Kevin Garnett names his favorite Euro player, disagrees with the 'soft' label / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: AFP – Scanpix Credit AFP – Scanpix

Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett named his favorite Euro player. In his book "KG: A to Z: An Uncensored Encyclopedia of Life, Basketball, and Everything in Between", a 45-year-old NBA champion praised European basketball's impact on the NBA and disagreed with many labels that follow Euro NBA players to this day.

Domantas Sabonis

Team:Sacramento KingsPosition:PF, CAge:25Height:211 cmWeight:109 kgBirth place:Portland, United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

"My all-time favorite was Arvydas Sabonis, born in Lithuania. I had tapes of him playing for the USSR. He was a beast," Garnett wrote in his memoir book. "Stood his ground against Ewing and Robinson in the '88 Olympics."

"He let us know Americans weren't the only ones who could hoop. Cat was 7 feet 3. Could jump. Play all five positions. Use either hand. Flexible. Fluid. And also cerebral," he added.

"In 1995, I met Arvydas in the locker room at the Alamodome in San Antonio. He was back there with his wife as well as one of his sons, who had a headful of crazy hair. Talking in his thick accent and forceful manner, Arvydas had us all enchanted with his stories of taking on the greatest in the game," Garnett wrote in "KG: A to Z". "I just sat there. Could have listened for hours."

"His own professional story ended sadly cause he blew out both Achilles tendons. Anyone will tell you that after that, you're never the same. You lose your explosiveness. On a happier note, his son with crazy hair was Domantas Sabonis, who made it into the NBA in 2016 with OKC. I consider Domantas' dad one of my heroes," Garnett added.

Garnett probably got two-time NBA All-Star mixed up with his brothers, Tautvydas or Zygimantas because Domantas Sabonis was born in 1996.

Garnett disagrees with many stereotypes about International players.

He actually thought that the championship teams, such as the Boston Celtics or Golden State Warriors, were influenced by a major European basketball feature.

"Other Euros were stupendous. German Dirk Nowitzki. Spanish Pau Gasol. Argentine-Italian Manu Ginobili.

Domantas Sabonis

MIN:34.28PTS:18.6 (62.12%)REB:12.21As:5.19ST:0.95BL:0.44TO:3.12GM:57ProfileNBA2021/2022

Did I like how they brought the flopping and the flailing to the game? Sure, why not? It gave them identity. That Euro step-back move, that one-legged fadeaway off the backboard - all major contributions to the NBA style," Garnett wrote in 'KG: A to Z'.

"I loved it when other cultures integrated their skills with ours. Everyone benefited. The internationalization of basketball is one of the great stories in sports history."

"Some say the Euro style is soft. Bullshit. What do you think we were doing in Boston? Swinging it around the arc trying to get an open look for Ray or P. What do you think the Warriors were doing during that championship run? That was straight Euro ball," Garnett revealed.

"It ain't soft. It's smart. And once everybody realized that, once everybody saw all the success a team could have playing like that, everybody started imitating them. Everybody rocking the Eurostep now. If that ain't a part of your game, your game is incomplete."

Garnett also prefers the European basketball path for young players rather than the US basketball system.

"The more I traveled, the more I appreciated the European approach. European players don't go to college. They start playing professionally as soon as they're good enough. Ricky Rubio started playing pro at fourteen. Compared to him, Dirk and Luka Doncic were old men when they started at sixteen."

"Playing pro at that age means ain't nobody got time for immature bullshit. You're playing with grown-ass men who need the money to feed their families and ain't interested in putting up with no prima donnas. That'll make you grow up quick," Garnett explained.

"Not like the American system of basketball, the hype-machine culture of yes-men that stars with AAU. Everybody wanting to cash in on you, everyone kissing your ass and saying things they think you want to hear rather than the things you need to hear. So when American players finally get into the league, they gotta overcome all that ego-trippin' in a way that European players don't," he added.

"Except some American players who come into the league really mature, and some Euros who can be d*cks - think cause they're hot sh*t abroad that's gonna translate to the NBA. But for the most part, the European model seems better designed to set a player up for success," Garnett concluded.

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