I think we would have to see an expansion into Europe with about 4 to 6 teams, to justify the travel. The travel to Greece for one game will never fly, nor would it be fair to Greece to travel the way they would have to.
There is no way no how over the course of a season or a series that any team in the world would be favorite to ours ( looking back we may lose but looking forward we'd be a fav to win)..I dont care who plays better team ball or who shoots a higher percentage...again there is a reason the likes of WADE, LEBRON, MELLO get paid millions...im not saying that there isnt good teams or great players out there...but we are the best in the World bar none at least in basketball and MTV music awards..
YOu're no doubt right el cubano and ZZZ is right for once as well, but the other side of the coin is that they lost because of poor shooting and inability to defend the pick and roll. Neither of those require months of team bonding and group hugs. These international competitions are the basketball equivalent of standardized testing of students. The US brings up the rear there as well. Maybe a return to fundamentals in both areas would be beneficial. Meanwhile, this is another enormous embarrassment to the NBA. Their ultimate nightmare will be a team of all foreign born palyers winning the title. The bitter truth is the most fundamentally sound players and the hardest-nosed players are foreign. That's why they are beginning to dominate the draft.
You mean the ghetto thugs that have been the "stars" of the NBA for the last decade aren't fundamentally sound? I thought everyone was allowed to take 4 steps after picking up their dribble when they're driving the lane? (And don't even get me started on the referees. They turned the league into one giant free throw shooting contest...which is funny b/c the ghetto hoodlums can't even shoot them at a respectable rate). I would love to see the NBA fold. Unfortunately, the side effect would be a massive increase in the nations crime rate.
Some of what you said was true. Tell me, which NBA players that are Euros or International players have been the key Superstars to lead their team to an NBA Championship? Manu Ginobli? Tony Parker? These are the Superstars of the NBA? I can't even think of an all Euro team that would win an NBA Championship. Ginobli, Parker, Dirk, Paul Gasol, and some other "hard nosed" euros are going to win the title? What is really stupid is that America even cares about international hoops. It is not the same game, they play by different rules. Why not have the international champs play a 5 or 7 game series with the NBA champs according to NBA rules and refs...then let's see.
The NBA has been a joke for years. The team that they fielded for this competition couldn't play together for a year. Not enough ball for all the ego's. Having played in the semi-pro summer league for many years I feel a bit qualified to call some of these guys out. I played as recently as three years ago. The rules of the pro game have changed for the fans enjoyment. There is no disputing this factor. About six years ago we challenged some of the then pro players in the summer league under the "Old School" rules. They quit in the third quarter. They were victims of double dribble calls, steps for break away dunks, and three second calls just murdered them. Carrying the ball was just a routine call for the refs. Offensive fouls started occurring for using arm blocks to hold the "old school players" away from ripping the mediocre dribbling that started to happen when they weren't allowed to carry the ball. And they just couldn't handle pick and roll plays consistently. Long story short, old school won hands down. Without a doubt though, they led the stats in dunks and spectacular play moments. But when they quit they were also trailing by 17 points. I say they left the court for ego and pride moreso than anything else. And in all fairness, it took me three weeks and several Ben Gay treatments to recover.
Bottom line is TV ratings for NBA, and a good fundamental team like San Antonio when winning their championships didn't pull ratings. Duncan, a strong fundamental player, team player, is dull in the viewers eyes. Old school doesn't draw young audiences... The peak of the NBA was the Jordan years, following Magic and Bird, and the end of the Bulls run was the end of an era. I don't know what it will take to bring the viewers back to the NBA.
I think you're right, but the league made a terrible mistake in linking itself with the hip-hop culture. Last time I looked, most tickets were being bought by corporate types, not ganstas. Couple that with fan resentment over the obscene salaries for 18 year old high school dropouts who can't shoot 50% from the line and you have an alienated fan base. Now they are exposed as incapable of handling a team of half decent greek players who happened to be able to shoot medium jumpers and play a zone. What it all amounts to is a crippling loss of legitimacy for the league. The old excuse, that they were just a group of all stars thrown together for a few games, doesn't wash now. They were hand picked for team play, and they had the best coaching available. Still, they looked like they had never seen the pick and roll or a zone defense. Or shot very many foul shots.
I doubt it would even have to be by NBA rules. Field the champion Pistons of a couple of years back (with some rest and at least a month to prepare for the FIBA rules) against the world and see what happens. Same for the Spurs. Actually any NBA championship team that has played together for more than a few weeks.