Celtics, Knicks, Lakers, 76ers, Olympiakos, Bologna, CSKA Moscow...
August 11th 2008 05:56
The 2008 NBA off season has proved to be the most astonishing in years. Nevermind all the free agent signings and trades that have gone on, the defection to Europe by a handful of solid NBA players has made jaws drop the world over.
Epitomized by the signing of rising star Josh Childress to Greek side Olympiakos, this off season has seen former NBA starters such as Nenad Krstic (Russia) and Carlos Arroyo (Israel) leave the NBA to play in European leagues.
Punters may see the sudden European lure as lowering the world class standard of the NBA and making money the number one priority for professional basketballers, but the new gust in the wind has a barrage of benefits that dwarf the cons.
The newfound attractiveness of other leagues to NBA players will make the NBA a more competitive league overall. The growing European basketball industry gives your so called bench warmers a mammoth reason to take their chance and prove their worth.
Basketball as a whole will become a more competitive sport for decades to come if the defection of solid NBA players keeps its steady pace. Many young Italian basketballers, for instance, have never played with or against a player with the caliber of Earl Boykins before.
For them playing with Boykins –who recently signed a $3.5 million dollar deal with Virtus Bologna- will open them up to a different style of basketball and will show them what to expect if they want to make it in the NBA.
Some people, understandably, see change as a big negative, and the new phenomenon of established NBA players moving to Europe is potentially the biggest change ever to be seen in basketball.
All this shows is that basketball is progressing, basketball fans should smile at the European signings for it shows that the sport has a solid future ahead of it… It’s time to embrace Europe.
Epitomized by the signing of rising star Josh Childress to Greek side Olympiakos, this off season has seen former NBA starters such as Nenad Krstic (Russia) and Carlos Arroyo (Israel) leave the NBA to play in European leagues.
Punters may see the sudden European lure as lowering the world class standard of the NBA and making money the number one priority for professional basketballers, but the new gust in the wind has a barrage of benefits that dwarf the cons.
The newfound attractiveness of other leagues to NBA players will make the NBA a more competitive league overall. The growing European basketball industry gives your so called bench warmers a mammoth reason to take their chance and prove their worth.
Basketball as a whole will become a more competitive sport for decades to come if the defection of solid NBA players keeps its steady pace. Many young Italian basketballers, for instance, have never played with or against a player with the caliber of Earl Boykins before.
For them playing with Boykins –who recently signed a $3.5 million dollar deal with Virtus Bologna- will open them up to a different style of basketball and will show them what to expect if they want to make it in the NBA.
Some people, understandably, see change as a big negative, and the new phenomenon of established NBA players moving to Europe is potentially the biggest change ever to be seen in basketball.
All this shows is that basketball is progressing, basketball fans should smile at the European signings for it shows that the sport has a solid future ahead of it… It’s time to embrace Europe.
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