Zydrunas Ilgauskas; Andrew Bogut, Luis Scola - Best International NBA players of 2000’s (Part-5)
Zydrunas Ilgauskas:
The bald headed Zydrunas Ilgauskas is an old war horse. His first season with Cleveland Cavaliers in 1996 was filled with injuries and he missed all the matches in that season. However, when fully fit in 2001, he scored at an average
of 17.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
Zydrunas’ career saw its peak after LeBron James arrived in Cleveland. With James, Zydrunas settled into the role of a more defensive centre. The combo worked wonder and in 2007, the Cavaliers managed to reach the NBA finals. Although
the Cavs were swept by the Spurs, in the next two seasons, Zydrunas continued to complement James and put impressive numbers.
In 2010, he left Cavaliers and signed with Miami Heat on insistence from his ex team mate LeBron and is now expected to retire.
Ilgauskas career may have been a see saw tale, but in his prime, he used to be consistent double-double threats. He is a two time All-Star and his overall average, despite of the injuries and a few mediocre seasons, stands at 13.0
points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists, making him one of the better foreign players in NBA history.
Andrew Bogut:
The first overall selection by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2005 NBA draft, Andrew Bogut plays as a centre and has been a class act through the years. The Australian native is considered one of the best passing centres in the whole league.
In the 2007-08 season, the Aussie big saw his peak with an average of 14.3 points and 9.8 rebounds. He is a double-double freak and his jump and blocks are outstanding.
Andrew is still young and with time he is likely to improve and become a much better player in future. Since 2007, injuries have taken their toll as well. However, when physically fit, he is a substantial double-double threat.
Nene Hilario:
Nene was picked as seventh overall by New York Knicks in 2002, but was immediately traded to the Denver Nuggets. The Brazilian born Nene has had a decent career so far, averaging 12.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game.
However, he is a much better player than his stats show.
The 2008-09 season was his best. In that season, he recorded averages of 14.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.3 steals and the same number of blocks. However, if the reports are to be believed, Nene is willing to take a next step in his
career and move on from the Nuggets to a championship contender.
Hedo Turkoglu:
Hedo Turkoglu was the first ever Turkish player to be drafted in the NBA. He started his career with Sacramento Kings in 2000 and posted decent performances in the first few years. In 2003, Hedo was traded to San Antonio Spurs
and later in 2004 to Orlando Magic. At Magic, he scored career highs of 39 points twice and was named as the most improved player later in the season.
In the following year, he was traded to Phoenix Suns. With Nash already in the mix, there did not arise much opportunities for Turkoglu to make a mark and late last year, he made his way back to Orlando in a blockbuster trade.
Turkoglu might have lost a bit of steam now, but he has certainly been an asset over the years.
Luis Scola:
Luis Scola’s has been in NBA for only four years but the 6 ft 6 in Argentinean star has quickly established himself as a dominant power forward. Scola plays for the Houston Rockets and was amongst the contenders for rookie of the
year award in 2007-2008.
Luis’s average is rapidly improving with every season and if it continues improving at this rate, who knows he might end as one of the best foreign players in NBA history. At the moment his career average is 14.3 points and 8 rebounds
per game.
Luis is one consistent double-double threat and with time, he will only improve.
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