After going undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft, Langston Galloway went on to have a successful eight-year career in the league. The veteran combo guard earned nearly $30 million through NBA contracts by 2022. However, once Galloway was on the wrong side of 30, it was clear his effectiveness had waned. That didn’t mean he was ready to call it a career, though. Since his last stint with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021-22, Galloway has taken his talents overseas to Italy.
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Galloway signed with UnaHotels Reggio Emilia in 2023. He spent one season there before joining the Trapani Shark in 2024, another member of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A, where he remains today. While his stint in Italy has been a short one thus far, Galloway has still witnessed the stark differences between European and American hoops.
Not only is the game different, but players’ skill sets are as well. Known for utilizing craftiness to compensate for their lack of vertical explosion, Europeans often play a low-to-the-ground game that thrives in the halfcourt. In an exclusive conversation with The SportsRush’s Adit Pujari, Galloway discussed these contrasts in playing styles.
“The one thing I would say is, you know, players overseas have kind of dedicated time towards basketball from the sense of like when you start young, you see they have like, obviously in school, most of the times it’s more dedicated to like, all right, if you want to play basketball, you want to play football, which is soccer here in the States, it’s like you want to play those sports,” Galloway said.
The 33-year-old explained that much of the difference in how young athletes operate goes back to their upbringing. Many Americans find a sport they love and completely dedicate themselves to that choice alone. But Europeans are taught multiple sports from a young age, even if they favor a particular one.
“Like, you know, all the kids over there know how to play football … All the kids understand, you know, how to lift weights at a young age,” Galloway continued. “It’s just all encompassing of like, the fundamentals of when you start young to where you’re at high school, and it’s like, then it becomes more about the practice and the fundamentals and the coaches being able to critique and learn.”
The fundamentals of athletics are stressed from a young age in European sports. They become the backbone of many professional stars’ play styles. In recent years, the NBA has seen the stark difference in how Europeans operate, with All-NBA talents like Alperen Sengun and Nikola Jokic dominating in the United States.
Galloway believes this is because the fundamentals are so deeply ingrained into the daily lives of European athletes. They also have a schedule that differs from that of American athletes, which can affect what and how much they can learn at any given time. It can be difficult for young American athletes to master the fundamentals because of various other distractions and responsibilities.
“You obviously have school, you have, you know, practice and all that, but when you really look at like how over there, the fundamentals are built from an early age, and they just continue to go,” Galloway added, explaining that many children dedicate themselves to sports in hopes of creating a better life for their family.
“And you can see it in, like I said, the footwork, the dedication to the game, and then, you know, a lot of kids over there, they sacrifice a lot because they’re trying to get out of the situation that they’re in to, you know, help their family,” Galloway went on.
Europeans may play a different style of basketball, but their passion for the sport matches, or even exceeds, that of Americans at times. Now, in the modern NBA, we’re able to witness the results of decades of fundamental teachings in Europe. The league boasts more overseas stars than ever, and that number should only continue to grow.
