USA vs. THE WORLD - NBA All Star Game

[wessa]

this concept was brought up by woody page on first and ten today, the nhl did this a couple of years ago as north america vs. the world and i liked it, honestly, i would love to see this in basketball, i think it works because they game would be super competitive, before i would have worried that using a world team would take spots away from deserving americans, but there are so many amazing foreigners in the league now that it would be an awesome concept, just look at this lineup

starting five

pg - Steve Nash (Canada)
sg - Manu Ginobili (argentina)
sf - Dirk Nowitzki (Germany)
pf - Tim Duncan (duncan is from the virgin islands, yes i know this is a us territory, but technically it's not the USA)
c- pau gasol (spain)

and look at the bench

tony parker
peja stojakovic
yao ming
mehmet okur
andrei kirilenko
zydrunus ilgauskas
andrew bogut (a little young)
i know i listed more forwards and centers, but i just wanted to give some players as examples

[bigmike]

i hated it in hockey. i prefer the east vs. west format.

[itsjdiggity]

i prefer Africa vs Everyone Else

[somethingyellow]

that would be fun to watch. i wouldnt want it every year but one year would be cool

[Caleb Cattivera]

this concept was brought up by woody page on first and ten today, the nhl did this a couple of years ago as north america vs. the world and i liked it, honestly, i would love to see this in basketball, i think it works because they game would be super competitive, before i would have worried that using a world team would take spots away from deserving americans, but there are so many amazing foreigners in the league now that it would be an awesome concept, just look at this lineup

starting five

pg - Steve Nash (Canada)
sg - Manu Ginobili (argentina)
sf - Dirk Nowitzki (Germany)
pf - Tim Duncan (duncan is from the virgin islands, yes i know this is a us territory, but technically it's not the USA)
c- pau gasol (spain)

and look at the bench

tony parker
peja stojakovic
yao ming
mehmet okur
andrei kirilenko
zydrunus ilgauskas
andrew bogut (a little young)
i know i listed more forwards and centers, but i just wanted to give some players as examples

duncan played for team usa...he'd play for us in this too.

pg - iverson, billups
sg - kobe, wade, tmac
sf - lebron, marion
pf - garnett, duncan, brand
c - shaq, camby

reserves - chris paul and ray allen

[itsjdiggity]

great reserves

[Caleb Cattivera]

great reserves

ray, to me at least, doesn't get enough credit for as good as he is. he quitley plays great basketball. he's a player who performs better under pressure, and would be perfect for a world matchup.

[itsjdiggity]

ray, to me at least, doesn't get enough credit for as good as he is. he quitley plays great basketball. he's a player who performs better under pressure, and would be perfect for a world matchup.

mmhmm...and he's not a flashy guy

there was a good article in Slam last year that stated that he likes to collect art and play the piano

great team player also...he has held karaoke nights for the team, invited the whole team to thanksgiving dinner, holds field trips (he was going to take the team to alcatraz this year but he got suspended), etc.

[weezer182]

i would definitely want the world to win this game if he happened and in all honesty i think they would win too

[yeat182]

the US would lose, but Duncan would be on team USA, not the world.

[marrost]

the US would lose, but Duncan would be on team USA, not the world.Same goes for Bogut, he went to college here.

[yeat182]

Same goes for Bogut, he went to college here.

its not about college, its about where you were born.

[marrost]

its not about college, its about where you were born.That situation never really sat well with me. He came up in our basketball program, not Australia's. Thus, he shouldn't play for them.

[yeat182]

That situation never really sat well with me. He came up in our basketball program, not Australia's. Thus, he shouldn't play for them.

it would probalby be up to the individual where he wanted to play. the thing with hockey, the world players are all brought up in the home countries system and then come to america at 18 to play in the NHL, but in basketball its not as cut and dry.

[justinevans]

technically nash was born in South Africa.

Wally's Sczerbiak was born in Spain

[somethingyellow]

That situation never really sat well with me. He came up in our basketball program, not Australia's. Thus, he shouldn't play for them.i disagree, he is an austrailan citizen and played there up until college. I think that would be disrespecting his country.

[LeftWideOpen]

the easiest way to do this also happens to be the right way ...you play for whatever country you are a citizen of. If someone was a citizen of more than one country throughout his life, he should play for whichever country he spent the longest time as a citizen. Someone who just became a U.S citizen because they were here for 5 years playing basketball shouldnt play for the U.S ...they should play for the country they grew up in.

[mikeford]

how about not doing this cuz it was stupid in the NHL and even stupider in the NBA?

[mcfly21]

i think the us would win in an all-star game


since no defense is played at all

[FondestMemory]

yeah, i didn't like this at all when the nhl did it.

and it'd be even worse if the nba tried it. i like it how it is.

[Ravenna]

technically nash was born in South Africa.

Wally's Sczerbiak was born in Spain
if there was a us/world game, wally wouldn't be in it anyway

[bigmike]

how about not doing this cuz it was stupid in the NHL and even stupider in the NBA?
best post in this thread so far.

[wessa]

technically nash was born in South Africa.

Wally's Sczerbiak was born in Spain


Even if Sczerbiak was born in Spain, he grew up on long island so that wouldn't work, if i remember correctly, wasn't kobe born in italy, his dad was in the italian league, but no one would ever consider putting him on the foreign team

[Caleb Cattivera]

Even if Sczerbiak was born in Spain, he grew up on long island so that wouldn't work, if i remember correctly, wasn't kobe born in italy, his dad was in the italian league, but no one would ever consider putting him on the foreign team

kobe was born in philly. you remembered INcorrectly.

[wessa]

kobe was born in philly. you remembered INcorrectly.

im sorry, he moved there when he was six, my bad