Nikola Mirotic rejected NBA offers to return to Europe in the summer of 2019. The Rockets offered Llull $23 million over 3 years and a starting spot alongside James Harden in the summer of 2015, and he said no. His rights were then bought by the Houston Rockets for $2.5 million, a record for a second-round pick at the time.

Spanish point guard Sergio Llull was drafted early in the second round of the 2009 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets.

Believe it or not, many European players are happy to stay in Europe and don’t feel the need to prove themselves in the NBA. We’re not absolving all front offices of bias here, there are likely still a handful that sour on overseas professionals but they are the exception, not the rule.Īdditionally, we don’t know that NBA teams haven’t tried to sign Obst. So why isn’t he in the NBA? Are NBA front offices still biased against overseas professionals? This is probably a reach. Why doesn't the NBA push to sign more of the best European players? He would be the best pure shooter on a handful of NBA teams right now, and at least second or third on most teams. He has shot 40 percent or better from three-point range for three straight seasons in Europe. Obst had an above-average performance against Team USA, but not by much. He went undrafted in 2018 and never even participated in an NBA Summer League. He plays for Bayern Munich (yes, they have a basketball team with the same name), and has never even sniffed the NBA. The 27-year-old shooting guard lit up Team USA with 24 points. These four undoubtedly formed the core of this squad and fueled their success, but who was the x-factor in their semifinal win over Team USA? Andreas Obst. Germany’s roster featured four NBA players: Dennis Schroder, Franz Wagner, Daniel Theis, and Mo Wagner. Let’s take a look at their loss to Germany. They lost to Lithuania and Germany and struggled against Montenegro. The Team USA squad from this summer had one top-20 player on it: Anthony Edwards. There’s no guarantee America has the best player, but the best 15 is still undisputed for the most part.īut what if we dig deeper, and look beyond the top 15, 20, or even 50 players in the NBA? As we get to players 51-450, how certain are we that these guys are truly the best 450 players in the world? Because that is what’s up for debate following Team USA’s flameouts in the 20 FIBA World Cup. Yao Ming and China, Dirk Nowitzki and Germany, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece, Nikola Jokic and Serbia, Joel Embiid and Cameroon, and you get the idea. Other countries have already proven capable of producing talent among the world’s best. That’s not the lesson to be taken away from Team USA’s continued struggle when they send anyone besides their best to FIBA tournaments.

Win or lose next summer, that doesn’t matter.Īmerica’s 15 best players are better than any other country’s 15 best players. LeBron James has reportedly already called in The Avengers for the 2024 Olympics in Paris as the United States looks to remind everyone that they are still the kings of basketball. Team USA went without a medal for the second FIBA World Cup in a row this summer.

2012 nuggets roster