Igor Rakocevic bashes Gilbert Arenas for his take: 'He's from another planet' / News - Basketnews.com

Rakocevic says Arenas doesn't understand basketball and doesn't take into account many intricacies surrounding European basketball. Rakocevic is certain he would do much better in the NBA today compared to when he actually played there.

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Igor Rakocevic was one of the most prolific scorers in the EuroLeague. Although his attempt to get to the NBA wasn't successful, he is sure it would have been much better in this day and age.

Igor Rakocevic

Position:PGAge:46Height:191 cmWeight:86 kgBirth place:Belgrade, SerbiaProfileNewsStatistics

The three-time EuroLeague top scorer recently sat down on the Alesto podcast where he made it clear that scoring, which he was excellent at, is much easier today.

"It is many times easier to make a basket in the NBA than in Europe. First, the game there lasts eight minutes longer, the court is bigger, and there's no defensive three seconds, and you don't have Tavares waiting for you under the basket in the NBA," Rakocevic said.

"Americans are smart when it comes to the commercialization of sports. Their whole philosophy is offensively oriented, and that's how the rules are made," the former player explained. "It's a shame how bad defense is played in the NBA today, except towards the end of the playoffs, and with some teams that still play good defense."

The European way of playing basketball has been under fire in certain parts of the US media recently, with Gilbert Arenas and Paul Pierce being the frontrunners in criticizing European NBA players.

At one point, Arenas even suggested getting rid of all Europeans in the league. Meanwhile, Pierce has labeled Europeans too soft.

"He's a man who doesn't know. He's from another planet when it comes to basketball," Rakocevic said about Arenas. "It's rare that a player comes to Europe to a serious club and has it easy. There are a million examples of an NBA star coming [to Europe when] everyone thinks he's going to break everything by himself, but he can't score ten points. It's a different philosophy, a different basketball."

"We have a situation with [Shabazz] Napier in Zvezda who is technically outstanding - he dribbles, he knows how to pass, he changes the rhythm well, but he didn't feel the atmosphere of Crvena Zvezda, and he didn't change the chip in his head. Many players put their heads down, it's hard for them, and he, probably from that experience in the NBA, looks at it differently and thinks - tomorrow is a new game," Rakocevic said. "That's the difference. Some players can function only in a loose system both in America and in Europe."

At 24 years old, Rakocevic tried his luck in the NBA with the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2002-03 season. It didn't go well, as he averaged just 1.9 points per game on 37.9% shooting, playing just 5.9 minutes per game.

He returned to Europe after just one season, where he ultimately became one of the best scorers in the continent.

"It would definitely be easier for me in the NBA today. The quality has dropped a lot, there is much less defense, and more possessions are played. That suited me," he said.

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