Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash - Best International NBA players of 2000’s (Part-1)
Basketball is game that knows no bounds. At first, it was limited to America but with the passage of time, the hoops game gained immense popularity and is now one of the world’s most popular and widely viewed sports.
NBA, the American basketball league, has produced some great players since its creation. Most of them have naturally been Americans, but in last two decades or so, we have seen inclusion of foreign players from Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia; players, who have proven themselves to be the best in business.
In the list below, we have ranked some of the best foreign players NBA has seen in the last decade;
Dirk Nowitzki:
The 7 ft German, who plays the power forward position is the back bone of current NBA Champions Dallas Mavericks. Without a shadow of doubt, he is the greatest international player of all time. In his 11 year NBA career, he has achieved almost everything, but his greatest achievement so far is last season’s NBA championship.
Up against the powerful Miami Heat side, featuring players like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, Nowitzki put on a show that will be remembered for some time to come.
The finals MVP and the 10-time All-Star has got every shot in the book in his arsenal. He has ability to play at any frontcourt position and his career average of 23.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game make him not only the greatest international player, but one of the all-time greats in NBA too.
Steve Nash:
Steve Nash – poetry in motion. The Phoenix Suns star is one of the finest point guards to have ever graced the league.
Nash was selected by Phoenix Suns in the 1994 draft, but was immediately traded to the Dallas Mavericks, where he played for six years. His overall average 14.6 points, 3 rebounds and 8.5 assists is not that extraordinary as Dirk Nowitzki, but the impact that Nash makes on the court and the way he carries the whole team is something that has always made him a standout. He is a master of opening up defences with his pin point passes and when given an open look, there ain’t many perimeter shooters, who are as good as Nash.
Nash won the MVP for two consecutive years in 2004 and 2005 and was very much on his way to win it third time in a row, but lost it to Nowitzki. The Canadian swing man is up there at the top in free throw shooting, three-point shooting and assists per game.
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