Brandon Jennings (photo. Under Armour)Why will this be the best season ever?
YOU HAVE TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE EUROLEAGUE
Barring the advent of Euro-League Pass, it’s time to dust off your ham radio, because this season, more than ever, you have to pay attention to what’s happening overseas.
For the past decade the NBA has been like Ellis Island, welcoming in the top international talent to play on the world’s premiere stage. That was until this summer, when a lot of that international talent — along with some American compatriots — decided to head to Europe. While most of the players who left the NBA this year were Europeans returning home to more money and more fanfare, the departure of Josh Childress (Greece), Carlos Arroyo (Israel) and Jannero Pargo (Russia) had a different tone, not to mention the decision by ‘08 high school All-American Brandon Jennings to bypass college and sign with Virtus Roma in the Italian league. If Jennings does well overseas preparing for the ‘09 NBA Draft, he could open the floodgates for players more interested in getting paid for their abilities than attending class.
All together, 12 players that played in the NBA last season will suit up for Euroleague squads. Aside from Childress, Arroyo and Pargo, Earl Boykins (Italy), Juan Carlos Navarro (Spain), Gordan Giricek (Turkey), Nenad Krstic (Russia), Bostjan Nachbar (Russia), Primoz Brezec (Italy), Jorge Garbajosa (Russia), Stephane Lasme (Serbia) and Carlos Delfino (Russia) will be collecting paychecks in euros this season.
If watching your favorite former NBA players isn’t reason enough to check highlights on YouTube or buy a Eurail pass, CSKA Moscow (Russia) guard Trajan Langdon is. While helping CSKA win its second Euroleague title in three seasons, “The Alaskan Assassin” was voted league MVP. He, along with Zoran Planinic, Terence Morris, Sasha Kaun and Viktor Khryapa will be a team to watch this season.
How will last summer’s wave of Euroleague defections impact the NBA in the long-term?
The New “Best Season Ever”
1. Chris Paul will win MVP…
2. …but Paul Pierce will prove he’s the best player in the world
3. The Clippers are alive
4. Ron Artest will get some MVP votes
5. Vince Carter will give a damn
6. The return of rivalries
7. The NBA has never had so much young talent
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November 7th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
No I don’t.
November 7th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
tbone says:
too bad news outfits in america dont update us on the progress of american ballers in europe. i would love to get stats and numbers of what these guys are doing. not everyone.. but the guys like chill and jennings.
November 7th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
QuEsT??? says:
the euroleague is pretty good, i dont knw why ppl hate on it and try to turn it into an US vs The World battle, basketball has become a world sport and true basketball fans should appreciate the euroleague or any other league that offers quality basketball.
November 7th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
Simply put, there will never be enough room in the NBA for players who have the talent to play so it will never surprise me when American-born players go to Europe.
The thing is that none of the players that defected are star players(Jennings does has the potential however but is unproven in the L). Hell none of them were legit starters. Childress, at best, was the sixth man on a .500 team. Nobody can honestly say that they went to NBA games strictly to see any of these players. In fact does anybody even want to admit they even own a jersey for any of these players?
So the impact of this past summer of Euro signings was slight to none as far as the short term. In the long run this will only make a huge impact if stars or even a starter heads overseas. Until then I don’t need to keep an eye on overseas ball.
The NBA season has begun and college will shortly so I have no reason or the time to care about Euroleague.
November 7th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Drink the Haterade (KB24 Chip 09) says:
Euro Ball is about the TEAM not about the player. That is what’s missing from USA basketball today is the TEAM attitude. Don’t get me wrong I love to watch Kobe or LBJ go off, but I like to watch the Lakers play as a whole and everyone scores.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?page=jchill-081106
November 7th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
loganlight says:
I have a good friend who plays in the Euro so I get a nice little update from time to time… I’m telling you, it’s where the future is. Stern has his eyes set BIG. Pop’s comments about world championships really do hold some merit. I believe that within the next 10 years the NBA will expand to Europe… Kobe and LeBron might just play in Greece… on the first NBA team located overseas.
It could happen.
LL
November 7th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
doc says:
I’ll watch when they part of the real league.
November 7th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
dagwaller says:
This site is primarily an NBA site, but it drops info on high school and college every once in a while, too. And from the posts, I gather that everyone here loves basketball for the sake of the game.
Which is why it confuses me that there are a few people that don’t like Euro ball. Let’s see…more basketball, starring quality players from around the globe. And the quality of ball exceeds that of college…
…I wonder if there’s another reason these people don’t like the Euro-League…
November 7th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Da Coach says:
First off, you can watch Euroleague games on your computer on ESPN360.com. They tend to have some on there.
Also, if you want to follow what’s going on as far as stats and teams you can check out:
http://www.euroleague.net
November 7th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Flip says:
Great point, dagwaller.
November 7th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
nick says:
@ dogwaller
great post
November 17th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
Evin says:
Like most of the rest of you (especially tbone), I crave updates on J-Chill and B-Jennings in Europe. I see them as the first wave of higher-caliber American players that will be playing abroad more and more over the coming years. I have so much faith in this movement, in fact, that I have started a blog that in part charts Americans’ progress overseas at
theglobalhook.blogspot.com