Tag Archives: best European players in NBA history

H2H 159: Vlade Divac vs. Arvydas Sabonis – Who was Better?

From Pau Gasol to Domantas Sabonis to Nikola Jokic and others, one of the hallmarks of European-born big men in the NBA has been their strong passing skills.  This characteristic goes back to the early days of foreign influence in the NBA, when Eastern European players like Vlade Divac and Arvydas Sabonis (Domantas’ father) were still considered a novelty.  As two of the best foreign big men ever, Divac and Sabonis were not only accomplished NBA players, but had successful overseas and international careers as well as part of their Hall of Fame accomplishments.  With the NBA becoming an ever-increasingly global game, let us look back upon the 1990s era of basketball and ask:

Who was better – Vlade Divac or Arvydas Sabonis?

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H2H 115: Toni Kukoc vs. Detlef Schrempf – Who was Better?

Note: Updated for Toni Kukoc’s 2021 Hall of Fame selection.

The modern NBA is a verifiable United Nations of players, with many of its brightest stars hailing from overseas: Giannis Antetokounmpo from Greece, Luka Doncic from Slovenia, Joel Embiid from Cameroon, Rudy Gobert from France, just to name a few.  However, their paths to basketball stardom were paved by the pioneering foreign players of the 1980s and early 1990s, such as Sarunas Marciulionis, Arvydas Sabonis (whose son Domantas is now an NBA star in his own right), Drazen Petrovic, Vlade Divac, etc.  Notably, during the 1990s, Toni Kukoc from Croatia and German-born Detlef Schrempf were key components of championship-caliber teams for the Chicago Bulls and Seattle SuperSonics, respectively, and early prototypes for today’s long and versatile European players.  As basketball becomes more and more of a global game, let us look back on the 1990s and ask:

Who was better – Toni Kukoc or Detlef Schrempf?

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