Decade’s Best: International Player

by Casey Jacobsen Selecting the best basketball player of the past decade at any level is a daunting task. Usually, arguments can be made for several guys. Do individual stats (I.e. Allen Iverson) or winning championships (I.e. Tim Duncan) define the best individuals in a team sport? When discussing the best international player of the past decade, this is especially difficult because so many of these players have traveled overseas to test their skills against the NBA’s best and, as a result, their international resumes are left incomplete. Tony Parker and Dirk Nowitzki are two international players who could easily win this award, but their successes the past 10 years have come exclusively in the United States. I believe the “Best International Player” should be awarded to the best foreigner whose success was achieved outside of the NBA… and maybe even a player that many people have never heard of. To any of those hardcore fans out there who pride themselves on knowing the b...