There is no doubt that impressive international talent has always been present within the NBA. However, throughout history, the faces of the NBA have consistently been of American descent. Whether it's Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, Larry Bird, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and many more, Americans have always dominated and defined what we know as the NBA.
Over the last 5 years, this has changed dramatically. As players like LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant age, inevitably approaching the end of their careers, we look ahead and ask, who will be the new faces of our beloved NBA?
International talent has been on the rise fast, and there is no denying the outstanding skills that some of these players possess. Players like Nikola Jokić, Joel Embiid, Luka Dončić, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, all of foreign descent, have been taking over our league. With Embiid winning the MVP last year, Jokić winning it in the two previous years, and Giannis the two years before that, we can clearly see this surge in international domination. Before Giannis's first MVP, the last 12 before him were all of American descent. With another foreign player likely to win this prestigious award again this year, we have officially entered an era where Americans no longer dominate the NBA.
So, who will be the next face of the NBA? Over the last 15 or so years, we have seen consistency in who is dominating year after year. We have witnessed intense battles between LeBron, Curry, Durant, Kobe, etc., but now the frequency of these appearances is slowly fading away. With LeBron being the oldest player in the league at 39 and likely retiring within the next few years, it's hard for us to picture the NBA without the glorified King James. After LeBron, it's likely that Stephen Curry, who is 35 and known as the best shooter of all time, will soon follow him on the road to retirement. Then we will see Kevin Durant, one of the most talented scorers of all time, who is currently 35, slowly fade out of the NBA as well.
There is no specific year for when each of these generational talents will officially retire, but all NBA fans know that our time to see these Hall of Fame-caliber players is slowly coming to an end. Although this is sad and it's a hard thing to imagine, the talent that we have gained in the last 10 years is something to be thoroughly excited about.
Looking ahead, the NBA will look a lot different in the next 5 years. Many of these historic greats will be gone, and new rivalries will come to light. Although there are still many talented American players in the NBA who are also building a big name for themselves, there is no doubt that foreign talent will run the next generation of the NBA.
We should not view this as a negative, but more as a positive connotation. Our American-created league has expanded worldwide and has attracted players and fans from all over the world. We have created a global entity, and it's truly fascinating to see players from the other side of the planet come to our league and showcase the talent and skills that they possess.
Although, foreign talent is not new to us, as we have seen greats in the past like Dirk Nowitzki, Yao Ming, Tony Parker, Paul Gasol, etc., this new surge of MVP-level talent is something never seen before in a space like the NBA. It's rare for this high level of talent to appear in such a short time period one after the other, keeping in mind that lots of these guys were not highly anticipated to be at an MVP level. Each of these players had to push past stereotypes and put long hours into their craft to show the NBA that foreign competition is just as elite as American.
The strategies that international basketball preaches are not as consistent with the NBA as they strive more on fundamentals and team oriented basketball. These foundations of coaching have helped each of these All-Star caliber players coming from other countries excel in a more American dominated landscape.
Now that they have evolved and adapted to the American play style while also combining it with their own, it has lead to this new found global domination of the NBA and it will be this way for many years to come.
Great read!