Mike
Years ago

NBA Is Really Overrated

I have watched the Philadelphia 76ers play against the Eurocup team Bilbao Basket (Eurocup is the level below Euroleague), and they needed help from the refs to win by 2 points.

Against a EUROCUP team. Not even a Euroleague team.

Then I watched CSKA Moscow beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 108 to 106 in the USA, playing under the pure set of NBA rules and with 3 NBA refs.

Aussie basketball fans do an absurd overrating of the level of the NBA and extreme underrating of the top leagues in Europe.

NBA is clearly overrated to the point of it being ludicrous.

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Kobe24  
Years ago

School holidays.... thanks for sharing your opinion based on 2 preseason games involving 2 very ordinary NBA teams... IF they were at full strength.

Reply #439233 | Report this post


m  
Years ago

Philadelphia 76ers will be lucky to win 10 games this year... #tankforwiggins

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twenty four  
Years ago

And Phoenix, a team likely to finish in the bottom two or three this season, just destroyed Maccabi Haifa, a EuroCup team, by 41 points. Care to explain that one?

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m  
Years ago

If these games were played with proper rotations, halfway through the season they wouldn't even be close.The T-Wolves played their starters for only half the game, it seems like every year someone picks 1-2 games and immediately thinks that the NBA is underrated and that European teams are equally as good.

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The Situation  
Years ago

#danieleadelogic

Reply #439242 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

NBA teams have won 86.9% of the time against European teams from a sample size of 107 games.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_played_between_NBA_and_international_teams

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Damooo  
Years ago

The best 3 Europe teams would get destroyed agaisnt the Heat/Bulls/OKC (with Westbrook) in a 7 game series.

The NBA isn't overrated, it's just that Europe teams are probably underrated.

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Mike  
Years ago

NBA teams have won 86.9% of the time against European teams from a sample size of 107 games.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_played_between_NBA_and_international_teams

---------------------------------

Many of those teams are not Euroleague teams. So that is a meaningless stat.

Reply #439247 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

The world is catching up but the NBA is still on top.

Reply #439250 | Report this post


PlaymakerMo  
Years ago

Wait, is 87% supposed to be bad?

Why would NBA teams care whether they won or not? Preseason counts for nothing.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

87%............half those teams are not Euroleague teams. Get serious.

Anyway, Real Madrid 100 - Bilbao 61

2 days later. 76ers 106 - Bilbao 104

And Bilbao is a Eurocup team. It's funny how someone could even try to defend this.

Everyone in Europe was laughing like crazy over that. You should have heard how all the coaches and analysts talked after the game.

They all agreed from numerous European countries that the 76ers could not make it out of the first group stage of Euroleague.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

NBA teams are playing for the show of it in pre season. all about sorting out roster and getting the young guys in the mix.

Reply #439262 | Report this post


paul  
Years ago

So much wrong with this thread on both sides!

- There are people in Australia who still think the NBA is well above everything else but I dont think that will change, good marketing is good marketing

- There are some people who think the NBA is like WWE, theyre idiots!

- The top few NBA teams are the best on the planet because they have most of the absolute superstars of the game

- The top few Euroleague teams are not far behind because they can sign the best players in Europe without hindrance of salary cap or draft and they play great fundamental basketball

- Lesser European teams dont have access to those international guns and will always struggle against NBA teams, except teams like Philly

- Why would anyone expect a team like Philly to get out of the first round of the Euroleague? They dont have much talent or experience

- The ignorance of European basketball is shown when people say NBA teams dont take pre-season games seriously. Neither do Euroleague teams, Moscow mostly ran their bench in yesterday's OT and had some key players not playing

- All these games show is NBA and good European teams belong on the same court. That's not a surprise given the crossover of players between the NBA and Euroleague.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Agree with Paul,

I have always thought the NBA had the best superstar players, and those superstars eg LeBron, KD, are the best players in the world.

Then after that, the top Euroleague guys, eg the top say 8 guys from the top Euroleague teams would be just as good as most NBA rotation guys and could easily be say anything from the 3rd or 4th best to 9th best on most NBA teams, as a whole not many of the Euroleague guys would be NBA superstars (eg LeBron/KD level) but over time you would get some who would make all star teams, actually possibly quite a few, and the occasional one would be a super star but in general they would be very good players, just not superstars.

Alot of the Euroleague top players have better skills, eg shooting than alot of the the NBA guys who rely more on athleticism. Some of the Euroleague big guys look better than the NBA guys in terms of skills aswell.

I'd love to see the top 4 Euroleague teams join the NBA for a season, see how they go in propper games, i actually reckon they would do quite well, wouldnt rule out a playoff birth either.

I personally rank the leagues something like this

1. NBA
2. Euroleague
3. Other combined Euro leagues - VTB league
4. Stronger Euro leagues - Spanish ACB/Italian Series A, etc
5. NBL/French Pro A/ D-League, various other Euro leagues.
6. NCAA/NZ NBL/SEABL/CBA/other leagues not quite as strong as above groups eg Sweden, French/Italian div 2, etc

I think the NCAA is actually one of the harder leagues to rank, have some absolute guns, but i still rate it overall below the NBL, possibly somewhere between the NBL and say the NZ NBL.

So yea, i think the best players as a whole are in the NBA, but apart from them there wouldnt be much in it between a NBA player and a player playing Euorleague/various other leagues around the world. Just because a guy has played NBA or is in the NBA doesnt make them better than a good Euroleague player, or a top player from various other leagues. Eg Johnny Flynn/Cedric Jackson wouldnt be any worse than some guys on NBA rosters and are probably better than some, just dont have the special skill, reputation,attitude, game style that the clubs/coaches they have been involved with want to stick in with the NBA, and there is so much competition for spots some clubs would have never looked at them, but they would be on par with heaps of guys as all round players. I think a decent comparison is was Patty Mills a level above Cedric Jackson? For me from what i saw, no, in fact you could argue Cedric is better, but Mills is in the NBA, albeit not huge minutes and Cedric has played NBL and now in the Euroleague. Could also compare Cedric to Flynn, who at one stage started in the NBA, albeit for a weak team.

There are many examples of this around the world, just shows apart from the superstars and depth of talent on the good NBA teams, there isnt much difference between a NBA player and a top player playing around the world.

Reply #439277 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

"A lot of those teams aren't Euroleague teams, etc."

Look at the records of Euroleague teams then. How many have a winning record against NBA teams?

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Who cares? It's pre-season for both and it's call an exhibition game for a reason.

Reply #439283 | Report this post


paul  
Years ago

"Look at the records of Euroleague teams then. How many have a winning record against NBA teams?"

In the past four years Barcelona and Moscow are 5-0 v NBA teams (although I think Moscow will be well beaten by the Spurs tomorrow, especially if they dont have a full team like last game).

When the games are played under NBA rules in the USA the European teams dont have a good record. When it's combined rules played in Europe it is a very level playing field.

But they are exhibition games as anon said, just a rough guide, and all they show is the top European teams are at a somewhat similar level. I dont think they can quite match the very top NBA teams who have loaded rosters though.

Reply #439287 | Report this post


Mystro  
Years ago

"I have watched the Philadelphia 76ers play against the Eurocup team Bilbao Basket (Eurocup is the level below Euroleague), and they needed help from the refs to win by 2 points."

OKC only just beat the 76ers so they must be shit also (albeit without Russel Westbrook)?

Reply #439290 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Speaking of exhibition games, would it be worth an NBL club going to the US and playing a NBA team?

(assuming this can be organised, and would be easier for the Australian team to do the travel as the NBA teams dont seem all that interested in travelling to Australia)

I think if nothing else it would be a great experience for the team, and a bit more match practice can never hurt, especially if they actually stayed quite competitive or won a game, even against a lesser NBA team.

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paul  
Years ago

I think that might be a good way of planting the idea of an NBA team coming here for a game. If you did alright and then pitched a good business case to them who knows what might happen.

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BALLER#3  
Years ago

I dont think its a case of the NBA being overrated, more Euro underrated and you almost hear nothing about it in Australia.

I think the gap between them is alot smaller then some would think but the NBA is still the most talented.

Reply #439303 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Agreed

Reply #439313 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Another interesting happening today, Donta Smith ex NBLer got a tripple double against Detroit, fantastic effort, even if just a pre-season game and not against a NBA power house, there is another example of a guy not playing NBA or Euroleague but is just/better as good as many guys who are.

Reply #439318 | Report this post


daneo  
Years ago

and 1 turnover away from a Quadtriple Double...
Had a good game yesterday also.

Reply #439321 | Report this post


It's the preseason...NOBODY CARES.

Reply #439323 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

This is one of the more interesting topics in the basketball world right now. How big is the gap?
First thing is first, it is correct that NBA teams do not exactly take these pre-season games seriously, even games against other NBA teams, in terms of rotations, effort, attitudes. If they did, maybe this discussion is not valid.
However, on topic i think it is more Euro teams and leagues being underrated. Especially how effective their style of play can be! Completely different style to that of the NBA, so when they bring this to an NBA team like the 76ers, its like bringing a gun to a first fight really. The only NBA players with exposure to this style are Team USA members, which are 12 out of the whole NBA?

Reply #439324 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

I watched Bulls v Memphis and Memphis played pretty much no one and at half speed. Its pre-season, the only people that care are rookies or entrenched bench players who want to prove they deserve minutes. The stars dont give a toss..........

Reply #439325 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Exactly, NBA pre-season games are a complete joke, they run their scrubs stars don't play at all or might play 10 miniutes or so.

In the regular-season the best Euroleague teams would get beaten by 2/3 of NBA teams regularly and the top NBA teams would annihilate them. It's only the shit NBA teams that are tanking from day 1 that the best Euroleague teams could beat.

Reply #439332 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Better or worse, who cares. Like beauty, quality is in the eye of the beholder. I prefer to watch the NBA than any European leagues and much more than the local Nothing But Layups league.

Now I'll duck for cover as the local fans who cannot handle anybody having different tastes or opinions to their own get all worked up over the sacrilege of somebody not liking the NBL.

Reply #439333 | Report this post


paul  
Years ago

Anon two above, I think the top half dozen Euroleague teams would surprise you, they go up a notch or two for their real games too.

They basically have unfettered access to the best players in Europe and they all play together beautifully. I dont think they could beat the best in the NBA regularly, but they are certainly a cut above the bottom half, especially if you combined the rules.

Reply #439334 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

I've seen enough Euroleague in my time to know otherwise. NBA teams go at about 30% capacity in preseason games, Euroleague teams take it a lot more seriously than that. They could beat the bottom 1/3 of teams but not the playoff contending teams.

Reply #439335 | Report this post


paul  
Years ago

I dont think they take it any more seriously. Most of them play their imports a lot, because it means a lot to those guys, and most of the rest of their guys roll through a practice game.

If it's close at the end everyone on the court takes it seriously.

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Carcus Mamby  
Years ago

preseason is never a good gauge on team ability.

Reply #439378 | Report this post


Mick  
Years ago

People will always underrate or write off the nba because it gives them a kick
or a little bit of euphoria when faced with the responses.

It doesnt mean we should redeem or satisfy them with an intelligible response...

Reply #439410 | Report this post


Bear  
Years ago

The world is catching up, because global sport or world games are just that 'Played around the world'!

So, when we want to compare leagues we need to take into account many things, such as history, passion, professionalism, money, expertise and so on...

Look at how soccer (football in many parts of the world) is percieved as being the best in Europe, apologies to South America, but Europe is still the heartland of soccer.

Most teams, most stars, biggest crowds, most countries and the amount of money is obscene.

Yes, the USA, Asia, Africa, South America and other leagues like ours are slowly cacthing up, but Europe is still king.

So it is in basketball, the USA (the NBA) is still king for various reasons, not over rated IMO, just that it is still the biggest and best, but the world is slowly catching up, good on the rest of the world I say...

Reply #439415 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

The world is catching up, but the richest European teams have always been great, they didn't have much catching up to do.

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David  
Years ago

Just keep in mind European players such as Šarūnas Jasikevičius and Sofoklis Schortsanitis have destroyed USA teams in the past in one off international tournaments. But when it has come to actually playing against NBA talent consistently they have struggled. Jasikevičius had three fairly mediocre years in the NBA with the Pacers/Warriors, while Schortsanitis would even fail to make the Los Angeles Clippers roster in preseason and would be cut.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Just as Ty Lawson struggled against European talent and then became an NBA star, or how Ricky Rubio was struggling off the bench in the Euroleague but went to the NBA and was runner-up Rookie of the Year.

This argument can't be settled by individual examples.

Reply #439618 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Every single person that says NBA teams don't take preseason games against Euroleague teams seriously is both a troll and a liar. The NBA teams usually play those games much harder than they do a regular season game - about 5 to 10 times harder than they do a regular season NBA game.

There is some incredible trolling going on in this thread.

Reply #440101 | Report this post


Nathan of Perth  
Years ago

Poor effort at a reverse troll, anonymous, kindly stick your head in a blender to improve the standard of this board.

Reply #440105 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Everyone saying NBA teams don't play hard in those games against Euroleague teams is such a liar and a troll they deserve to be banned.

PERIOD

Reply #440195 | Report this post


Pauly B  
Years ago

Judging the NBA based on preseason games is ridiculous. The starters don't play much after half time and most of the veterans clearly don't give a crap about preseason. I agree that most of us underrate European basketball but once the NBA guys really get going they would blow the Euro teams out more often than not

Reply #440206 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

What about once the Euro guys really get going?

Reply #440217 | Report this post




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