The year Argentina competed in Euro championships was a great year for basketball.
Again, I'm not trying to take away from anything Manu has done. But Manu has never done what Dirk has done either. Yes, I'd rather have Manu than Dirk.(*) But are you going to argue that if you put Dirk Nowitzki alongside Tim Duncan for five years, he wouldn't have a couple of rings, too?
(*)This sentence is guaranteed to be ignored/forgotten in any/all replies by the CoM.[/QUOTE]
Nash played with Dirk in the same team and they won nothing .....You need winners to make winning teams!!!!
Seriously, some of you have to read about Dirk's international accomplishments.
Germany has some guys that play in second leagues around Europe, pretty much amateurs, and Dirk has made them a contender in every Euro and World Championship, medalling three times I think. Argentina on the other hand has six NBA players and consitently produces talented basketball players.
He has been World Championship MVP once, in Indy, and Euro MVP twice I think. He has always been in the tournament's First Team.
Dirk is as much a legend in the FIBA tournaments as he is in the NBA. Someone should go and watch his game winners against Spain, Russia, Nigeria the last few years. And if you didn't know this: He singlehandedly carried Germany in almost beating the US a couple of years ago. US was saved by an AI 3 point heave from midcourt as time was expiring.
If Hakeem is not considered an international, than Dirk is the best ever. Too bad we never saw Sabonis at his best. The Admiral can tell you how good he really was, afterall he got his ass handed to him in the 88 Olympics by Sabonis.
And Dino Meneghin and Oscar Schmidt would have been pretty good in the 80s NBA as well.
Please don't tell me you are comparing Nash to Tim Duncan.
What would Manu have won with Nash?
Great as in "great in the NBA" or great as in "great in the NBA and in international ball?" If the former, it's Hakeem. If the latter, it's Arvydas Sabonis.
I remember Sabonis when he played for Real Madrid in Euroleague (or maybe it was called Champion's Cup back then) in the early 90s. He was a nightmare for most teams, yeah.
Dirk was young when he came in the nba, he didn't play in the euroleague.Manu won 3 NBA rings, 1 Olympic gold Medal, Euro League and others....
Nash, Dirk, and the others are still waiting......
Dirk is the only decent player in his national team.
And If Dirk was in the spurs instead of Manu, he'll have ring too.
I love Manu but let's not compare a franchise player who led his team to the final and a great 2nd option who won nba rings with TIM DUNCAN
He will be top 3 when all is said and done
I meant in the NBA. I think the game you are referring to is on YouTube. He is a man among boys.
If the disregarding of Hakeem in this thread had something to do with a technical argument concerning the current state of his citizenship, I could understand why nobody is talking about him. But I don't see that argument really being made here.
And I don't understand how so many can simply disregard Olajuwon.
Olajuwon >>>>>>>>> Dirk
Olajuwon >>>>>>>>>> Nash
Olajuwon >>>>>>>>>>> Manu
Hakeem Olajuwon is legitmately in the argument for being a top 5 center of all-time and is probably among the best 25-30 players to ever perform in the NBA. Dirk isn't in those sorts of arguments, and neither is Nash -- not positionally and certainly not in an all-time, all-players sense. And there's no way that Manu is in those arguments, either.
I still think that Olajuwon was a better player than Sabonis was, too.
You gotta realize that his career was already in decline when he entered the NBA. Yes, he was good in the NBA but if he could have played there sooner, the Blazers would probably win a championship or two with him.
I think it has to do with the fact that few consider him international. He came over to the US as a teenager, played collegeball in the US. He grew up through the US system. And yes, I think he is better than all of the guys mentioned above.
Yet I think you are selling both Dirk and Nash short. Considering that there are around 25 guys to have won MVPs and they are on that list, they can't be far off the top. Both Nash and Dirk I think are Top 10 all time in regards to their positions, and if any of them wins a ring it greatly enhances their reputation, especially Dirk's since both Malone and Barkley (considered the 2 and 3 best PFs after Duncan) are ringless.
I think everyone has more sense than to argue against Olajuwon. That's why I didn't even bother to mention him by name in my first post.
That's why I say we never got a chance to see him at his best. There was no compe ion for him in Europe. I would have liked to see him in the NBA in 1990-95 years. Who knows, maybe he and Clyde might have won a ring together. The 92 Bulls had no one even close to being able to stop Sabonis.
Ok, now I know what you were trying to say. My bad.
Nope.
Nop.
No.
Petrovic was always in my mind the best, but its a shame we will never know how his career would play out.
I don't know why Hakeem gets tossed aside by some in this debate because he moved here to go to college (and then stayed, etc.) He's still foreign born, international heritage, etc. How can you discount him as an "international player?"
he didn;t get his fundamentals abroad Kori... that's why... probably we should have set the tone saying "non US schooled athlete" so discussion would be less against Hakeem kinda players...
Manu is the best player in NBA history.
and why not ... the best human being ever existed?
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