Thirty years ago, it would’ve been impossible to think that the NBA would have five consecutive foreign MVPs.
The game has become global, and that stigma of foreign players being soft or unathletic is no longer true.
With that in mind, Chicago Bulls and Montenegro star Nikola Vucevic put together his European starting five, and it could go toe-to-toe with most teams in the NBA (via FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023).
The former Orlando Magic chose Luka Doncic, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Lauri Markkanen, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Nikola Jokic, jokingly adding that he’d be the coach.
The man knows ball 🧠🇲🇪#FIBAWC pic.twitter.com/ZBIFTQwEgx
— FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 🏆 (@FIBAWC) August 22, 2023
Doncic has emerged as one of the most dominant players in the league, and even though he’s not athletic, his craft and savviness to get to his spots is second to none, not to mention his ability to get his teammates involved as a playmaker.
Bogdanovic has proven to be a very serviceable combo guard, both starting and coming off the bench, taking the ball up the court, or being a spot-up kind of guy, and he’s a high-IQ baller.
Markkanen was a bit of a late bloomer, but he rose to prominence last year with an All-Star caliber season thanks to his ability to stretch the floor and score from all three levels.
Antetokounmpo has made a case for being the best two-way player in the game, an athletic freak who can impose his will against pretty much every mortal on Earth.
And Jokic was the best player in the NBA last season by a very big margin, almost averaging a triple-double as a center and capping it off by winning his first championship.
That’s a tough team.
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