes a full-time starter, he could be a league leader in scoring.
9. Mehmet Okur (Utah Jazz/Turkey)
Mehmet Okur is an international player from Turkey. He has somewhat of an inside game, but his strength is his mid-range jump shot, which he can extend beyond the arc whenever he pleases.
Okur is 6'11", and can play both the center and power-forward positions. For a big man, he is a good free-throw shooter with a career average of 79 percent.
Okur is a one-time NBA All-Star. However, he barely makes the cut because for some reason, he has been non-existent in the playoffs.
8. Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Cleveland Cavaliers/Lithuania)
If not for being injury plagued for the first few seasons of his career, Big Z might have one or two more All-Star appearances.
One good thing about Z is that he is consistent. He always puts up about fourteen or more points for the Cleveland Cavaliers on a nightly basis.
Ilgauskas' only weakness, in my opinion, is that despite being 7'3", he doesn't get many rebounds, with a career average of 7.9 RPG. Despite this, he is the Cavaliers all-time leading offensive rebounder.
Even though he and Ben Wallace are well into their thirties, I think they make a good defensive duo that could give Cleveland a shot to win the east—especially with the amount of uncertainty in the conference. Big Z could also make another All-Star appearance before everything is all said and done.
7. Peja Stojakovic (New Orleans Hornets/Serbia)
Peja is past his days as a star player in
- B/R Ticket Guide
Peja could still be a first option on many teams in the NBA. His numbers have gotten considerably lower since his days in Sacramento (only 16.4 PPG last year), but with his outside shooting presence, Peja is a nice asset for Chris Paul and the Hornets when he is healthy.
The 6'10" forward is not much of a passer, but he can snatch down his fair share of rebounds, and he has made 90 percent of the free throws that he has taken in his career.
6. Hedo Turkoglu (Orlando Magic/Turkey)
Hedo Turkoglu has always been a good role player for the teams he has played for. Last year, Hedo had his breakout season.
It was no surprise when he was named the NBA's Most Improved Player. He played and started all 82 games last year, and his scoring average was just under 20 PPG. It was a shame that he was snubbed from the All-Star Game last year.
Although he is nearing thirty years of age, don't expect Hedo to slow down anytime soon. If Orlando makes a run in the east, he will surely be instrumental, along with Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson.
5. Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs/France) Anybody who can win an NBA Finals MVP award over Tim Duncan is definitely a great player in my book. While he may not average the most assists, Parker can get his share of rebounds as a point guard, and also consistently averages somewhere just under 20 points per game. He also maintains a high field-goal percentage for a guard. In the playoffs, Parker's numbers always get better. Along with Ginobili and Tim Duncan, he has also played a key role in delivering three out of four of San Antonio's NBA Championships. Look for Parker to be a candidate for his third All-Star game this year.
4. Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks/Germany)
By all means, Dirk should really be number one on this list. However, despite being the best player in the history of the Dallas Mavericks, Dallas is one of the most inconsistent teams in the NBA.
Dallas has been a mainstay in the playoffs for the last eight years, and they have one Western Conference title and no rings to show for it. They usually end up with one of the best win totals in the league, and yet they are consistently sent out in the first round or the Western Finals.
Dirk is one of the best-shooting big men in NBA history. It is not surprising that he totals 100 blocks and 100 three-pointers in the same season, all while averaging 23 points and eight rebounds.
Dirk's high scoring average, along with other stats, tends to stay the same during the playoffs—yet somehow, he is virtually invisible. He also seems to lack confidence in his teammates.
Dirk was the first foreign-born player in the NBA to win the MVP award, in 2007. The seven-footer accepted the award after the 67-win Mavericks lost in the first round to the eighth-seeded Golden State Warriors.
3. Manu Ginobili (San Antonio Spurs/Argentina)
Manu Ginobili is one of the best international players to ever set foot on an NBA court. Not many people who are chosen second-to-last in the NBA Draft (57th overall in 1999) become an NBA All-Star.
Ginobili managed to make the All-NBA Third Team last year while averaging 19.5 PPG. He did all this while coming off the bench. It's no surprise that he was named Sixth Man of the Year last season.
Manu has been an important key to San Anotino's championship runs during this decade, and it looks as if it will remain that way until he decides to retire from basketball.
2. Pau Gasol (Los Angeles Lakers/Spain)
The best thing the Lakers could ever have done was get rid of the biggest flop in NBA history. They gave away a sub-par player in Kwame Brown for perennial All-Star Gasol.
A former NBA Rookie of the Year, Pau played an important part in the Lakers' run to the NBA Finals last year, although they were beaten by Boston.
Gasol is a good compliment to Kobe Bryant. He can score, get rebounds, and block the ball—and he has a high field-goal percentage. With Andrew Bynum returning, Gasol, Kobe, and the Lakers should make another deep run in the playoffs next year.
1. Yao Ming (Houston Rockets/China)
Yao Ming has been named an All-Star every year that he has been in the league, but has only played in five out of six years, due to injury.
For the first few years of Yao's career, Charles Barkley said his selection was simply the high population of the Chinese voting him as a starter year after year. I agreed with that statement at first. However, as the years have passed, Yao has become a better player, and now deserves his All-Star accolades.
Yao's only weakness is his lanky body for his height. Yao often gets pushed around by other centers, and doesn't get nearly the numbers that a 7'5" NBA center should get.
Yao is the the most valuable player for the Rockets, and I'm sure that the Rockets would have made it past the first round last year if he was not injured. With a healthy Yao, look for Tracy McGrady to finally make it past the first round of the playoffs.
Honorable Mentions: Andrei Kirilenko, Luis Scola, Jose Calderon, Andrea Bargnani, Fabricio Oberto, Nene, Yi Jianlian, Andres Nocioni
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2 months ago
like the list, I think you've got Manu too low though, and Gasol too high
just my opinion......thanks Kevin
2 months ago
Nice article, Id hav the exact same people with a slightly different order though, good work!
2 months ago
good article, but wow, definitely manu before barbosa, maybe its just me.
also, tim duncan is technically foreign, wheres he at?
from 2 months ago
correction, didnt realize virgin islands CAN be considered part of the USA.
2 months ago
wheres jose calderon?
2 months ago
Any list ranking Barbosa over Manu is bogus. Sorry......your list FAILS.
2 months ago
anita i guess thats something u and the list have in common then...and in the beginning of the article i said that the article would not include players that played college ball in the US duncan played for wake forest calderon is an honarable mention i didnt think he was in the top ten
2 months ago
No, anita is right...Leandro Barbosa isn't even a top 30 NBA 2-guard (he can't run an offense, so I refuse to call him a point guard), Manu Ginobili is arguably a Top 3 shooting guard behind Kobe and Dwayne Wade, and yet there's Barbosa smack dab on your list ahead of Ginobili.
2 months ago
i see ur point i guess i was judging barbosa more on his future than currently which would put ginobili ahead of barbosa
from 2 months ago
If you want to speculate on the future you can, just be careful that you led the readers know that it's an important part of your rankings. Still, Ginobili isn't going anywhere :)
2 months ago
Stupid list
Dirk easily the best on this list.
Pao is not a perrenial all star.
Manu behind barbosa?
Why are Overseas players who played college not included??
Dunno if you've ever watched an NBA game, so very unsure if your qualified to write about it!
2 months ago
i would have Biedrins on this list- led the league in fg% 2xs, pulled down 26 rebounds in one game last season, averaged a double double in 27m/g. and he is only 22. Barbosa is ranked too high (in fact, i would rather have Diaw than Barbosa).
Ginobli should be top 3, just for style points.
id rather have kirilenko than turkoglu.
yao needs to play a whole season to earn number 1....
from 2 months ago
I am a big Andris Biedrins fan and I thought about making a comment about how Kevin did not include him. But when I thought about it, Biedrins is really not an elite center in the NBA. I am a Warriors fan, but I think Biedrins' got a very high field goal percentage because he basically recieves that ball through an alley-oop from former Warrior point guard Baron Davis or new face of the franchise Monta Ellis.
He doesn't have post-up skills, does not have a jump shot at all, and his decent rebounding numbers. The only thing he performs well is the screen and roll. So, why Biedrins on the list would be kind of stupid.
Diaw over Barbosa? That's a first.
2 months ago
Good article, Kevin. Although I may not agree 100%, I like your analysis.
Anytime you hang your 'top ten' out there, expect to get shot at...
2 months ago
barbosa is not that good...i would have luis scola, steve nash, andrew bogut, andris biedrins, luol deng or andrei kirilenko on this list besides barbosa...and some of those players might be even ahead of peja...
maybe even al horford, andrei nocioni and sam dalembert
2 months ago
did u not read what i wrote about dirk and why he is not number one? i explained the situation about the college players earlier in the article but apparently u cant read that well. i already admitted to mistaking barbosa. its a top ten list of sourse ur not going to agree with everything that i say most of these thing are just based on opinion
2 months ago
NASH AND DUNCAN ARENT AMERICAN!
2 months ago
look ive said this many times im excluding those who went to college in the united states and even if i wasnt duncan wouldnt make my list bcuz he represents the us internationally
2 months ago
I like the analysis too but the order isnt what I would have selected. I enjoyed reading it though.
I was thinking about the all time nba starting five and came up with Nash, Ginobili, Nowitzki, Duncan and Olajawon.
Second team would be Parker, Drazan Petrovich, Detlef Schrempf, Gasol, Ming.
Third team Calderon, Turkoglu, Kirilenko, Stojakovic , Mutumbo.
Worthy of mention would be Divac and Sabonis if he had debuted in his prime instead of 31. Big Z is solid and whilst there are some very good players in the league no one else has excelled for me yet, although I love Scola and Horfords games.
Oh I was tempted to add Kiki Vandeweghe as he was born in germany but hes a yank so I knew I would have gotten called on it.
2 months ago
Nice call on Okur and Ilgauskas, but how is someone who hasn't played more than 60 games for the past few years better than Dirk or Manu, much less the best foriegn player?
I might be partial to Dirk, but Manu's got the bling to show, and there's no way Barbosa is better than Manu, and no way Tony Parker is better than Manu.
I have a hunch Scola and Rudy Fernandez will be on this list before the end of next season. Also Ricky Rubio in 2010.
2 months ago
I liked this post and it got me thinking about the all time foriegn teams!.
I came up with :
Nash, ginobili, nowitzki, duncan, olajuwon. Then :
Parker, drazen petrovich, detlef schrempf, pau gasol, yao ming.
Calderon, turkuglu, kirilenko, scola or horford (couldnt decide) mutumbo just over divac.
I think sabonis would have made it into one of these teams if he played in his prime, is he the oldest rookie at 31?
I enjoy looking forward to how mad you guys seem to get over some opinions.
Oh and I know he's not american but duncans played for the states so I'm inclinded not to include him but hey gotta love technicalities eh?
Oh and I was going to add kiki vandewghe as he was born in germany but it was to american parents and his dad was in the air force.
2 months ago
yeah it seems like everyone gets mad over someone elses opinions and also to all those who are mad over teh barbosa ginobili placing i already admitted to that mistake
2 months ago
To me, there is simply no way Yao Ming is better then Dirk... What happened 2 years ago in the first round between Dallas and Golden State was trully awful, but Yao never proved a lot neither in playoff til now...
2 months ago
Gasol is WAY too high on that list...people complaining about Barbosa being lower than Ginobili just started following basketball last week.
2 months ago
Yao Ming?
man-0-man, how many more seasons/failures/underachievements will it take boys?
Tony Parker & Mani-boy Ginobilli gets more props, than Yao, from where I sit...and what about Tim Duncan?
This is article is "suspect" at best.
from 2 months ago
ok yungcaucasoind...u have posted 391 comments and not written a single article are u just here to bash other peoples articles and call them "suspect" as if they have commtied a crime or spmething like that and if you took the time to read the whole thing you would know why duncan and nash arent there
2 months ago
ok Kevin...I have posted an article. Go get properly informed, and you'll know what I've only posted one article, especially by the means which I posted it here, then...you'll know better, for the next time, to avoid speaking inaccurately. And even if I hadn't? Thats independent of my opinion, which I am allowed to give, whether you like it or not.
I read your whole article, and therefore to be more honest than in my first post here; Your title is deceitful, and likely intentionally, in order to try and draw in readers. Have more faith in yourself, more confidence. This article is not, I repeat, is not what the title portrays. Or else, those players would've been ranked here, or else, change the title to something more truthful.
Doesn't matter where Nash, Duncan, Dalembert played. They weren't born here. So, they're foreign players. Period. No matter how you try to deceive. Fortunately, I am not one of those writers with audacity to come editing folk's articles, or else, I would change your article's title to "Top Ten non-NCAA Foreign Players"
from 2 months ago
Really, the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Duncan was born, that's foreign?
You're officially retarded.
2 months ago
oh come on my boy hedo should be like 4.
2 months ago
J. Michael,
You're officially a dumbA$$ if you think U.S. Virgin Islands is one of the 50 states of this Union. They can't vote in Presidential elections, their Congress person can not even participate in floor votes. So, to me, that is not equivalent to the other 50 states. Looks like your pro-Racist mindset has you *reaching a bit--------still-------I see* but, hey, its okaaaaaaaaay...I'll continue to exploit you anywaaaaaaaaay
hahahaha
from 2 months ago
You're being stupid, yungCaucasoid, no one is saying the Virgin Islands are a state, but they are part of the Union...just look at Puerto Rico.
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