Fansided

NBA Draft: Best international players ever taken

By Trevor Magnotti

Mar 30, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker (9) shoots the ball against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half at AT&T Center. The Spurs won 100-92. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 30, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker (9) shoots the ball against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half at AT&T Center. The Spurs won 100-92. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 11
Next
PHOENIX, AZ – MAY 12: Portland Trail Blazers guard Isaiah Rider(L) and center Arvydas Sabonis(R) celebrate their team’s victory in game three of the first round NBA Western Conference playoff series over the Phoenix Suns 12 May 1999 in Phoenix, AZ. The Trail Blazers defeated the Suns 103-93 to win the best-of-five series 3-0. (Photo credit should read JASON WISE/AFP/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ – MAY 12: Portland Trail Blazers guard Isaiah Rider(L) and center Arvydas Sabonis(R) celebrate their team’s victory in game three of the first round NBA Western Conference playoff series over the Phoenix Suns 12 May 1999 in Phoenix, AZ. The Trail Blazers defeated the Suns 103-93 to win the best-of-five series 3-0. (Photo credit should read JASON WISE/AFP/Getty Images) /

7. Arvydas Sabonis, C, Lithuania

1985 Draft: No. 77 pick by the Atlanta Hawks

1986 Draft: No. 24 pick by the Portland Trail Blazers

One of the most underrated what-if propositions in NBA history: What if Arvydas Sabonis had entered the league in 1992 instead of 1995?

For one, Sabonis would be a lot higher on this list. The 7’3″ Lithuanian legend took the scenic route to the NBA, getting drafted twice and joining the league in 1995, a decade after he was originally picked by the Portland Trail Blazers. And while he still carved out a productive career, averaging 12.0 points and 7.3 rebounds over seven NBA seasons and anchoring the middle for the 1999 and 2000 Blazers’ Western Conference Finals teams, Sabonis was 31 when he entered the NBA, and already was beginning to succumb to knee and Achilles injuries. Had he arrived around the time of his dominant 1988 Olympic run, or when he spurned the NBA for Real Madrid in 1992, Sabonis may have reached Dirk-level impact on how we perceived international players.

Still, Sabonis was a solid NBA player, and well worth the wait for a Blazers team that struggled to find a long-term answer at center in the early 1990s. The Blazers only finished below a .540 win percentage once with Sabonis, (44-38 in 95-96), and he provided the prototype for what modern NBA teams would love from their five, protecting the rim and protecting well on the perimeter, moving the ball well with expert passing, and even dabbling with a three-point shot, hitting 33.6 percent on 351 three-point attempts from 1995-96 to 1997-98. We’ll never have a true idea just how good Sabonis was in his prime, but his Olympic performances alone drew attention to the international game, and he’s a Hall of Famer because of that.

Next: 6. Yao Ming

Home/NBA Draft