Blogtable Archive

Blogtable: Who is on your 2016-17 All-International first team?

Each week, we ask our stable of scribes across the globe to weigh in on the most important NBA topics of the day.

NBA.com Staff

October 26, 2016 2:38 PM

**********************************************************************************************************************************************************

The NBA will have a record 113 international players on its opening-night rosters this week. Perfect time for you to name your 2016-17 All-International first team.

**********************************************************************************************************************************************************

David Aldridge: Man, the parameters of this question! Do you mean “All-International Legacy Team, as in the best ever,” or “All-Interntional best on the court right now?” Those would be two completely different teams. I’m going to assume you meant the latter. So, I guess:

G: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), Milwaukee Bucks

G: Kyrie Irving (Australia), Cleveland Cavaliers

C: Marc Gasol (Spain), Memphis Grizzlies

F: Andrew Wiggins (Canada), Minnesota Timberwolves

F: Kristaps Porzingis (Latvia), New York Knicks

No, I did not feel good leaving Al Horford (Dominican Republic, Boston Celtics) or Rudy Gobert (France, Utah Jazz) or Dirk (Germany, Dallas Mavericks) off the list. But you can only pick five.

Steve Aschburner: I’m not going to cheat by counting Kyrie Irving and Al Horford among my foreign-born players .So give me this starting five:

G: Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota Timberwolves

G: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

C: Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz

F: Kristaps Porzingis, New York Knicks

F: Steven Adams, Oklahoma City Thunder

That group’s not just all-International, it’s all-World.

Fran Blinebury:

G: Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers

G: Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota Timberwolves

C: Al Horford, Boston Celtics

F: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

F: Nicolas Batum, Charlotte Hornets

Scott Howard-Cooper:

C: Steven Adams, Oklahoma City Thunder

G: Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers

G: Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs

F: Giannis Antetkounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

F: Al Horford, Boston Celtics

Andrew Wiggins coming fast for one of the spots. And it’s tough to leave off the brothers Gasol, who are still deserving of recognition.

Shaun Powell:

G: Goran Dragic, Miami Heat

G: Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota Timberwolves

C: Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies

F: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

F: Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks

It wasn’t easy leaving out Rudy Gobert, Tristan Thompson, Steven Adams, Kristaps Porzingis and Serge Ibaka. Dirk barely makes the cut here in his twilight. Sad how Tony Parker, one of the foreign mainstays of the last decade, has seen better days.

John Schuhmann:

PG: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)

Wings: Nicolas Batum (Charlotte Hornets) and Andrew Wiggins (Minnesota Timberwolves)

Bigs: Marc Gasol (Memphis Grizzlies) and Al Horford (Boston Celtics)

Toughest omissions were Steven Adams and Dirk Nowitzki, though Wiggins over Evan Fournier was a tough call at this stage in the former’s career. Team International is much stronger up front than in the backcourt, especially with Kyrie Irving representing the USA.

Sekou Smith:

There are plenty of young international players on the rise in the NBA right now, but it’s hard to put a first team together that isn’t laced with veterans. And before I get to the first team, I have to admit that seeing a record number of international players, again, is a testament to the global reach of the game that many folks scoffed at years ago when it was being described as a point of emphasis for the game’s future. Kudos to the powers that were for having the vision to see where we were headed.

G: Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs

G: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

C: Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies

F: Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks

F: Al Horford, Boston Celtics

Ian Thomsen:

I’m aware that Kyrie Irving is technically an “international” by way of his birth in Australia, but he has been living in America since he was 2 and he won a gold medal last summer with USA Basketball. Therefore he is not on my list. Also, please indulge the creative positioning of the “Greek Freak” in my desire to recognize the greatest players.

G: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

G: Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs

C: Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies

F: Pau Gasol, San Antonio Spurs

F: Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks

Lang Whitaker:

G: Dennis Schroder, Atlanta Hawks

G: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

C: Steven Adams, Oklahoma City Thunder

F: Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks

F: Kristaps Porzingis, New York Knicks

(And my sixth man would be Manu Ginobili.)