Interbasket

Of all the NBA’s players, those that stand 7 foot and above, (213cm), whom stands the tallest when it comes to free throw accuracy?

The question recently came up during a Phoenix-Houston telecast on ESPN. Color commentator Hubie Brown noted that the best free-throw shooting 7-footer in the history of the NBA was Dirk Nowitzki.  Not far behind the German superstar was Yao Ming, whom hit his first 17 free throws this season before settling down to ~86% this season.

Here’s the breakdown:

Highest Free Throw % for 7-footers in NBA History:

1. Dirk Nowitzki 87%
2. Yao Ming 82.6%
3. Brad Miller 79.9%
4. Steve Stipanovich 79.6%
5. Joe Kleine 79.4%

Not surprisingly, the top two are foreign-born.  I wondered, however, who are the best free-throw shooting “giants” in NBA history and how does Yao Ming compare to them?

Definition of a Giant
So for the sake of keeping the data relatively low, I arbitrarily defined a “giant” as 7-foot 2-inches tall and above. I wondered how Yao Ming’s accuracy compared to 7-2+ centers in NBA history and those now playing in Europe and Asia.

I researched keyhoops.com, eurobasket.com and basketball-reference.com. I published my findings comparing Yao Ming to “giants” currently playing abroad at my blog, the global hook. Researching the NBA proved more detailed, however.  Here are the best shooting NBA “giants” in order of their career free throw shooting percentage. I have boldfaced players born outside of the U.S.

1. Yao Ming, 7-6
Career %: .826 (2571 FTA)
Best Season %: 2006-07, .862

2. Arvydas Sabonis, 7-3
Career %: .786 (1690 FTA)
Best Season %: 1999-00, .843

3. Zydrunas Ilgauskas, 7-3
Career %: .781 (2959 FTA)
Best Season %: 2008-09, .838

4. Rik Smits, 7-4
Career %: .773 (2932 FTA)
Best Season %: 1998-99, .818

5. Luc Longley, 7-2
Career %: .760 (947 FTA)
Best Season %: 1999-00, .825

6. Karl Petur Gudmundsson, 7-2 (possibly the only player from Iceland to ever play in the NBA)
Career %: .754 (252 FTA)
Best Season %: .807

7. James Donaldson, 7-2
Career %: .732 (2722 FTA)
Best Season %: 1986-87, .816

8. Tom Burleson, 7-2
Career %: .726 (1452 FTA)
Best Season %: 1977-78, .794

9. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 7-2
Career %: .721 (9304 FTA)
Best Season %: 1977-78, .784

10. Shawn Bradley, 7-6
Career %: .716 (1322 FTA)
Best Season %: 2001-02, .922

11. Primoz Brezec, 7-2
Career %: .706 (603 FTA)
Best Season %: 2004-2005, .745

12. Dikembe Mutombo, 7-2
Career %: .684 (4951 FTA)
Best Season %: 2001-02, .764

13. Ralph Sampson, 7-4
Career %: .661 (1786 FTA)
Best Season %: 1987-88, .760

14. Jake Tsakalidis, 7-2
Career %: .657 (513)
Best Season %: 2004-05, .778

15. Mark Eaton, 7-3
Career %: .649 (1653)
Best Season %: 1984-85, .712

16. Gheorghe Muresan, 7-7
Career %: .644 (761)
Best Season %: 1994-95, .709

17. Randy Breur, 7-3
Career %: .628 (1278)
Best Season %: 1985-86, .712

18. Keith Closs, 7-3
Career %: .606 (165 FTA)
Best Season %: 1998-99, .800

19. Stojko Vrankovic, 7-2
Career %: .598 (132 FTA)
Best Season %: 1996-97, .676

20. Swede Halbrook, 7-3 (NOT a Swede, btw ; )
Career %: .591 (391 FTA)
Best Season %: 1961-62, .636

21, Chuck Nevitt, 7-5
Career %: .589 (90 FTA)
Best Season %: 1985-86, .731

22. Greg Ostertag, 7-2
Career %: .569 (1465 FTA)
Best Season %: 1996-97, .678

23. Alan Ogg, 7-2
Career %: .568 (44 FTA)
Best Season %: 1992-93, .750

24. Manute Bol, 7-7
Career %: .561 (403 FTA)
Best Season %: 1986-87, .672

25. Priest Lauderdale, 7-4
Career %: .554 (92 FTA)
Best Season %: 1996-97, .565

26. Bruno Sundov, 7-2
Career %: .526 (19 FTA)
Best Season %: 2004-05, 100% (2-2)

27. Shaquille O’Neal, 7-2
Career %: .525 (10,400 FTA)
Best Season %: 2002-03, .622%

Some fun facts to chew on:

• There have been a total of 27 NBA players that are 7-2 or taller.
• International Flavor: The top six free throw shooting “giants” in NBA history were born outside of the U.S - Yao (#1), Sabonis (#2), Ilgauskas (#3), Smits (#4), Luc Longley (#5), and Gudmundsson (#6).
• Yao Ming (#1) is the top free-throw shooting giant at nearly 83% from the line, while Shaquille O’Neal (#27) is the worst, shooting 52.5%, a difference of 30%…  wow.
• Only 0.01% separates #26 Bruno Sundov and last place Shaquille O’Neal (#27), coincidentally, Sundov has the least amount of free-throws attempted on the list with only 19 attempted in his career, while Shaq has the most attempts by far, with 10,400.
• After Shaq, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has the second most with 9304 free throws attempted during his career, followed by Dikembe Mutombo (4951), Zydrunas Ilgauskas (2959), Rik Smits (2932), James Donaldson (2722), and Yao Ming (2571).

Shaquille O’Neal the Worst FT Shooting Giant
Shaquille O’Neal has by far shot the most free-throws amongst all 7-2+ players (10,400 FTA and counting), a full 1000+ more FTA than NBA all-time leading scorer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (9,300).  And there’s a reason why teams employ the”Hack-a-Shack”, O’Neal is the worst free-throwing shooting 7-2+ player in the history of the NBA.

What if Shaq shot 72?% from the Line in his Career?
In their careers, Jabbar (~72%) had nearly 20% better accuracy from the charity stripe than Shaq (~52%).  With that fact in mind, Shaquille O’Neal just recently reached tenth place all time on the top NBA scorer’s list, surpassing John Havlicek with 26,402 points.  If he continues at his current season averages, he can pass Dominique Wilkins (26,668), Oscar Robertson (26,710) and Hakeem Olajuwon (26,946) without much of a problem.

However, if Shaq had shot a paltry 62% from the free-throw line for his career, he would have already surpassed Hondo, ‘Nique, The Big O, Dream, AND Elvin Hayes with 27401 points.  With a career 62FT%, the Big Aristotle would be sixth all-time, instead he sits at ten.

At 72%, he would have eclipsed Moses Malone easily, and sat solidly at fifth on the all-time list (28432) for the most of this season, but with a solid injury-free 2008-09 season, Shaq would have raced past Michael Jordan (29277) on the list.

Even Shaq, whom almost always plays down his free throw woes, recognizes these missed opportunities, “It’s nice, but I should’ve been there a long time ago,” O’Neal said. “I sit there and say to myself, ‘You know how many games I missed? How many free throws I missed?’  I’m very upset with myself. I should have been there two years ago. When it’s all said and done, maybe I’ll be in the top five, maybe I won’t.”

Links and Resources: Despite Scoring Rank, O’Neal Laments Misses (Arizona Republic), Shaquille O’Neal becomes NBA’s 10th all-time Scorer (AFP), keyhoops.com, eurobasket.com and basketball-reference.com

I was contacted by ESPN to let the readers of this blog know that international basketball prospect Ricky Rubio is one of ESPN The Magazine’s four finalists for “NEXT 2009.” The other three candidates are Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan, Tampa Bay Rays P David Price, and racer Joey Logano.

But wait, so what is NEXT and what does it mean?

It’s a ten-year concept for (ESPN) The Mag, in which editors and writers work to identify the athletes (and concepts) about to break out. The very first cover of ESPN The Magazine ever was this right here: a NEXT issue spotlighting Kobe Bryant, Eric Lindros, Alex Rodriguez and Kordell Stewart circa winter 1998 (hey, three out of four ain’t bad!) Since then, we’ve selected such icons as LeBron James and Brian Urlacher  as NEXT.

ESPN has done a huge mini-site for Rubio to explain why the Spanish star is in the running for this honor - his amazing performance U-16 World Championships to his recent international breakout in 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Check out Ricky’s page here.  Since ESPN is a huge American product, it’s going to be hard for Ricky to garner enough votes to compete with three American candidates.  So if you think Ricky Rubio is NEXT, then vote for Rubio here.  Fan voting for NEXT runs until Monday, November 17, so get your vote counted today.

2008 Interbasket Forum Nominations:
And don’t forget, if you are active in our forum, it’s the 5th Annual IBN Forum Award Nominations, where you can nominate Interbasket’s MVP (Most Valuable Poster), Best Thread of the Year, Spammer of the Year, and more.

Links and Resources:  Vote for Ricky Rubio as NEXT 2009 (ESPN), NEXT 2009 Candidate: Ricky Rubio (ESPN), What is ESPN’s NEXT (Espn), Ricky Rubio Profile | 2008 Olympic Breakouts (Interbasket), Ricky Rubio : The Next Pistol Pete / Drazen (Interbasket), 5th Annual IBN Forum Award Nominations (Interbasket)

Rotowire is reporting that Rudy Fernandez, the exciting “rookie” guard from Spain and Interbasket’s latest, greatest favorite player could be joining Brandon Roy, Lamarcus Aldridge, and Joel Pryzbilla in the Blazers’ starting lineup.

The move would force either Steve Blake or fellow international rookie Nicolas Batum to the bench.  With Portland off to a so-so start, coach McMillan is looking for a little energy from the get-go.

Though French forward Nicolas Batum has showed great potential, an understanding of help side team defense, awesome hustle and is displayed the ability to consistently finsih at the basket, he may be the odd man out with Portland’s slow start and Rudy’s great play off the bench.

In Portland’s five games, Fernandez has come off the bench to score double figures in four of those games to average 14.2 points in only 27 minutes of play.

Rudy has shot 47% from the field, 44% from three, and 94.% from the Free throw line, more importantly, he is being aggressive and getting to the line an average of three times a game.  In his five games, Rudy’s stats have looked like this:

10/28 Lakers (L): 16 pts, 4 asts, 2 steals (box)
10/31 Spurs (W): 6 pts, 8 rebs, 1-6 FG  (box)
11/01 Phoenix (L): 20 pts on 8-13 FG (box)
11/05 Utah (L): 14 pts, 3 rebs, 3 asts (box)
11/06 Houston (W): 15 pts, 2 asts (box)

In his last three games, the Street-fighter-Ken doppleganger has shot magnificently from the floor and the line; 53.3% from the floor (16-30), 46.7% from three (7-15), and 100% from the line (10-10).  I think it’s a only a matter of time before Portland inserts the 6-5 shooting guard into the starting lineup.  Talent and understanding for the game has a way of rising to the top, no matter how many minutes one plays.  And McMillan knows how to get the most out of his player.

Links and Resources: Rudy Fernandez could join starting lineup (Rotowire), Nicolas Batum Profile (Interbasket), Despite loss to Lakers, Rudy Fernandez Portland debut is successful (Interbasket), Rudy Fernandez: Off to Strong Start (Rotowire),

We’ve created a Interbasket Facebook fan page here: Interbasket.net Fan Page.

So if you have a Facebook account, please become a fan, upload some photos, add a quick video, start a topic about Rudy Fernandez, etc…  It’s somewhat like a smaller version of the Interbasket community and we realize some of you may not have the time for our huge forum and prefer a quick one-stop.

And for those of you that love Facebook and spend a lot of time on the social network, you can follow along with the greatest international basketball news without leaving the site.

Of course, we still prefer you visit us here at IBN because you know, we have more in-depth news and discussion about global hoops, but hey, I can’t complain about giving IBN more options, can you?  (It’s also a great place to go to get the latest updates on Interbasket’s status if the site happens to be down.)

Oh, c’mon just check it out. And don’t forget to check out the IBN group either.

The San Antonio Spurs needed every one of Tony Parker’s career high 55 points in getting their first win of the season and defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves in two overtimes.

Parker’s 55 points was 17 more than his previous career high of 38, achieved against Miami in 2006. It was also the most field goals he has ever made (22) and attempted (36), beating his old records of field goals made (15) and attempted (31).

The 6-2 French point guard has already been tearing up the league by averaging a (so far) career high of 26 points in his first three games, on 53.5% from the field and 88.2% from the line.  With the 55 points and 10 assists, Parkers averages after four games jump to 33.2 points and 7.3 assists on 56.8% from the field.

Parker’s biggest shot of the night came after Al Jefferson hit a hook shot over Tim Duncan. The shot gave Minnesota a two point lead, 116-114 with 2.5 seconds left in the first overtime.  Parker took the inbounds pass, dribbled right, pump-faked once and hit the 20-foot jumper at the buzzer.

Parker played 50 minutes, and dished out 10 assists, shot 22-36 form the field, and 9-10 from the free throw line. Tim Duncan “contributed” 30 points and 16 rebounds, and Roger Mason scored 26 for the Spurs.  Al Jefferson put up 30 points and 14 rebounds, Mike Miller 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, and rookie Kevin Love notched 14 points and 9 rebounds for Minnesota.

With his 55 points and 10 assists, Tony Parker joins some nice company. He is now one of only three players in NBA history to notch at least 55 points and dish out double figure assists.  The other two?  Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan.

The Toronto Raptors are out to a 2-0 start with Jose Calderon as the starting point guard.  After the Raptors traded away TJ Ford this past summer, they all but handed the starting role to Calderon, and so far results are good.  Yeah, it’s two games into the season, but I like building it up, ok?

Playing 37 minutes a game, the Spanish point guard is averaging a double-double, 14.5 points and 10 assists, in wins over Philadephia and Golden State.  Calderon has only accumulated two turnovers, for a gaudy 10-1 assist to turnover ratio.

His backup, rookie Roki Leni-Ukic, is still probably still trying to adapt to the gameplay.  Ukic is getting 12 minutes a game, shooting just 20% from the field, and averaging 2.0 points and 2.0 assists.  Former number one draft pick Andrea Bargnani went from going scoreless in Toronto’s first game, to shooting 8-10 for 19 points in the second game.   The 23-year old, 6-10 Italian is averaging 9.5 points, 5 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks.

With Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest in tow, Yao Ming has led the Rockets to 2-0 start.  The 7-5 center is averaging 25.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks on 58% shooting from the field.  Big Yao has also hit all 17 of his free throws, downing Memphis in their first game and withstanding Dirk Nowitzki’s 36 point outburst in Dallas’s home debut.

Filipino Spoelstra gets First Win
Erik Spoelstra is the coach of the Miami Heat and has never played in the NBA, which is a rarity for a coach in the league.  But even more rare is that he is the first Filipino-American coach ever in the four major professional sports in the United States (NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL).

HIs mother is from the Laguna, Philippines and his father Joel Spoelstra, is Dutch-Irish and was an NBA executive for three NBA teams.

Spoelstra got his first win last night when the Heat destroyed the Sacramento Kings 103-77 on Halloween.  The win was a balanced attack that saw four of the five starters score at least 13 points; Dwyane Wade, Udonis Haslem, Shawn Marion and rookie Michael Beasley all hit double-figures.  As did bench players Daquan Cook and Mark Blount.

The Heat players recognized Spoelstra’s win by honoring him with the game ball and placing him in the middle of a 16-man locker room hug.  “They tried to mess up my hair,” Spoelstra said.

Spoelstra is 37 years old and is the NBA’s youngest coach this season.  He turns 38 today, November 1st.  Happy Birthday Eric!

Denver rejoices, Nene has started out the season on the active list (not injured) and showing promise.  The physical Brazilian center is putting up 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and hitting 63.6% from the field including 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks in a overtime win over the Clippers.  Nene has also fouled out of both games, showing his aggressiveness hasn’t suffered while on the injured list.

On the other side of Denver, Linas Kleiza hasn’t had such a great start.  The 6-8 Lithuanian has been inserted into the starting lineup because of Carmelo Anthony’s two-game suspension, but his performance isn’t anything to write home about (home being Kaunas, Lithuania).  Kleiza is shooting 3-16 from the field (18.8%) to the tune of 5.0 points and 6.0 rebounds.

Maybe it has something to do with Kleiza not being offered an extension by the Nuggets yesterday. That means Denver can match any NBA offer after the season, but there’s a chance Kleiza may head home to Europe.  “Denver definitely is (my first choice), but there are a lot of opportunities out there,” said Kleiza. “Europe being so big and things. Such big money now. Being from Europe, it’s definitely something I’m going to have to consider.”

Stay tuned, Kleiza could be the next Bostjan Nachbar, Juan Carlos Navarro, or Nenad Krstic, NBA players that went back to Europe.

Another international player moved into the starting lineup and not performing in his first two games is Thabo Sefolosha of Switzerland.  The defensive player is shooting just 37.5%, and has just nine points, three rebounds and one assist in 30 minutes of play.  The 6-7 guard/forward does have three steals and has hit all his free-throws (3-3), but definitely needs to crank up his play to justify the starting role.  Me thinks that Thabo is a rhythm player, and since the Bulls aren’t playing so well, that reflects on Sefolosha’s play.  We’ll see if I am right.

Karma for putting up with the ‘Jailblazer’ Era
This must be karma for Portland fans that had to sit through the Jailblazer era.  A ten-year span that saw players like Isaiah Rider, Reuben Patterson, Zach Randolph, Bonzi Wells, Rasheed Wallace, Shawn Kemp, Qyntel Woods et. al. run roughshod over Portland’s reputation.  I should know, I was a Portland fan back then.

Now, what an exciting time it must be to be a Portland fan, their roster is packed with young and exciting players with much potential, and unquestioned character - such as Greg Oden, Lamarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy, Channing Frye, and Steve Blake.

Twelve of the Fifteen players on their roster (including inactive players) are 25 years or younger.  Three of which are international players- Sergio Rodriguez, and rookies Rudy Fernandez and Nicolas Batum.

Interbasket hearts Rudy Fernandez.  He is smart, aggressive, has serious ups, and is a feisty, savvy shot maker -  he’s basically a right-handed Manu Ginobili.  Rudy’s debut was nice, but his second game wasn’t nearly as successful (6 points, 8 rebounds, 1-6 shooting).

Who cares…. Rudy! Rudy! Rudy! (blind fanboy love here)

Rudy’s Portland teammate and fellow NBA rookie Nicolas Batum had a much better game in his second NBA game.  The 19-year old Frenchman with a huge wingspan and calm demeanor contributed 12 points and 2 blocks in the Blazer’s 100-99 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Oh, and one of his two blocks came when he stuffed Tim Duncan’s dunk attempt (see image).  Rumors are that Portland coach Nate McMillan has seen so much potential in the young Batum, that he has been toying around with putting Batum in the starting lineup.  And it’s not just McMillan that sees him, Portland’s leader on the floor, Brandon Roy thinks highly of Batum also, “Honestly, I think (Batum) might be able to start at the three.’

And San Antonio has lost their first two games, by a total of six points.  Tim Duncan and Tony Parker are coming strong out of the gate, avergaing 29.5 and 28 points respectively, but they are obviously missing Manu Ginobili, who is out with ankle injury, and Fabricio Oberto, who is sidelined with a irregular heartbeat.  Oberto will be back for San Antonio’s third game, and Ginobili is out until mid-December.  Parker is also dishing out 8.0 assists and shooting 53.5% from the field.

Mickael Pietrus had a decently successful debut for the Orlando Magic, putting up 20 points and 3 rebounds, the only thing he didn’t get was a win.  In Orlando’s second game, Pietrus only hit 1-6 shots for 3 points, 5 fouls in only 17 minutes of run.  Hedo Turkoglu has averaged 15.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4 assists for the Magic.  The Magic have lost both their games thus far, their second game on a buzzer beating jumper from Rudy Gay.

Pietrus’ old teammate Andris Biedrins, an Interbasket favorite, has also started out 0-2.  However, the 7-0 Latvian is continuing his strong play for Golden State, 14 points and 12 rebounds against New Orleans, and 17 points and 13 rebounds against Toronto.  The 22-year old Biedrins is shooting nearly 62% in his first two games, which is expected, but Biedrins is shooting terribly from the line, just 5-13, for 38.5% from the line.

And we are mad with joy that Kelenna Azubuike is getting some run and shots at the basket, going for 15 and 17 points in the Warrior’s first two games.  Once the 24-year old English player finds his groove, and Monta Ellis returns, the combination of the two and Biedrins will keep the Warriors exciting at the very least.  Now if only Marco Belinelli could get some playing time…

Postscript: Mike D’Antoni puts Stephon Marbury on the inactive list, after riding the bench the entire first game. Marbury had met with coach D’Antoni if he was going to play on Friday. When told he would not be seeing action, Marbury reportedly requested he be put on the inactive list. D’Antoni and the guard mutually agreed to take that action for Friday’s game.

Links and Resources: Jose Calderon turns up the Heat on Raptor’s PG Situation (Interbasket), Nuggets opt not to offer extension to Kleiza (Rocky Mountain News), Miami Heat: Fun Facts (ESPN), Spurs’ Oberto sidelined by irregular heartbeat (Yahoo!), Brandon Roy thinks Batum could start for the Blazers (SLAM),  Nicolas Batum: Gets Start Tuesday (Yahoo), NBA Highlights October 31, 2008 (YouTube), Knicks put Marbury on Inactive List (Yahoo!),

If you’ve been following Interbasket the last couple years, you’ve probably noticed that Rudy Fernandez has joined Arvydas Sabonis, Manu Ginobili, Yao MIng, Andris Biedrins, and Ricky Rubio as one of Interbasket’s favorite international basketball players.

After a great performance in the Olympics that included a dunk on Dwight Howard, the 23-year old Fernandez now has a huge following he has received in Portland.

And Rudy continued to impress with a solid preseason that saw him show flashes of brillance.  Rudy led the Blazers in steals, with 2.6 a game, and was tied third with 4 assists per game.  And Fernandez was fourth in scoring on the team, averaging 12 points per game.

So as one of his official fanboys, we thought it would be appropriate to talk up his NBA debut.

The Debut: Not Quite a Rookie
The NBA regular season started last night with Rudy’s Trailblazers taking on last season’s runners-up Los Angeles Lakers.

This was the night of Greg Oden’s official NBA debut and Brandon Roy’s terible shooting night, Spanish superstar Rudy Fernandez scored 16 points in about 29 minutes.  And also during Portland’s 96-76 loss, Rudy had 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and no turnovers.

> Follow Rudy Fernendez’s progress this season <

Rudy accumulated his points by shooting 5-10 from the field; starting out his scoring with a one-handed runner in the lane, a fadeaway rainbow jumper at the free-throw line, 3 three-pointers and 3 free throws.

“I’m not surprised at what Rudy (does),” said Portland’s coach Nate McMillan after one of Portland’s preseason wins. “I’ve said all along his feel for the game is the best part of his game. He makes the right pass at the right time. I think that’s the strength of his game.”

I too, am impressed by his patience and his ability to read the game.  Fernandez didn’t seem as if he had any nerves (I guess 7 years in the ACB will do that for you), nor did he seem as if he was concerned about his first NBA game.  He played like an NBA veteran on his NBA debut night.

Sergio to Rudy Alley-Oop: Get Ready for it
Sergio Rodriquez and Rudy tried to come together on one of their patented baseline alley-oops, but the pass was a bit off by Sergio.  Portland fans will come to realise that when these two Spanairds share the court, they have a great chemistry together; and once they get the time together on the court, Portland fans will be have come up with a nickname for when they finally connect a few times on the alley-oop.

Links and Resources: NBA - Portland T)rail Blazers/Los Angeles Lakers Box Score Tuesday October 28, 2008 (Yahoo! Sports), Rudy Fernandez dunks on Dwight Howard (Interbasket), Courtside Blog (Hoopsworld), Blazer’s Fernandez on NBA Fast Track (AHN), Portland Welcomes Rudy Fernandez Video (OregonLive)

Just released last week was a survey of NBA general managers, with their thoughts on who was the best international player in the NBA, as well as outside of the league.  Some other questions included who would win the NBA Championship in 2008-09, best rookie, and many more.

Of course, here at Interbasket, we are going to scrutinize the international part of the survey.  The problem is the GMs seem to only know well the skills of the international player currently playing in the NBA and not the players out of it.

Who is the best international player in the NBA?
1. Dirk Nowitzki — 66.7%
2. Manu Ginobili — 18.5%
3. Steve Nash — 11.1%
4. Yao Ming — 3.7%

Dirk Nowitzki, Manu Ginobili, Steve Nash, and Yao Ming were the top four players listed in the survey and were the only four players to receive votes in the NBA GM survey and I believe the GMs got it right.  Though I think Pau Gasol should be recognized here.  Gasol is in his prime but his individual skills are overlooked because he has a great supporting cast in both the NBA and in FIBA play.  And Tony Parker should also get a nod here.

Which international player is most likely to have a breakout season in 2008-09?
1. Rudy Fernandez — 32.0%
2. Andrea Bargnani — 16.0%
3. Marco Belinelli — 12.0%
4. Jose Calderon — 8.0%
Others receiving votes: Andrew Bogut, Danilo Gallinari, Pau Gasol, Nenê, Thabo Sefolosha, Sasha Vujacic, Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian

Not much to say here about the survey.  Rudy Fernandez is definitely a player to watch this season.  After showing his mettle in the Olympics this past summer, the scrappy, good-looking, high-flying Spanaird is going to be a instant fan favorite up in Portland.  He and teammate Sergio Rodriguez have already hooked up on a couple patent alley-oop plays during the preseason.

Yi Jianlian and Jose Calderon are couple players that are in new situations that should get them a little more burn - Yi Jianlian was traded to New Jersey, and Calderon has the full-time starting point guard slot after Toronto traded TJ Ford away. Whenever a player has a breakout season, and they aren’t the main guy on the team, that player always seems to disappoint the next season - prove me wrong Sasha Vujacic.

Who is the best international player NOT in the NBA?
1. Ricky Rubio — 57.7%
2. Juan Carlos Navarro — 7.7%
3. Tiago Splitter — 7.7%
Others receiving votes: Dimitrios Diamantidis, Jorge Garbajosa, Nenad Krstic, Bostjan Nachbar, Theo Papaloukas, Fran Vazquez, Nikola Vujicic

This is where the NBA General Managers should improve their reading comprehension.  That, or they need to bone up on their knowledge of international players. The question isn’t “Which international NBA player not in the NBA has the best potential?” nor is it “Which non-NBA international player would you draft tomorrow?”

Judging by the answers, this seems to be the question that many GMs were answering.  Ricky Rubio is very promising, and certainly has the most upside, but so does Nikola Pekovic, but that certainly doesn’t make them the BEST international player not in the NBA.  And Jorge Garbajosa and Nenad Krstic receiving votes?  That’s just because they’ve played in the NBA, is it?

Rubio receiving nearly 60% of the votes with a player like Ramunas Siskauskas not making the list shows that the Managers have some things still to learn about basketball outside the NBA.

Check out last year’s NBA GM Survey.

Links and Resources: GM Survey: Top Rookies, International NBA Players in 2008-09 (NBA.com) NBA GMs: Rubio, Navarro, Splitter the best outside the NBA (Interbasket Forum), 2007-08 NBA GM Survey (NBA.com)