Suns star Kevin Durant had a strong reaction to claims that superior overseas training is responsible for so many foreign-born players capturing MVP honors, writes Dana Scott of The Arizona Republic.
On Wednesday, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was born in Canada, extended a seven-year stretch of the NBA’s top award going to players from outside the United States. The streak began in 2019 when Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece won his first of two consecutive MVP trophies. The award then went to Nikola Jokic of Serbia for two straight years, followed by Joel Embiid of Cameroon before Jokic reclaimed it last season.
Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokic and Antetokounmpo were the top three vote-getters for the award this year, and Scott points out that every finalist since 2022 has been an international player. James Harden in 2018 was the last American to be named MVP.
Durant, the 2014 MVP, posted on Twitter that the argument that foreign players have an advantage due to intense training is “corny.”
“Most of these successful international guys either are influenced heavily by American basketball culture, played high school ball in America, some even went to college here,” he wrote. “This whole convo is trash, basketball is a universal language, some people have different dialect. Some states teach the game different than other states, who says there’s a perfect way to teach the game?”
Scott notes that Durant was replying to Robert Littal, co-founder of Black Sport Online, who commented on the Netflix show “Court of Gold.” The documentary on the 2024 Summer Olympics compares the rigorous training style employed by European coaches with a more relaxed approach from their American counterparts. Durant appeared to be most upset about Littal’s assertion that “we have become a soft country.”
Durant is wrong… it’s true.
Everbody on this site grew up playing that individual game on the playground (or gym) called “21”. Sometimes you played it for hours, or sometimes just until there were enough players to play 4on4 or 5on5.
The training in the US (young kids, hs players , etc…) consists of cones, Euro-steps, and 50 dribble combinations into either a step-back or side-step jumpshot…. All the training is geared to social media and seems as it’s sole purpose is to prepare young players to play a great game of “21”!!
Like you don’t have any teammates and you gotta go 1v5 every possession.
Horrible trainers and training, AAU, and social media is killing the game.
They are way ahead of us overseas – I’ve literally seen it.
If they do that USA vs the World at the next All-Star Game, I wonder what Durant’s excuse will be when the US gets ran off the court.
I also think the whole AAU circuit is at least partially responsible for the uptick in injuries. It’s all about sponsorship and making money it’s not really about the development of players. Like pretty much everything in America it’s become corporatized.
Absolutely! Players playing year ‘round since 4th grades is killing the joints – especially the young ladies.
ACL’s… Achilles… Hamstrings…
Injuries? No. Those kids would be playing anyway. AAU Is killing the sport because of the lack of fundamentals. Kids are trying to get noticed and recruited outside the school scene, so it becomes about one out two kids on a team that everyone funnels the plays through. European kids are all about the fundamentals and padding stats isn’t something they’re overly concerned with.
Didn’t the USA just win the olympic gold medal for basketball? Lol
The advantage foreign players have is that they are brought up learning the fundamentals of the game. They also can play professionally as a 16 year old so they can play against better players and develop.
True, but I doubt that has a lot to do with MVPs specifically. Those types of elite talents would be fine regardless of where they developed. Different story for regular rotation players.
KD is correct, as usual. It’s an idiotic argument, as Shai has been living in the USA since he was a high school junior, almost all these foreign-born guys have lived in the USA since they were a child, like, what are we doing here?
Correct as usual? I can’t recall him ever being correct. He’s great at whining, though.
Just like Davey, KD is never correct and is always whining.
Most International players develop the fundamentals. US players develop whatever gets them the most exposure for their brand.
In Europe they value talent, in the USA seems that the main thing is athleticism and physical ability which really does not matter much in basketball… talent and fundamentals always come on top, make no mistake about that!
Durant being Durant like always.
The reason internationals are thriving even with similar education is simple…
American exceptionalism, much like Lakers or Warriors exceptionalism, makes the average kid lazy…
They think they dont have to try because they were born in the right country… Much like a lazy trade proposal from a blinkered fan which ignores the CBA…
Whilst international players know that doesn’t matter at all…