Prigioni against naturalization rule: 'I prefer to lose with Argentines than win with foreigner' / News - Basketnews.com

As stated by Pablo Prigioni, the national team is the purest thing in basketball.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Lorenzo Brown's naturalization continues to be a hot topic in the basketball world.

Lorenzo Brown

Team:Maccabi Tel AvivPosition:PG, SGAge:32Height:198 cmWeight:90 kgBirth place:Georgia, United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

After Brown's express naturalization which led Spain to a gold medal at FIBA EuroBasket 2022, Argentinian NT head coach and country's basketball legend, Pablo Prigioni, shared his view on naturalized players.

"I was always against it [naturalization]. As long as I'm in the national team, that's not going to happen. There won't even be a staff member from another country," Prigioni told Basquet Plus.

"When I will not be here, let them [Federation] make the decision they want. For me, the national team is the purest thing. We already have club competitions to compete with players from all over the world. And I find it fantastic.

I'm not against the national teams that do it, but against the rule. I prefer to lose with our players than try to win with an athlete, who is not Argentine. I don't think Lorenzo Brown feels the Spanish jersey like [Sergio] Llull or Rudy [Fernandez]. That's where the discussion ends for me," stated the 45-year-old.

Prigioni then compared the situation with naturalized players to a transfer market, where national teams have an opportunity to choose from foreigners.

"It ends up becoming that. And it doesn't make sense to me. If we don't win with our players, we will have to work harder in training and so on," Prigioni concluded.

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