Some Europeans would claim that Drazen Petrovic is the one that deserves that le. But, they would include European and International achievements in the mix. Sadly, his career was shortened by his car accident, so most of the argument is made of "what ifs".
To me, he is a top 3 in an all-time non-US players list. I'm not including in the list people like TD or Hakeem, who didn't play in FIBA at club level, played in American Colleges and represented Team USA in International basketball.
I remember Petro fondly, as I saw him play live a couple times on the Nets.
He was a fantastic shooter and a passionate player, but Manu's game is like Sarunas Marcilunas 2.0.
He does more and better.
I think Manu is top 5 foreign-born NBA players of all time.
You gotta consider Nash and Dirk, too.
Oh, man, what a classic.
Who's going to play the Zunni role in this one?
I am also pleased to see that whottt in that thread admitted Alvin Robertson > Terry mings. Too bad he's gotten stupid about that fact over the last two years.
I'm probably gonna get flamed out by some people because of this, but in my opinion, the #1 non-US born player is Sabonis. He just had the disgrace of not being able to move outside the USSR in the peak of his career, and when he did move, he chose Spain.
But between 1981 and 1994 he was the most dominant player in FIBA, at club and international level.
Before his injuries, he was able to play point guard for large periods of the game. That is a 7'3'' point center with better passing skills than 90% of the current NBA players. He was a sold rock defender, rebounder and shot blocker in a time where FIBA players were known as 3-point specialists only. He was also extremely quick for a man of his size, which was also helped with his mental quickness and his good lateral movement.
The guy was a real one-man fast break, he could defend his rim, block or rebound, start running and finish it with an assist, a 3 pointer or a dunk. Not to mention his solid post game, both in the high or low.
Sabonis was awesome, but did not come to the NBA until the downside of his career.
I'm talking the greatest NBA players of all-time that were born outside of the USA.
I wished I could have seen more of Sabonis at his peak. Unfortunately, he remains only a legend in most minds.
if Manu plays like this in the post, he will surpass Ice man
TC>Alvin Robertson
Lots of guards have been the #1 option for their teams...they didn't score 30ppg on 50% shooting at the guard spots....only one other has done that.
And they didn't win 4 scoring les...
Manu plays both ends of the court and IMO is a more intense compe or than Ice ever was.
I think the comparison is fair.
George Gervin was the all time leader in blocked shots by a 2 guard at time of his retirement, and averaged well over a steal per game for his career...
I hate to tell you this but Manu isn't a very good man on man defender...
And saying Gevin didn't comepete borders on isanity...I promise, you couldn't put up his numbers if you weren't competing...in fact, you couldn't put up his numbers if you were competing.
Manu scored 30 points last night?
George Gervin once scored more than that in a quarter...
It was when he set the NBA record...about 2 hours after it had been set. Not competing indeed...
Last edited by whottt; 02-24-2008 at 01:18 PM.
Manu is a beast. I hope he can play at this level in the playoffs so the world can see.
Just so you guys know...Michael Jordan credits Gervin with teaching him how to win scoring les...
There aren't many guys that can say they taught Michael Jordan anything about scoring...Gervin is one of them. And there aren't many guys that that Jordan says had any kind of influence on him.
Ya'll need to stop and re-evaluate....
And again...Gervin's teams won. They competed for NBA championships...It wasn't like he was just jacking up meaningless shots...he was a franchise 2 guard in every sense of the word.
So .. go ask Jorgan what he thinks about Manu :P
Why are we discussing Sabonis in a thread about the 3 greatest shooting guards in Spurs' franchise history?
Did I just see Ghost actually acknowledge Emmanuel Ginobili's existence?
More like go ask Manu how he feels about Jordan...
But you already know the answer to that don't you?
Ice benefited from being born with maybe the greatest midrange jumpshot in NBA history and a completely unblockable finger roll. I love Manu, but saying he's better than Ice is like trying to say Pierce is better than Bird or Yao is better than Hakeem.
Manu is clearly a top 3 shooting guard in franchise history.
There are two Spurs who I wish had more time with the Spurs. Jack is one and Alvin is the other. But that trade for TC had to be made. One wonders if Alvin's life would have turned out better had he not been traded for TC. I think it says enough about his 5 seasons in San Antonio that he is regarded as one of the best players to have ever suited up for the Silver & Black. If not top 5, then definitely top 10.
HOF right there.
Jesus, Luis is getting ugglier
8 points
9 rebounds
AS PF
Friday, February 22nd, 2008
for the record Many Spurs' player are legend ... in latest times DRob, TD, Manu and TP will be included.
my take is Gervin<>Manu. though Gervin scored more, Manu does more. I'd probably give Gervin a slight edge just because he can do it with less sweat. All he needs is a hanky to wipe his brow.
Couldn't agree more. If I remember correctly, Portland drafted him back in the day and it took 10 years for him to finally get to the NBA. By then, he was merely a shadow of his former self. His freakish athleticism had faded. He still showed some occasional flashes of brilliance. The basic floor game, the passing, the fundementals for which he was famous for. By then, he played the game more with his mind versus his athleticism.
There's nothing more chicken- than beating your wife, but I still love the guy.
Alvin really treated his fans well. I talked to him, got autographs from him, took pictures with him, rebounded balls and shot baskets with him, and such many times as a kid before and after games and at Baseline Bums bar-b-qs. I remember the first game I ever went to was Alvin Robertson poster night, and he stayed for like 15-20 minutes after the game to sign everyone's poster who lined up.
I think he loved being in SA, and he used to own a nightclub somewhere downtown. I absolutely hated the trade when I first heard it, and I was mad as even though I was a huge TC fan from his Milwaukee days. But I was a kid and didn't know the Alvin was doing off the court.
The Bums loved him like family member though, myself included. I remember filling out stacks and stacks of All-Star ballots I'd take home after every game and turn in at the next one with he and Artis selected.
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