Toni Kukoc hat sich mal zu Wort gemdlet, intressante Aussagen, besonders der Seitenhieb auf seinen ehemaligen Teamkollegen Iverson
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On the impressions of the NBA shared by European players before he arrived as a 25 year old from the Italian club Benetton Treviso:
"I don't want to say we were afraid of the NBA. It was an enigma for us. It was something that nobody knew how to explain to us; we didn't know what to expect. We saw the games on TV, the highlights, but you cannot get any perception of what's going on until you get here and you're living the lifestyle. What I would tell the young guys right now, if you know how to play basketball there is nothing that can scare you about the NBA. Just be physically prepared and everything else will come."
On the fundamental superiority of European players:
"In those days 12-15 years ago, I think we were fundamentally better prepared than the young American players. Our coaches [in Europe] didn't care if we were guards or centers: They wanted us to dribble, pass, shoot, move without the ball. We would do individual skills for two hours every day, and then try to put all that together playing 5 on 5.
"I felt that the teams here were built like, 'I need two shooters, need two rebounders, a couple of good defenders and a couple of all-around guys.' And that's the basis of how the guys are getting paid now. You have guys that rarely shoot the ball but are very good rebounders and they get paid because they're rebounders. You have guys who are just shooters and you put them in there to shoot and to score and they're getting paid for that.
"What extended my career was that I could play all kinds of positions, and I would know the plays. I see that the coaches in NBA really like the guys that are versatile, that play a couple of roles and that are mentally into what they're doing so they can help the other guys on the team."
On NBA stars:
"I don't see that many stars. To me basketball stars are players such as Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, maybe Kobe [Bryant].
But I think if you get 35 minutes of playing time and you have a blank check to shoot anytime you want to, it's very easy to score 25 points. The stars to me are the players who raise the level of the team play, not only their individual play.''
On the impressions of the NBA shared by European players before he arrived as a 25 year old from the Italian club Benetton Treviso:
"I don't want to say we were afraid of the NBA. It was an enigma for us. It was something that nobody knew how to explain to us; we didn't know what to expect. We saw the games on TV, the highlights, but you cannot get any perception of what's going on until you get here and you're living the lifestyle. What I would tell the young guys right now, if you know how to play basketball there is nothing that can scare you about the NBA. Just be physically prepared and everything else will come."