Would you play for more money overseas or less in the NBA?
If you watched Team USA beating Russia over the weekend, you saw J.R. Holden have his moments where he was giving guys like Deron Williams and Kobe buckets, finishing with 17 points against the best collection of guards on the globe.
Holden’s story has been well-covered, including by our own Andrew Katz in Dime #42 (”World Game”): the Pittsburgh native and former Bucknell star was a standout pro overseas when he was approached about playing on Russia’s national team, and following an official stamp of approval from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, took over as the national squad’s point guard. Holden drained the title-winning shot in the EuroBasket 2007 championship game, and QB’s Russia into the ‘08 Olympics as their second-best player behind Andrei Kirilenko. Read More »
