In 1994, Hakeem Olajuwon became the first international player to win the NBA MVP. A decade later, Canadian player Steve Nash won two back-to-back MVPs, followed by Dirk Nowitzki, who became the first European player to win the award. Following Nowitzki, 11 consecutive MVPs. were won by American players. Since then, the seven awards have gone to international players. The trend roughly sketches the trajectory of international injection in the NBA.

Steph Curry and LeBron James were the last of the American superstars to dominate the league. Still, as they approached the twilight of their careers, it’s all Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Giannis Antetokounmpo. The numbers and names fit the narrative that the best players in the league were international players. However, according to Gilbert Arenas, this version was reductive, and the MVP lens didn’t capture the whole reality of the picture.

According to the Arenas, the foreign-born players were taking over predominantly two positions.

“But what type of international players? The big ones, the bigs, right? The Jokic, the Giannis, right? Luka’s all of 6’9″, 6’10”, at his size, for a guard, right? Shai is an international,” Arenas said. “I mean, Shai isn’t Euro, but where is Shai at? Closer to America, right? So he gets his game carved. The best two point guards from international basketball would be who? MVPs, both came from Canada, right? The Euro point guard, the best Euro point guard in history, is Luka first, Tony Parker second, right? From the one, two and three, Euro is lacking, right?”

The rise of non-American superstars also coincided with the bigs dominating the NBA (at least since the 80s and 90s), and it wasn’t merely an accident. Unlike most American bigs, international players, especially European big men, came with fundamentals, which began with Nowitzki.

“You’re talking about the Dirk. What they possessed was guard-like talent at that size. Meaning their bigs also learned how to dribble, pass, shoot, and do big man stuff. So the advantage for the European 6-9 and above is they are taught guard skills. So when they come over here, they have everything. They can play guard, they can play power forward, they can bring inside.”

For Arenas, the international bigs were better than their American counterparts due to the advantage in fundamentals. However, at the one, two, and three positions, the Americans still dominated the league. Moreover, the volume of the best players in the league was still significantly larger than that of just a few international stars.

“So when you’re saying they’re destroying, it’s the same two, three people. That’s not all of them. When you say it’s a takeover, takeover means more than six people. It’s 450 people in the NBA,” the former Washington Wizards player added. “Stop saying the same six people. Those six people, yes, dominating, but when you’re saying Euro takeover, meaning there has to be at least a 60 to 70% of them dominating the sport. Stop naming the same three or four players. That’s just better than everybody. Jokic is just better than everybody. Luka offensively is better than everybody.

“These are all big men that have the height and the skill level to dominate this game. The big man, that’s what Jokic, Giannis, and Embiid was doing was what the nineties were doing outside of [Michael Jordan]. They were dominating the game. But when you’re talking about Euro as a whole group, I mean, come on!”

The international, particularly the European bigs, come with better skills because of how the fundamentals are prioritized in both continents. American bigs like Shaquille O’Neal, Wilt Chamberlain and others dominated the league ruthlessly, but came with practically very little game outside the paint. According to Jokic’s agent, Miško Ražnatović, the European bigs were better cause “European development of the kids…especially in terms of fundamentals, is 10 times better than in the States.”

While there is clearly a difference in fundamentals between American and international stars, it can’t be denied that a growing number of global players are climbing to the status of franchise players in the league, and potentially becoming the face of the NBA.

According to a former NBA player, it’s not just the skills, but also something else that has started to differentiate them.

With Ja Morant potentially exiting Memphis, former NBA player points out the alarming difference between American and European players

A few years ago, Ja Morant was almost every young man’s favorite player. The once most electric star became the face of the Memphis Grizzlies and had quickly become the frontrunner to be the face of the league. And just a week before, the reports suggested that the Grizzlies were ready to listen to offers for Morant. According to Kendrick Perkins, it wasn’t that Ja lost his talent, but rather everything else outside of basketball.

“Three years ago, we was just talking about Ja Morant being the face of the f****** league. being the face of the league!” Perkins said on the Road Trippin’ podcast while compared him to European stars. “They’re not only taking over our league and setting the example on the floor… They’re doing it off the floor.”

“Jokic? We don’t have problems with him off the floor. Giannis? No problems with him off the floor. Luka? No problems with him whatsoever. Wemby.”

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In the last few years, we’ve seen Morant get in trouble for flashing a gun on social media, which got him suspended for a total of 33 games. Earlier this season, the locker-room confrontation between him and the Grizzlies coach, Tuomas Iisalo, made headlines.

What is even worse, there isn’t a big market ready to gamble on Morant. It is a testament to the NBA teams’ emphasis on professionalism, alongside talent.