San Francisco Frontiers - European basketball pioneer Schrempf lauds 'global' NBA

"The NBA has gone global," Schrempf told AFP from Berlin, where the Memphis Grizzlies and Orlando Magic will face off on Thursday.

A three-time NBA All-Star, Schrempf is considered the first true European star in the NBA, popularising the game in his native Germany and Europe.

Four decades on, international players -- particularly Europeans -- are entrenched at the top of the game.

In 2023, Germany eliminated the United States on the way to becoming men's FIBA World Champions for the first time.

The NBA MVP award, given annually to the league's best player, has not been won by an American since 2018.

With France's Victor Wembanyama and Slovenian Luka Doncic joining multiple MVP winners Nikola Jokic, of Serbia, and 'Greek Freak' Giannis Antetokounmpo as the NBA's leading lights, the European presence is here to stay.

"There was talent like that in the past, but they didn't have the opportunities," Schrempf said of the new superstars, adding some facilities were so poor "you wouldn't want your kid playing basketball in that thing every day.

"When I got drafted, there were maybe two scouts and one coach at the European Championship before the draft.

"Nowadays, every NBA team has multiple scouts all over the world looking for talent."

- 'Paved the way' -

Seven-time All-Star Grant Hill, now a co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks, said Schrempf "paved the way" for the modern NBA players: skillful big men who can dribble and shoot.

Drafted to the Dallas Mavericks, a franchise with an eye for European talent like Doncic and German former MVP Dirk Nowitzki, Schrempf's career took off when traded to the Indiana Pacers in 1989.

Moving to the Seattle Supersonics in 1993, Schrempf went all the way to the NBA finals in 1996, pushing Michael Jordan's world-beating Chicago Bulls to six games.

"I don't like to compare different eras, but they were tough to beat," Schrempf said.

"They had a lot of really good players, knew what they were supposed to do and had arguably the best player ever. We had our chances, but just didn't execute."

The 2.08-metre (6'9")-tall Schrempf, nicknamed 'Det the Threat', shifted perceptions that European players were soft -- and helped change the game in general.

"That's what everyone was saying, and I kept saying, 'I don't think so'.

"I always said it's a lot harder to play European Championships, World Championships or Olympics than playing NBA games.

"They saw big guys shooting versus posting up. They said, 'well these guys don't want to mix it up inside'."

"I never really gave it any thought that that was my intent to change the thinking or the feeling about how or what European players are.

"I was trying to play basketball."

- US basketball development 'restricted' -

Thanks to Schrempf and fellow FIBA hall of famer Nowitzki, skillful big men are now the archetype of the modern NBA player.

Schrempf, who has lived in Seattle since retiring, questions whether his career would have hit such lofty heights had he grown up in America.

"Typically, tall guys were more skilled (from Europe) because you were taught all these things early on: dribbling, passing, shooting, understanding the game.

"In the US, if you were a big guy, you were posting up.

"My kids growing up, as soon as they were the tallest kid on the team, they were told to stay under the basket... versus working your skills, your shooting, dribbling and passing."

Three-time MVP Jokic, widely considered the NBA's best player, is a prime example.

"With Jokic, it's a whole different level, what he brings to the game. A big guy that can dominate on so many fronts. It's just amazing."

Despite the success of European players, Schrempf does not expect meaningful change Stateside, where playing games is often restricted at high school and college level.

"Good luck with that -- you're dealing with slow-moving, big entities that have never changed.

"Nowadays, a youth player can learn the game much, much better in another system, not necessarily in the United States. Everything is so restricted."

"In Europe, you can practice three times a day. If you really want to get better, you can."

V.Perez--SFF