By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Toni Kukoc shared his thoughts on how European players have changed the NBA during a visit to the Croatian show Sport Nedjeljom. The Hall of Famer balanced high praise for today’s international stars with a firm defense of his own era.
“Back then, the paint was clogged with massive, traditional centers who dominated every single rebound,” he recalled. “They praise Nikola Jokic, and rightfully so, he is a phenomenal basketball genius whose vision completely mesmerizes me. But Jokic is playing in an era where he doesn’t have to face three physical defensive centers every game.”
“Jokic and Doncic possess high basketball IQ that comes from the European, Balkan school of fundamentals. They have the basics down to an absolute science, and their understanding of the game is far more advanced than the rest of the league,” he continued on the Serbian and Slovenian superstars.
However, Kukoc remains fiercely loyal to the pioneers of his generation, emphasizing that today’s Most Valuable Players benefit from modern sports science, dietitians, and advanced recovery systems. “You have Jokic, Doncic, and Giannis. OK, these are three players that were MVPs, great players,” he asserted. “I will never admit that today’s players are better than Drazen, Dino, Divac, Sabonis, or Marculjonis.”
Other topics included the documentary miniseries The Last Dance and on-court completeness, a standard he learned under Phil Jackson. The Split native and longtime special advisor to the Chicago Bulls, the team with which he played a portion of his 945 career NBA games and won three championships from 1996 to 1998.
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