A future top 5 round draft pick? 17year old ricky rubio

^they'd get bodied due to all being way too soft. But no doubt there's talent overseas. There's just not going to be a Lebron, Kobe, etc, because they play way too soft. Ginobli's entire game revolves around flopping and being the best awkward guy in the league.
Dirk is the same way. He's money til someone puts the slightest pressure on him.

 

I'll take my chances with LeBron, Kobe, TMac, Shaq, Amare, Wade, Wallace, Duncan...

 

so would I

I'm not saying European players are better than American "born and bred" players

What I'm saying is that there are some genuinely great players that are imported to play BBall in the States

 

Then I agree with you. The success of Ginobli, Gasol, Ming, etc and the rise of other countries in international basketball shows the improvement of talent in Europe and elsewhere.
But to say that an international player is ready for the NBA because he played international ball instead of NCAA ball is something I can't say that I wholeheartedly agree with.
1. International talent isn't as deep-Remember George Mason's run a couple of years ago. There big contributors from that season are playing overseas ball. Ya'll might have heard of the Murfreesboro Musicians (WBL) team. Half of their team was guys who played international ball in the winter, and Single A to the NBA in the summer.
2. The speed of the game-Most of the international players have been very good at the fundamentals of the game. I've yet to see one come in and dominate with his speed and athleticism.
3. One year in college-To many HS players were going pro before they were ready. The one year rule is letting the players develop another year before going pro. Consequently, NBA basketball has improved since then.
4. Style of play-American ball is based on speed, athleticism, and man to man defense. You'll see some colleges run a 2-3 or another zone, but the NBA is almost strictly Man to Man. International ball is zone based (generally to set up the shot). NBA ball is designed to spread the defense out (man to man) then drive the ball. A good, disciplined zone can stop that. NBA players often don't put the necessary focus on defense, which allows for the medium-long range jumpers that many of the foriegn players specialize at.

 

You guys keep bringing up Darko as an example, but how many 'Darko's' are out there?

 

I actually thought of ginobili also when I saw him. But for me that impressed me a lot because I think if gms thought he would be like ginobili he would be a top 5 pick easily.

 

^yeah. Ginobli's a solid player, so it isn't a knock on the guy. Just trying to get a perspective of the hype here. If people are expecting him to be another Manu, I can see that, but if they're expecting him to be an NBA elite, nah. No way.

 

Well, considering there aren't many that are hyped up as much, there are a few,

Nikoloz Tskitishvili
Michael Olowakandi
Yaroslav Korolev
Rafael Araujo

 

There was that Sene kid that went to the Sonics in the top ten a couple years back, that Pavel Podkolzine kid that lasted til the second round a few years back, Andrew Bogut (i'm not claiming him, he's Australian), Samuel Dalembert is overpaid like hell, Bargnani isn't where he should be, Walter Hermann (nah just kidding he's decent, but he's the ugliest human being i've ever seen), and last but not least.... Nene

 

Who can forget these gems?