Foreign Gold

Over the last few seasons I’ve noticed the growing trend of foreign bigs being a hot commodity in the NBA. There’s been foreign Power Forwards and Centers in the league for a while, but not as many as it is now. Some like Dario Saric of the 76ers are drafted and don’t play till a few seasons later. Then it’s some like Kristaps Porzingis that are put in position to make an instant impact. Us as fans on draft night want our teams to get the guys we know about and not some mystery phenom we’ve never seen. This past June in the NBA draft between the Power Forward and Center positions only 11 of the 28 selected were American. I got a little theory on why that is...

Heading into the 2015 NBA draft many Knicks fans were hoping to have a shot at Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow, or D’Angelo Russell. A few mock drafts had them landing Emmanuel Mudiay with the 4th pick. Although Mudiay didn’t play NCAA basketball there was plenty footage of him playing in China that looked impressive. Phil Jackson made the call to draft Porzingis and I could literally hear my neighbor through the walls of my apartment yell “WHAT THE FUCK? WHO THE FUCK IS THIS?”. He was booed by Knicks fans on draft night and twitter was flooded with criticism of the pick. As a Laker fan I enjoyed every bit of the Knicks fans meltdown. The pick could have either turned out to be a Darko or Dirk. As his season kicked off Porzingis showed an impressive skill set that not many vets could even compete with. His balance of all around skill and athleticism is rare. Imagine combining Dirk and Pau then adding a 37 inch vertical which is higher than Blake Griffins’s. That’s scary with a 7’6 wingspan. The real upside is that his style of play doesn’t depend on his athletic ability which over time can and will decline. By the end of the season Porzingis he had 21 double doubles, made the All-Rookie 1st Team, and had the 4th highest selling jersey in the league. That’s instant productivity, revenue, and star power with the potential to increase year by year. With the NBA being a copycat league teams would be crazy not to look overseas for more hidden talent. A growing trend with young basketball players in the US (specifically bigs) is athletic guys that can run fast and catch a lob from the sky but can’t box out a guard or shoot a free throw. When it comes to the bigs the foreign guys usually come into the NBA more skilled. Remember a guy named Arvydas Sabonis? Basic fundamentals have accomplished way more than athleticism. Compare Tim Duncan’s career to Josh Smith’s if you think I’m lying. *shrugs*

Now that leads me to the 2016 NBA draft. Coming off a season where Brice Johnson averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds as a senior at UNC he fell to 25th in the draft. Those number are great but don’t tell the whole story. Johnson lacked post defense and strength at the college level so the chances of holding his own against powerful guys in the NBA are very slim. He struggled to finish through contact, bites on fakes easily, gets lost in transition, and being held responsible for leaving Kris Jenkins wide open for the game winner in the 2016 national championship game highlighted his lack of awareness. On the positive side he’s quick, solid on the boards, and great in the pick & roll. Decent starting point for a team that’s willing to take time developing him, but not appealing to a team looking for instant impact. Guys like Jakob Poeltl who was drafted 9th in the same draft have the fundamentals and strength needed at the higher level. As long as big men stick to the basic skills there’s always a demand for them in the NBA. They say the back to the basket big man is a thing of the past yet Marc Gasol is still here while Dakari Johnson is trying to fight his way out of the D-League. MORAL OF THE STORY: Skill is more dependable than talent