Times have changed in the NBA since Toni Kukoc played. During his time, players from Europe were considered complementary stars more than franchise cornerstones, regardless of how good and accomplished they were in their previous basketball lives. But today, the likes of Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Luka Doncic have shown that players from that part of the globe can be the main man on a championship-contending team.
But long before those players arrived in the United States, Kukoc said that former San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was already giving European players breaks on his team that other international players could not get elsewhere around the league.
Advertisement
“I would watch San Antonio play and see plays I recognized from the Russian team, the Yugoslavian team,” said Kukoc. “That’s why I think Popovich was ahead of his time. He was never resistant to those plays and players. Now, a coach can relay a message to the team. But back then could they say to Michael to give the ball to Toni? Can you imagine New York saying to Ewing and Starks, ‘OK, give the ball to that European guy?’ Popovich, he went to Europe. He saw.”
Pop embraced international talent
Popovich spearheaded the NBA’s acceptance of international stars. His appreciation for foreign basketball talent stemmed from his days in the military when he toured the world to play for the U.S. Air Force basketball team.
“When I was in the military, I traveled with various teams in many places in the world and knew at that time, back in the ’70s, that there were players all around the world, and people here in America just didn’t realize it or respect it – or both,” explained Pop. “In the ’80s, when I became an assistant coach and came over to find these players or to scout them… I was like a kid in a candy store.”
Advertisement
When he joined the NBA as an assistant coach, he was one of the first to scout players internationally. After becoming head coach of the Spurs, he famously drafted Manu Ginobili in 1999 and Tony Parker in 2001, turning them into key players in four out of the five championship teams he coached in the NBA.
Wemby’s first year turned out to be Popovich’s last
Nearly 20 years after Kukoc’s retirement, it was fitting that the Spurs won the 2023 NBA Draft lottery and earned the right to pick French teenage sensation Victor Wembanyama. The 7’3″ Wembanyama was the most high-profile draft prospect since LeBron James. His ending up in San Antonio and being mentored by an expert in international talent helped Wemby have a spectacular rookie season.
Advertisement
“He’s just the newest of so many fine players around the world who have made the league better and more exciting,” Gregg said of Wemby. “It’s been a long process – those four decades – but it’s only going to grow. I think there are about 125 players from outside of America who are in the NBA right now.”
Unfortunately, Wemby’s rookie season turned out to be Pop’s last full year as head coach in the NBA. He suffered a stroke last November and took an indefinite leave of absence. On May 2, he announced that he was stepping down after 29 NBA seasons. And so, although he will no longer be on the sidelines when “The Alien” reaches his full potential, Popovich’s legacy for pushing international talent in the NBA will never be forgotten.