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Part Two of Two

A Greek Bearing Gifts for the Philadelphia 76ers?

By Alexander Kitroeff
Rentzias has been successful during international play.
  • Part One

    While his shooting abilities are beyond doubt, the Greek player's 3.5 rebounds in 17.3 minutes for Barcelona are not overwhelming by NBA standards. Offensive rebounding in Europe is less frequent than in the NBA, in which shorter-range shots can be claimed more easily by offensive players closing in on the basket. Nonetheless, Rentzias can step up his rebounding when needed, as he demonstrated last year in four game-winning performances for the Greek national team in the preliminaries of the Euro 2003 tournament. The Barcelona player averaged 18.5 points and 9.8 rebounds in 28.5 minutes per contest, one of which was a razor-thin, one-point victory against Israel in Tel Aviv. Rentzias was the top rebounder on the court in that game, as well as in a closely fought clash between Greece and Spain. He came away with 16 out of Greece's total 34 rebounds and was Greece's second highest scorer against Spain and Israel.

    There are even greater concerns about Rentzias's ability to become acclimatized to the NBA style of basketball. The NBA game is faster-paced and more physical than in Europe, and Rentzias, who is no weakling at 6-foot-11 and 254 pounds, will have to play a new brand of basketball. The same has applied to the many other recent European imports to the NBA. European basketball, while never an elitist sport, was more closely associated with a sporting culture that traced its origins to genteel gymnastic-style drills and instruction. For a long time, raw talent was legitimately showcased only in street soccer, not the gymnasium-bound game of basketball, which has never been a part of the hard-scrabble, inner-city culture in Europe that it has been for so long in the United States.

    Following the team’s practices, Rentzias played for the 76ers in a week-long rookie tournament, Shaw's Pro Summer League, in mid-July at the University of Massachusetts. The big man from Trikala found the pace quicker, and the game more physical than what he was used to. He only got going in the last two games. The Greek player was the 76ers' top scorer in a losing effort against the Boston Celtics, while, in the sixth and final game, he helped his team beat the New Jersey Nets by scoring eight fourth-quarter points.

    During Summer League, Rentzias found the game to be a lot quicker and physical.
    Fernando Medina NBAE/Getty Images
    To be sure, European players have excelled in the NBA, a prime example being Pedrag "Peja" Stojakovic, who played alongside Rentzias at PAOK Thessaloniki on his way from Belgrade to the Sacramento Kings, where he has starred after a quiet first year of initiation into the world of the NBA. As far as Greeks are concerned, Iakovos "Jake" Tsakalidis made a successful move from AEK Athens to the Phoenix Suns, but Antonis Fotsis is going back to Panathinaikos after spending most of last year sitting on the Memphis Grizzlies' bench.

    Local basketball writers are unsure whether Rentzias will make it in Philadelphia, even if only as a back-up player. Phil Jasner of the Philadelphia Daily News called him "somewhat of a mystery guest" and Marc Narducci of The Philadelphia Inquirer described him as a "big question" following the rookie league. Only time will tell whether Rentzias can successfully repackage his game-winning skills to suit the NBA.

    Alex Kitroeff is a professor at Haverford College, where he teaches courses on European history, and sport and society. He was born in Greece and educated in England, where received his PhD from Oxford University. He is a contributor to greekworks.com and is currently completing a book on Greece and the modern Olympic Games.