LOL at some of this "analysis" http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=nba2010_international Q: Which player is most likely to eventually supplant Dirk Nowitzki as best international player in the NBA? Chris Sheridan, ESPN Insider: I've got to stick with the choice of the past half-decade, Yao Ming. He only turned 26 a few days ago, and he can still become the most dominant center we've seen since Hakeem if he hits his prime in the next four or five seasons. If he and Tracy McGrady could ever be paired completely healthy for 82 games, especially now with Shane Battier in the mix, this could easily be a 55-win team that could advance in the playoffs, and Yao would probably supplant Dirk in this category if he could take Houston to the Finals two years in a row. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John Denton, Florida Today: As strange as it might sound to Rockets fans, last season's back injury to McGrady might have been the best thing to happen to the Rockets in the long run. Without McGrady dominating the ball, the offense ran through the hands of Yao. It forced him to assert himself and seek out shots rather than defer to others. And the results were sometimes jaw-dropping. In March and April, he averaged 25.5 points and 10.7 rebounds while shooting 55 percent from the floor. He had a 20-game stretch late in the season where he scored at least 20 points 19 times and grabbed double-digit rebounds 17 times. He had back-to-back 36-point efforts against Dallas and New Jersey and hung 25 points and 17 rebounds on Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Kaman. No, Yao will never have the physical force of Shaquille O'Neal or play with the fiery emotion of Alonzo Mourning. But what he just might do as his game continues to grow and his confidence continues to rise is revolutionize the way the position is played. His ability to hit the mid-range shot, hit free throws and hit back against those who try to hammer him on the lower block will help make Yao the game's best center long after Shaq retires. John Denton covers the Orlando Magic for Florida Today. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Marc J. Spears, The Denver Post: Remember this name and don't try to spell it: Sofoklis Schortsanitis. Well, just remember his nickname: Baby Shaq. The Los Angeles Clippers drafted the 6-foot-10, 300-pound plus center with the 34th pick in the second round of the 2003 NBA draft. At just 21 years old, Baby Shaq showed his superstar potential by playing well for his native Greece in the recent World Championship. He was a dominant force in the post for Greece, scoring 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting in a stunning semifinal victory over the United States in Japan. Baby Shaq also made the highlight reels worldwide by dunking over Yao Ming in Japan, too. The Clippers, who could use some inside reserve help, made the mistake of not signing Baby Shaq to their roster this season. But after another year of playing overseas and losing some weight, expect Baby Shaq to be possibly one of the best rookies during the 2007-08 season and eventually blossom into an international star. Marc J. Spears, who covers the NBA for The Denver Post, is a contributor to ESPN.com. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Thorpe, Pro Training Center: It is important first to address how good Nowitzki truly is. In my view, he is the second-best offensive player on the planet, period. "Mr. 81" is the best. So with that said, and with all due respect to Yao and Manu and Boris, the next mega-superstar in the NBA born on foreign soil will be … Darko Milicic. C'mon, you know Joe Dumars is no dummy. You know he must have watched hundreds of hours of tape and thousands of plays to take Darko at No. 2. And I know what he saw: Terrific athleticism and size, tremendous reflexes and a feel for the game, excellent skill-sets on the offensive end and a true shot-blocker. The game is easy for him. Had he been a rookie anywhere else but Detroit, all of you would have seen this. Now he has found a home in Orlando. Remember, Darko just turned 21 this past summer. And he will be paired the perfect complement, Dwight Howard (imagine Howard's progress had he gone to Detroit as a rookie -- would he still have been a part of Team USA?). Darko can score from the perimeter, allowing Howard room to play inside. Together they will be formidable. And when Howard is resting, Darko can score with a variety of moves from the post. The Magic will emerge as a contender this season, and Darko will be thrust into the spotlight -- the beginning of his ascension to Dirk's throne. David Thorpe is executive director of the Pro Training Center in Clearwater, Fla., where he works as a personal coach for Udonis Haslem, Kevin Martin and other NBA players. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brian Windhorst, Akron Beacon Journal: He'll probably never be as good as Dirk, but the international player who has the brightest future is Darko Milicic. Darko has time on his side; he just turned 21 in June and already has three seasons of famously harsh seasoning behind him. He's always had classic European big-man traits, especially the ability to play on the perimeter and hit the mid- to long-range jumper. But he's now showing a willingness and strength to play with his back to the basket. Playing for Serbia in the World Championship, Darko was a force in the post. He showed a remarkably effective left-handed hook shot and some other developing moves. More important, he looked like he wanted to be down there, showing aplomb and aggression at both ends. In a matchup against tournament MVP Pau Gasol and Spain, Darko scored 18 points, pulled down 15 rebounds and blocked three shots. Plus, there's his mate in the Magic frontcourt, Dwight Howard. For various reasons, from how their talent sets mesh to how opposing teams will have to deploy coverage -- the physically stronger opposing big man will almost always have to attempt to body Howard -- Milicic has some advantages coming his way. Brian Windhorst covers the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Akron Beacon Journal. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ian Whittell, The (London) Times: I'm an unashamed Dirk fan. I saw Nowitzki in Germany and followed the World Team on which he starred in his U.S. breakout game at the Nike Hoop Summit in 1998. That's why NOBODY will supplant Nowitzki as the NBA's best international player, at least not in the foreseeable future. In fact, given his age (28), work ethic and the inspiration he will draw from losing the Finals, you could make the case that the best is yet to come from the Dallas Mavericks forward. I would also make the case that, by the time he has finished his career, it will be tough for anybody to supplant him, maybe for generations to come. But enough of the semantics. Who is the next great international player out there? I could go for Britain's very own Joel Freeland, taken 30th by the Blazers in this year's draft, but even though one NBA European scout has told me he's convinced he could be as good as Nowitzki, Freeland's best is still more than a decade away. So, in the hope of convincing him to accept a standing invitation to play for the Great Britain national team, I'm plumping for London-born Ben Gordon. (What? You didn't even know he was one of ours?!) He might not be a fashionable choice, but this is a player, still only 23, who became the first rookie to win the Sixth Man award and who has few peers in the clutch category. Someone that good in the fourth quarter and that young has some future ahead of him.
That ****** will be the next international megastar on the day that Tractor Traylor gets inducted into the hall of fame. Marc J. Spears, with insight like that, and a byline like that, you missed your proper calling: p*rn.
Of all the people that guy chooses, he chooses 'Baby Shaq'. Wow. Of course, he forgets that Baby Shaq has never stepped on an NBA court, has never played against NBA teams, and of course the Los Angles Clippers never even gave him a contract. Yep, going to be an international star all right.
there's only two correct answers. nobody or yao ming. i'll go with yao because as he continues to dominate, his impact on the game will surpass dirks'. naming any other international player over these two is stupid.
The brilliant Florida author reasons that "Dumars is no dummy for drafting Darko #2" - so of course that makes Darko legit - yet the very same Dumars practically gave Darko away to Orlando, which would seem to make Dumars an idiot if Darko truly is the next megastar.
I agree with this. I'm in the minority here, but I've been saying for three years that this team's best chance for truly contending is all about Yao. I must admit it's possible that it would have been too much for Yao, stifling to T-Mac (once he arrived) and no doubt would have cost us wins. Also I recognize that last year Yao's ascendance in the second half of the season had something to do with opposing coaches thinking Yao can't beat us by himself. And that turned out to be successful even though Yao still blew away many of their perceptions about him. But anyone still thinking T-Mac's "the guy" in Houston is as misguided as Yao's harshest (idiotic) critics three years ago. Watching the WBC's showed me that Yao's quite capable of leading a team he only half-knows. Last season he seemed to show disregard for his instincts and "thrived": like Dream in his second season with the reverse mindset. But he improved because of it. If Yao plays with McGrady, Alston and Battier for a couple of years (well anyone else for that matter) we may see him emerge in ways that is likely to defy whatever coaching staff he has. That's the step every NBA superstar makes that is uniquely talented and it will always be that way. Often here people sound like if T-Mac's 31 and we win a championship "past his prime" it's a travesty. I truly see that as achievable, quite pleasant (euphoric), and the way this organization should have been thinking even before T-Mac came along. A team in constant flux for 3 years is no big deal considering it landed us T-Mac, but I still think Yao's game has suffered because of it and I see us possibly "only" being two years away and for a native Houstonian that's a pretty good feeling.
I DON'T KNOW WHY WE ARE EVEN HAVING THIS DUMB CONVO....... YAO IS ALREADY A MEGASTAR LAST TIME I CHECKED...... AND TO PUT HIS NAME IN THE LIKES OF BABY SHAQ, DARKO, AND OTHERS IS EVEN A WASTE OF ME TYPING ON THIS KEYBOARD.......PLEASE BBS GODS, FORGIVE ME FOR REPLYING TO THIS CRAZY THREAD I JUST COULD'NT TAKE IT... AND EVEN CRAZIER ESPN STUPID ARTICLE AS USUAL......
It's definitely hard not to smile at that statement... he is of course implicitly stating that Hakeem was more dominant than Shaq ever was. Awesome. Respect is sweet.
WTF? How did Darko go from one of the biggest bust in draft history to future biggest international superstar? I agree that the answer is either Yao or nobody. If you're talking about the "very next" international superstar, no one other than Yao can reach that level before Dirk goes into his decline.
The only thing Baby about Baby shaq is probably his ankles. That boy is fatter than Monique at an all u can eat buffet. He was only bullying the small guys that we had on the USA team. Sorry Shortfatlowmetabolism = a bust i'm calling it
Hey Mr. Marc Spears, please show us the clip that Schortsanitis dunked on Yao. This guy really needs to do his homework. I saw Schortsanitis has one dunk on Yi Jian Lian in that game and that was it. He definitely had not watched the game and then misread a game summary from somewhere.
