Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce have carved a niche in the sports media industry for themselves. On the latest podcast of Show Time Basketball, the two legends discussed the current state of the league. In their opinion, the face of the league is now shifting to being ‘international’. The discussion came about after the United States failed to even achieve a podium finish at the FIBA World Cup 2023. The ex-teammates believe that players like Giannis Antetokounmpo, or Nikola Jokic, are now the face of the league.
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The revelation from the two Celtics Champions doesn’t come as a surprise as the USA had a very poor outing in the last two editions of the FIBA World Cup. The USA team even failed to place third, losing to Canada in the third-place match. The criticism directed towards the team seems warranted as players such as Dillon Brooks and Dennis Schroder left the tournament with Best Defender and MVP awards respectively.
Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce weigh in on the current face of the NBA being ‘international’
Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce recently discussed who the face of the NBA was, following the USA’s early exit from the FIBA World Cup. While on the show, KG Certified, the duo aired their views on the reality of the league. The duo believes, “Jokic is the current face of the league”.
Further talking on the matter, Paul Pierce said, “We got better players overall, from top to bottom. But now they have players that can be the best at the top for the first time. Like when was the last time we said that this player, from that country, was the best? For a long time, the best player was Magic, Michael, Shaq, Kobe, and then LeBron. Now we are in an era where it is Jokic. It just started.”
The rest of the world is catching up to America when it comes to producing top tier talent.@KevinGarnett5KG and @paulpierce34 weigh in on the international influx of stars.
Watch all episodes of KG Certified and Ticket and The Truth on our YouTube. pic.twitter.com/0mwedNahDa
— SHOWTIME Basketball (@shobasketball) September 14, 2023
Kevin Garnett added to Paul’s point, stating, “Dirk was the MVP one year but he wasn’t the face of the league like Giannis [Antetokounmpo] or like [Nikola] Jokic is now. The face of the league is International. Our young players aren’t even on the board in the sense of promotions for the league. Ja is one of our best young guys, he isn’t. Zion isn’t on that. The face of the league in the sense that kids want to be like you, act like you, wanna do your dunks. The face of our league is a Giannis or a Joker, I don’t think it’s an American player”.
International basketball has caught up to the USA, especially among young players
Kevin Garnett and The Truth might just be right. But the phenomenon isn’t just true at the very top of the league. Even among the younger up-and-coming stars who will eventually take over the league in years to come, the international crowd seems to be fairing better than the kids from the United States.
Players like Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid, Josh Giddey, Lauri Markkanen, and Dennis Schroder are among the rising stars who have edged out their USA counterparts in head-to-head competition. The international crowd is not only outdoing their USA counterparts in the league but also in international competition, as we could all see during the FIBA World Cup 2023.
