I pose a simple question, who do you think is/was the greatest international (any player who was born outside of the USA) player to ever play in the NBA?
Petrovic...(am biased though)...always liked sabonis,divac,kukoc.... but hakeem was born outside the usa right?so I'll have to say him..
Yeah Hakeem was born in Lagos, Nigeria, which is in Africa for those who arnt up to scratch on their geography.
With 50 points in the Western Conference Finals Dirk Nowitzki has proven he has the best all around game of any international player. I would put Steve Nash second. Akeem was the best international center but did not have a perimeter game.
Does Tim Duncan count? If not, definitely Hakeem. Otherwise, it's between those two. I'd still go with Hakeem, but you can make a case for Duncan.
Hakeem right now, maybe nash or dirk in the future. And i dont think Duncan counts. I've had arguments about this with my dad, and i am pretty sure he was born in the Virgin Islands which if im not mistaken is a US territory
I am a Nowitzness. Dirk Nowitzki is fast approaching the greatest international player ever. Hakeem The Dream still stands on top, mainly because Dream has two championships, and his Dream Shake is still the best post move. Drazen Petrovic was sick when he was playing. Too bad his career was cut short.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Char:</div><div class="quote_post">I am a Nowitzness.</div> ^^Nice, but i still wont really accept Dirk as an elite player until he plays defense and becomes a solid post player (which he is becoming).
I agree, there is no D in Irk Nowitzki. <- Old joke about Dirk.. Dirk still doesn't go to the post enough, doesn't really have a back-to-the-basket game, doesn't drive enough, and almost relies on his jumper too much, but I think he will only improve each season, and this playoff run is invaluable for him. The Nowitzness is a Dallas thing, they're selling T shirts in the area and on eBay, it's a homage or ripoff of Lebron's Witness shirts that were circulating in the Cleveland area, and still up for auction on eBay. I wish, but I didn't com up with the Nowitzness thing.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Char:</div><div class="quote_post">I agree, there is no D in Irk Nowitzki. <- Old joke about Dirk.. Dirk still doesn't go to the post enough, doesn't really have a back-to-the-basket game, doesn't drive enough, and almost relies on his jumper too much, but I think he will only improve each season, and this playoff run is invaluable for him. </div> He drives a ton, from what I've seen.
Inactive : Hakeem. He's creator of lots of moves that centers these days want to copy. Active : Dirk. I don't know how you can stop him. Just pray that he has a bad game.
All-Time - OfCourse Hakeem, and I don't think that Nowitzki will be better than him. The Dream is a legend, Dirk is just a MVP candidate.
Dirk is very stoppable, people just ocus on the 50 point game he just had. He has plenty of games where he struggles to get 20. And Hakeem had a quadruple double lets not forget
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting durvasa:</div><div class="quote_post">He drives a ton, from what I've seen.</div> Still doesn't drive enough, in my eyes. I feel his dribbling skills are not good enough for him to drive and get by people at will. It may be that he is too tall to drive like Jordan or D-Wade, though. Still, Dirk is a mismatch just about every time he gets the ball. Centers want to copy The Dream, but not many can do what Dream did.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Char:</div><div class="quote_post">Still doesn't drive enough, in my eyes. I feel his dribbling skills are not good enough for him to drive and get by people at will. It may be that he is too tall to drive like Jordan or D-Wade, though. Still, Dirk is a mismatch just about every time he gets the ball. Centers want to copy The Dream, but not many can do what Dream did.</div> Well, he's not going to drive like a guard. That's asking a bit too much. But there isn't a PF in the league I can think of that that drives the ball as well as Dirk.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting TheFreshPrince:</div><div class="quote_post">Dirk is very stoppable, people just ocus on the 50 point game he just had. He has plenty of games where he struggles to get 20. And Hakeem had a quadruple double lets not forget</div> Before Game 5 against Phoenix, Dirk scored at least 20 points in EVERY game since February 21st. That's 42 straight games.
Jermaine O'Neal, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Al Harrington all drive better than Dirk IMO. But to be on topic, I've watched many tapes of every great European player, and the one that stands out of them is better than Hakeem. It's the Lithunian Beast, Arvydas Sabonis. In his prime, the man was unstoppable. I saw post moves from him, Olajuwan could only dream of. He was taller, heavier, and in his good years just as athletic, and had a good jump shot even 20feet from the basket. If I have to pick one international player ever, it would be Sabonis.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Phuzer:</div><div class="quote_post">Jermaine O'Neal, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Al Harrington all drive better than Dirk IMO. But to be on topic, I've watched many tapes of every great European player, and the one that stands out of them is better than Hakeem. It's the Lithunian Beast, Arvydas Sabonis. In his prime, the man was unstoppable. I saw post moves from him, Olajuwan could only dream of. He was taller, heavier, and in his good years just as athletic, and had a good jump shot even 20feet from the basket. If I have to pick one international player ever, it would be Sabonis.</div> I would love to see some video of Sabonis when he was in his prime. From what I've heard, he was athletic for his size, but he didn't have the quickness or agility of Olajuwon. He may very well have been a better offensive player, but was he on par with Hakeem as a defensive force?
Best international Player is Hakeem Maybe the best to come up and be the best: Dirk Nowitzki After its all said and done and when nowitzki and this guy retire it will be him: Yao Ming
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting durvasa:</div><div class="quote_post">I would love to see some video of Sabonis when he was in his prime. From what I've heard, he was athletic for his size, but he didn't have the quickness or agility of Olajuwon. He may very well have been a better offensive player, but was he on par with Hakeem as a defensive force?</div> On the defensive side, Hakeem was indeed better. But he's the best post defender that I've ever seen, so that's not a reference. Sabonis wasn't bad either as I remember him blocking a shot or 3-4 every game. In the quickness and agility sections, he wasn't as good as Hakeem either, but he has so much other things to counter with. Better post moves, better shot, better passing, better rebounding(Sabonis was a monster in this department,even more than Hakeem). They were both very good players, but I still think Sabonis was the more dominating force in his prime.
