11 Amazing Immigrants

The NBA's Top Foreign Players

April 12, 2008

As you have surely noticed, lists are all the rage and I feel powerless to stop their onslaught on my own blog. In these times of economic turmoil, foreigners are often accused of taking our jobs (whoever we may be). And it’s true: some of the highest-paid manual workers in the U.S. started their lives and learned their trade somewhere else on the globe.

Thence, without further ado, I present to you – in inverse order:

The NBA’s eleven best foreign-born players

(Apologies to Tim Duncan who was born on the Virgin Islands but has suited up for the U.S. in international competition.)

11. Juan Carlos Navarro (Memphis Grizzlies)

This year’s winner of the Sarunas Jasikevicius Award for the Euroleague star who should have stayed where he was instead of taking his game across the Atlantic. Navarro is a great shooter and a very smart and skilled offensive player but he is stuck on an awful team in Memphis and his best mate, Pau Gasol, got shipped out to LA for twenty cent on the dollar. So, Juan Carlos, has going to Spain on holiday ever looked as enticing?

10. Mehmet Okur (Utah Jazz)

When Dirk Nowitzki came into his own in the NBA, he was hailed as the sweetest-shooting 7-footer to ever play the game. With earth-bound Memo hitting clutch threes to win games for Utah, he’s now got competition from a fellow European. And since he is the only NBA player with a double chin, I have a particularly soft spot for him. The only downside to last year’s All-Star is that whenever there is a highflying dunk or a spectacular and-one against the Jazz, Memo is most likely to be somewhere on the picture trying to get out of the way.

9. Andrei Kirilenko (Utah Jazz)

AK47 - the guy with the best nick-name in the NBA - is a special player, indeed. Last summer, the lanky forward led the Russian national team to a surprising gold in the European Championships. At the same time, he voiced his displeasure with his role on the Utah Jazz where he is arguably the fourth option behind Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer and Okur. Somehow he has signed an armistice with Coach Jerry Sloan and gone back to terrorizing opposing players who dare to dash to the hoop. And together with the Atlanta Hawks’ Josh Smith, Kirilenko remains the only player to regularly threaten for a five-five game: one in which he reaches at least five points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals. But if the Jazz don’t win it all this year (which they just might!), I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mr Kirilenko in a different uniform come fall.

8. Hidayet Turkoglu (Orlando Magic)

The tall Turk has been in the League for eight years and just might take home the Most Improved Player Trophy. Hedo always could shoot from anywhere on the court but under Stan Van Gundy aka Ron Jeremy, he has been given the green light to penetrate and to create shots off the dribble both for himself and his teammates. He edges out his countryman Okur ever so slightly for having a career year, delivering over and over again in the clutch and living in sunny Florida instead of Mormontown.

7. Jose Calderon (Toronto Raptors)

In contrast to his national team pal Navarro, Calderon came to the NBA at an earlier stage in his career and it has paid much higher dividends. The Raptors may be struggling right now going into the playoffs but you cannot fault Calderon who is one of the most efficient distributors in the NBA and a master of the lost art of mid-range jumpers. For the past two years, Toronto has been running the point by committee with Calderon and T.J. Ford sharing duties. Here’s hoping that Coach Sam Mitchell comes to his senses and lets the Spaniard handle the ball from here on out.

6. Pau Gasol (Los Angeles Lakers)

It tough to truly evaluate Pau Gasol’s value. With Gasol leading the way and looking like the best power forward in the world, Spain won the World Championships in 2006. In Memphis, however, Pau was being paid franchise money without playing like a franchise player and the perception abounded that he was unhappy and not giving his all. Now, all of sudden, he finds himself in LA alongside Kobe Bryant and rediscovers his abilities as one of the most versatile and agile 7-footers. Obviously, I cannot read Gasol’s mind but this situation eerily reminds me of Vince Carter playing hard again once he left Canada for the New Jersey Nets. That’s not the company you want to be in, Pau!

Well, that's it for today! Come back tomorrow to check out the top five. Please!

(To see the top-five, click here: [1])

- Ole