By George Efkarpides & Dionysis Aravantinos / info@eurohoops.net
In recent times, more and more European players join the NBA and this year, a record-breaking 74 European players will be playing in the NBA.
The NBA has been attracted to international players, who seem to have unique talents, and are ready to conquer the basketball world.
Last season, many European players had dazzling campaigns with their respective teams. Others are considered to be ‘rising stars’ and players like Giannis Antetokounmpo have already established themselves as top-10 players in the league.
An exciting season is just around the corner and eurohoops.net has ranked the top 30 Europeans for the upcoming year.
The criteria for this year’s rankings are: The quality of the player, his role on the team and what is expected from him this upcoming season. Moreover, the playing time we anticipate he will get by his coach in combination with what he has been able to achieve in his NBA career so far.
Here are the picks from 30 to 21.
20. Danilo Gallinari (Denver Nuggets / Italy)
Year of Birth: 1988
Height: 208cm (6-10)
Position: F
Danilo Gallinari is coming off a great season with the Denver Nuggets. In a year where he played 63 games, ‘Galo’ led the Nuggets in scoring with 18.2 points per game on 44.7% shooting from the field and an impressive 90.2% from the free-throw line. This off-season he was traded to Los Angeles to play for the Clippers, next to Milos Teodosic, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. His health will be a major question mark moving forward, but if he is healthy he could play an important role on the offensive end as he is able to shoot the three and post-up with the same ease. The team’s goal is to make the playoffs and the combination of these four guys under coach Doc Rivers’ is something that will be crucial this upcoming NBA season.
19. Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs/ France)
Year of Birth: 1982
Height: 188cm (6-2)
Position: PG
A member of the NBA “holy trinity” of European basketball alongside Pau Gasol and Dirk Nowitzki, the first step for the French legend in the upcoming season will be to be healthy again.
Age is a factor for everyone and Parker is not the player he used to be. However, this doesn’t mean that he is not a star and a key member of the San Antonio Spurs. The main question is when he will be ready to go and if he will be his usual self. So far the reports from Texas are optimistic. With that being said his last season’s numbers were the worst since his rookie year (10.1 ppg, 4,5 apg) back in 2001.
He remains an icon not only for France but also for the Spurs, since he was part of their build up to a powerhouse and a champ. He can be a factor, especially in the playoffs, due to his experience and that’s what the Spurs are expecting from him to give.