I always figured the Spurs’ large contingent of
international players – Tim Duncan (U.S. Islands), Tony Parker (France), Manu
Ginobili (Argentina), Tiago Splitter (Brazil), Boris Diaw (France), Cory Joseph
(Canada), Nando De Colo (France), Patty Mills (Australia) and Aron Baynes (Australia)
– was the product of three main reasons.
1. Scouting. San Antonio does an excellent job of scouting
overseas, which gives the Spurs an edge when it comes to drafting international
players who stick in the NBA.
2. Chance. Tony Parker was the best player available when
the Spurs’ pick came up in the 2001 draft, but if he had gone one spot earlier,
they might have drafted Jamaal Tinsley or Gilbert Arenas instead. Similar
situations came into play when San Antonio acquired its other international
players.
There’s actually a more-calculated reason. The Spurs prefer
international players to American ones. Seth Wickersham of ESPN:
Consider Pop’s brutal assessment that foreign players are
“fundamentally harder working than most American kids,” and it’s no wonder the
Spurs want to avoid the fate of so many NBA teams
A few months ago, Pop was scouting an opponent. He won’t say
which one. On video, Pop saw an international player wide open for a shot, with
a confused look on his face. That’s because his point guard, an American, was
dribbling in circles. “It has to be a really different experience for him,” Pop
says, laughing. “ ’Where am I? Is this is a different game? Is it a different
sport?’ ”
Criticism of AAU basketball, which Spurs general manager
R.C. Buford engages in, is often heavy-handed and exaggerated. I’ve seen
firsthand plenty of America’s top young players sacrifice their individual
games to play within a team concept.
But it’s hard to question the culture the Spurs have
created, and to their credit, they’ve drafted Kawhi Leonard and given Danny
Green multiple chances. There’s a happy medium somewhere, and San Antonio has
probably found it.
