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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...

Top Ten Foreign NBA Players

by Kevin Williams (Scribe)

32

2,023 reads

Rankings/List

August 24, 2008


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)

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32 comments Last one added 7 months ago — Leave a Comment

  1. Brian Hood 10 months ago

    like the list, I think you've got Manu too low though, and Gasol too high

    just my opinion......thanks Kevin

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  2. TJ Zwarych 10 months ago

    Nice article, Id hav the exact same people with a slightly different order though, good work!

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  3. Lucas Rifkin 10 months ago

    good article, but wow, definitely manu before barbosa, maybe its just me.

    also, tim duncan is technically foreign, wheres he at?

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  4. c s 10 months ago

    wheres jose calderon?

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  5. anita birdsong 10 months ago

    Any list ranking Barbosa over Manu is bogus. Sorry......your list FAILS.

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  6. Kevin Williams 10 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

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  7. Erick Blasco 10 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.

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  8. Kevin Williams 10 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

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    • Erick Blasco 10 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 :)

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  9. Drizzler Mckay 10 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!

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  10. isaac narell 10 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....

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    • Khalid Shakran 10 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.

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  11. Rojo Grande 10 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...

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  12. sam the fact checker 10 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

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  13. Kevin Williams 10 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

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  14. Ralph Sarkis 10 months ago

    NASH AND DUNCAN ARENT AMERICAN!

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  15. Kevin Williams 10 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

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  1. robert stevenson 10 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.

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  2. Alex McVeigh 10 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.

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  3. robert stevenson 10 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.

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  4. Kevin Williams 10 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

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  5. Benjamin Trottier 10 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...

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  6. Daniel 10 months ago

    Gasol is WAY too high on that list...people complaining about Barbosa being lower than Ginobili just started following basketball last week.

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  7. yungCaucasoid ... 10 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.

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    • Kevin Williams 10 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

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  8. yungCaucasoid ... 10 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"

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  9. Micah Green 10 months ago

    oh come on my boy hedo should be like 4.

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  10. yungCaucasoid ... 10 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

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    • Mark Brown 10 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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  11. Amanda Robertson 7 months ago

    I agree with Brian at the top, Ginobili is the only player in history to have a Euroleague, NBA Title, and Gold Medal. thats gotta count for something better than 3rd.
    And of course Yao has been voted to the All-Star games, everyone loves seeing a 7'6 person play.

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