Hooped Up

Now that the flood gates of International talent has fully been opened.  Hooped Up has compiled a list of The 5 Best International NBA Players Ever!  

5. Dražen Petrović, Portland Trailblazers / New Jersey Nets

 
Born: Šibenik, Croatia
Position: Shooting Guard
NBA Experience: 4 Seasons
NBA Championships: 0
NBA Awards: 0

A tireless shooter and prolific scorer, Petrović is arguably the most celebrated basketball player ever to emerge from Europe. “Petro” is considered a crucial part of the vanguard to the present-day mass influx of European players into the NBA.  Tragically, Dražen Petrović was killed in an auto accedent in 1993, just as he began to flourish in the NBA at the age of 28.
For the best of the rest… 

4. Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks

Born: Wurzburg, West Germany
Position: Power Forward
NBA Experience: 10 Seasons
NBA Championships: 0
NBA Awards: NBA MVP (2007)

After a difficult start in the NBA, Dirk Nowitzki became the first European-born player in the NBA to win MVP honours.  Nowitzki has also been selected as an All-Star 7 times in his career. Blessed with an increasingly rare mix of height and perimeter touch, “Disco Dirk” is a difficult match up every night.  

3. Steve Nash, Dallas Mavericks / Phoenix Suns

Born: Johannesburg, South Africa
Position: Point Guard
NBA Experience: 12 Seasons
NBA Championships: 0
NBA Awards: NBA MVP (2005, 2006) 

Born in Africa but raised in Canada, it wasn’t until “Kid Canada’s”  second stint with the Suns that he made his mark on the history books.  Winning consectitive MVP’s after being traded back to the Suns from the Dallas Mavericks. Some would argue the 2007 MVP trophy that went to his good friend Dirk Nowitzki should also be sitting in his trophy room. 

After his second MVP tropy Steve Nash joined an elite group of eight other NBA players who have won back-to-back MVP awards: Johnson, Jordan, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, and Tim Duncan.  Pretty good company!

2. Hakeem Olujowon, Houston Rockets / Toronto Raptors

Born: Lagos, Nigeria
Position: Center
NBA Experience: 18 Seasons
NBA Championships: 2
NBA Awards: 1985 NBA All-Rookie Team, NBA Champion (1994, 1995), NBA MVP (1994), Finals MVP (1994-1995), NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1993-1994), NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team

To say Hakeem Olujowon had a great career would be a giant under statment to say the least. The Dream was the most mobile center of his era, and delivered consistently on both sides of the court. He led the league in rebounding twice (1989, 1990) and shot-blocking three times (1990, 1991, 1993). In the 1993-94 season he became the only player in NBA history to win the NBA’s Most Valuable Player (MVP), Defensive Player of the Year, and Finals MVP awards in the same season.  Now that’s good!

1. Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs

Born: St. Croix, Virgin Islands
Position: Power Forward
NBA Experience: 11 Seasons
NBA Championships: 4
NBA Awards: NBA Rookie of the Year (1998),NBA MVP (2002, 2003),NBA Finals MVP (1999, 2003, 2005), NBA All-Star Game MVP (2000) 

After being picked first overall in the 1997 NBA draft. Tim Duncan aka “Bankenstein”, went straight to work on his legacy. Winning the Rookie of the Year, 4 NBA Championships, making the All-Star team and All-NBA First Team in every single year of his career. Let me say that again, every single year! When it’s all said and done Tim Duncan will arguably have been the best power forward the NBA has ever seen.