It is! The JR Sport Brief Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia.
Thank you to everybody for being tuned in, for being locked in wherever you might be. You could be in Atlanta here with me. You could be in New York City with our producer Ryan Botcher. You could be in California hanging out with the Dodgers. I don't know where the heck you could be. You could be in Edmonton. Yeah, where the NBA, well not the NBA, the NHL Stanley Cup Finals are just minutes away from getting underway. You could be in Oklahoma City where the NBA Finals will get underway tomorrow. Wherever you might be, thank you for being here.
There is no show without you. We get started every weekday at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 Pacific. You can always listen on the free Odyssey app, A-U-D-A-C-Y. You can tune in on your local Infinity Sports Network affiliate. If you have Sirius XM, it is Channel 375.
If you have a smart speaker, ask the speaker to play the Infinity Sports Network. Hey man, we've had a busy show so far. Thank you oh so much to Mick Kern for joining us in hour number one from Sirius XM, NHL Radio. He came through and we had a chat about tonight's Stanley Cup Finals, this rematch between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers.
He's getting ready to get started any minute now and we'll keep you up to date once we get some goals up on the board. We also had a chat about Ryan Day who wants the Big Ten to now have four playoff spots. He's like, hey, we with the Big Ten and the SEC, we're the biggest, we're the best.
We deserve four spots apiece in the college football playoff. We talked about the Phoenix Suns. They have a new head coach in Jordan Ott. Kevin Durant is most definitely out the window. We took a look at some of the possibilities for the New York Knicks. Now that Tom Thibodeau has moved on or the New York Knicks have given him the boot and then it is still early June. Mike McDonald is already having to defend his starting quarterback, Sam Darnold.
Like they're going to just throw Jalen Milro out there or even Drew Locke to take his place. So yeah, we've had a busy show already so far and we're going to continue to have one. As I said, we'll keep you up to date on the NHL Stanley Cup Finals as they get underway. At the end of the show, of course, we'll talk about a few things that took place this day in sports history. And then it is Wednesday, every single Wednesday, I bring you a new top six list. And today's top six list, it's inspired by some news we got today, some news that we received today from the commissioner of the NBA, Adam Silver.
I want you to hear this. Adam Silver was on Fox Sports this morning and he basically said the all star game in twenty twenty six. It is going international. So next year, as part of our new media deals, the all star game returns to NBC where it was when we were younger. And it so happens that next season will be smack in the middle of the Winter Olympics. So in fact, the game will be on NBC and the very day we're on, there'll be the lead in will be Winter Olympic events. And then coming out of the all star game, which is not going to be in the afternoon instead of the evening, there'll be more Olympic events. So what better time to feature some form of USA against the world?
I'm not exactly sure what the format will be yet. I mean, obviously paid a lot of attention to what the NHL did with the which was a huge success, which was huge. The Frozen Four. Yeah, that was awesome. But also, you know, going back, you know, last summer, our Olympic competition was a huge success. I mean, those games, USA, Serbia.
I love watching it. And by the way, to your point about the European style, a more physical style basketball, a 40 minute game, which is why reference again. I just said it happened to be a 40 minute game. But but yeah, we're not we're not changing it. But it was. But I think that's another example. Everybody is going international.
You cannot go wrong by going international. There is no bigger bet in sports. And this is just in a general sense than taking one country and pitting it against another.
I mean, damn it. Unfortunately, there's a lot of people like to do these things in other areas of life. But you can look no further in the sports world than boxing. OK, I mean, you think about boxing promoters for years. They have taken a look at at fighters and their nationalities and their country of origin. And they have played and used this to generate money and revenue.
I mean, we're human beings. People are tribal. You want to represent where you come from. You want to go against whoever you oppose. And in the world of sports, yeah, there's no bloodshed in most cases. You strictly settle it out there on the field of play. You settle it on the grass. You settle it in the ring. You settle it on the court. And so I think this is a genius move by the NBA to embrace what the NHL has done.
And I don't want to say perfected yet, but was certainly a massive success. The NBA All-Star Game has been a disaster. And when you think about some of the current crop of players that represent countries outside of the United States of America.
It's a big deal. I think if we had Team USA versus the world in an All-Star Game, which we will. I believe that the world would wax Team USA.
I don't know. Maybe Team USA would would all of a sudden feel up to the task of playing in an All-Star Game. But the international players would go out there trying to win because when they represent their individual countries. Oh, it's tough. It's tough beating Team USA. But now they can kind of come together and give them a piece of their mind. Give them a piece of their own medicine. Hey, y'all think you have the best players?
Well, collectively we're catching up. I think they have no choice. Team USA would have no choice. The NBA players from the United States of America would have no choice but to go out there and play hard. And so tonight with a new top six list, I wanted to take a look. Not just that some of the best international players in the NBA today. No, I wanted to take a look at some of the international players, some of the best international stars the NBA has ever seen.
Players who've had a massive impact on the game, not just on the court, but also off. You know what? It's a new top six list. And here's the start of it. Six, five, four, three, two, one. It's time to get JR's latest top six list only on the JR Sport Brief.
It is the JR Sport Brief show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. Yeah, it's time for a new top six list. We're talking about some of the biggest international stars that the NBA has ever seen. Guys who have gotten done, gotten it done on the court. Guys who got it done off the court. They've had a massive impact. Come on, we're talking international. We're not just talking in the United States of America.
We're not just talking on the hardwood. And you know what? To start things off, let's go to this number.
Perfect example. Number six. It has to be, and this sucks to say, the great, unfortunately late now passed, Dikembe Mutombo. This man was the fourth overall pick out of Georgetown in 1991. He was an eight time All-Star. He's now one of three men to have won Defensive Player of the Year four times. When Dikembe Mutombo retired, he was second all-time in blocked shots. Mount Mutombo, we all remember that eighth seed knocking off the one, him holding that ball on the floor over his head.
But a lot of people, especially following his passing due to brain cancer, which is just terrible from last year. Dikembe Mutombo put so many resources building schools and hospitals back home in the Congo. And I want you to hear Dikembe Mutombo because he said, you know what? Yeah, I'm famous. I'm famous in America. I'm famous in Africa.
Yeah, I'm tall. But you know what? We can each do a little bit of something to make a world a better place. And when he was alive, this is what Dikembe Mutombo said.
Listen carefully to the Cookie Monster. Each one of us have a calling. I think my compassion has always been to improve the living condition of the people around the world. And I think God blessed me with a great platform.
I can use my voice, my height, a little bit of my money to make the world a better place. Man, he's certainly made the world a better place. Man, I had the opportunity to meet Dikembe Mutombo one time. One time I interviewed him.
And, you know, he's one of those guys, the way he treats you that one time, you just feel like you know him forever. Just a sweetheart of a man. Joel M.B., not from the Congo, but from Cameroon, is still from the continent of Africa. Joel M.B. talked about the passing of Mutombo when he passed last year.
Sorry about it. You know, my condolences to his family. So it's a sad day, especially for us Africans and really the whole world because, you know, other than what is accomplished on the basketball court, I think he was even better off the court.
You know, those are some of the guys. He's one of the guys that I look up to as far as, you know, having an impact, not just on the, you know, on court. But off the court, he's done a lot of great things.
He did a lot of great things, you know, for a lot of people. Yeah, look, Joel M.B. might have an MVP. I think Mutombo has so far, okay, has had a better career.
I will fight that, okay? I got Dikembe Mutombo number six on my list. Top six international players ever. Mutombo is six. What's next? Number five. We got to go to another center, but we have to go from the Congo to China, okay?
Because you want to talk about a cultural impact. People in China absolutely love basketball. Alright, and one of the guys who helped grow the game massively. At number five, I have Yao Ming. He was the number one overall pick in 2002 coming over from the Shanghai Sharks. This guy was with the Rockets from 2002 to 2011. He was a six-time All-Star. This man was like 7'5", 7'6".
You thought Victor Winbenyama was a freak. Yao Ming was almost just as tall, not as long, but that man was built like a tank. He was built like a truck. I met Yao Ming one time. That guy is freakishly tall.
It's like they created this man in a lab. And the only thing that stopped Yao Ming was his size. He was too damn big for his feet. I mean, those foot problems caught up to Yao Ming, and if he would have been able to keep playing. At his peak, Yao Ming was his 25'10", made it look easy.
Nobody could stop him. Not even Shaq. I mean Shaq, during the Hall of Fame speech, his Hall of Fame speech, he talked about facing Yao Ming and how difficult he was to stop. And then Shaq even told a story about, well, a little surprise from Yao. Yao Ming was the first to block my shot three times in a row. And people like to say he's 7'7".
But he's really like my favorite convenience store, 7'11". He was a great player. And he tricked me. Three years, I never spoke to Yao.
I thought it was a language barrier there. And then one game he hit me with a Kima Lajuan Bing Bing fade away. And I said, hey Yao, nice move. And he said, thanks my brother. I said, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You speak English? He's like Shaq, you never talk to me.
Of course I speak English. Damn. Yeah, that's pretty funny. Pretty funny now that I think of it.
That was a hilarious story. Yeah, Yao Ming was a truck. And when you think about his impact in the country of China, yeah. I got Yao Ming at number five on my list of top six international NBA stars ever. Yao Ming is five. What's the next number?
Number four. At number four, I give you Giannis Atetokounmpo. Yeah, this man coming out of Greece via Nigeria. His life was a Disney story without a shadow of a doubt.
This guy was selling belts on the side of a road in Greece. He gets picked up off the street to basically go play basketball and has become one of the most dominant players ever. We just heard from Shaquille O'Neal. Shaquille O'Neal was dominant in the paint. He was a freak.
He was a monster. Giannis Atetokounmpo is similar in the fact that he just drives and darts to the basket. Nobody will look at Giannis and confuse him with Shaq and the post moves and the soft hands. Shaq wasn't just a strong bully. Shaq was skilled. Shaq had touch. Giannis is like a bull in a china shop that no one can slow down. How he transformed his body as a rookie in 2013 to becoming an NBA champ in 2021.
It looked like he was going to be stopped by injury. He balled out. A two-time MVP, a defensive player of the year, multiple time All-Star. Giannis became one of the top 75 players of all time. This past season, 30 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists.
And now he may be taking his talents elsewhere. It was only recently, last year, Jason Tatum and Donovan Mitchell. They were asked about Giannis Atetokounmpo on NBA, excuse me, on ESPN.
And they were asked, who's the best player in the league right now? Listen to Jason Tatum tell you. If I had to pick, I think I might say Giannis. Giannis taking flight and taking no prisoners. How he impacts both sides, scoring, rebounding, how hard he plays.
And like we all have off nights, but I feel like when he has an off night, it's still 25 and 15 instead of 40 and 20. And he's won. He's won a championship. These two, since they're fine in the West, you have to go through Giannis in the East. So, you know, good luck with that. I would say Giannis too, for sure.
Man, and that is true. Nobody, I wish we had more NBA players who played like Giannis, who played with no fear like Giannis. Giannis ain't hitting his free throws. Giannis doesn't care. He's still going to go to the basket. He doesn't have an embarrassment, Gene. He is just going to ball and play and play.
And I think a big part of that is his upbringing. I think it's a matter of appreciating what you have and not giving a damn about what other people think, as long as you go out there and give your best. Man, we've heard Giannis Atetokounmpo talk about failure. He says every year you don't get a raise. Every year you don't end up at the top.
That doesn't mean you are a failure. Giannis Atetokounmpo, number four on my list, top six international NBA stars ever. Giannis is four. Who do we have next? Number three. At number three, here's another active player.
How about that? At number three, I have the man who just averaged a triple-double for the Denver Nuggets. At number three, I have a man who won an NBA championship two seasons ago. Won a Finals MVP, is a three-time NBA MVP. Damn it, he could be a four-time MVP. He's a seven-time All-Star.
This man was drafted in the second round, 41st overall, drinking soda, eating pizzas. And now he plays almost every game and controls the game. Shooting, passing, scoring. And no, he's not going to jump out the gym, but he can hold his own defensively because his brain works. At number three, top six international players ever, I'm giving you Nikola Jokic. He's a one-man basketball team.
This man was just top three in rebounds, points, assists. When I've seen him play, he just controls the game, unlike anyone I've seen before. Especially when he's almost seven feet tall. He's a special player. He's like Jason Kidd.
If Jason Kidd had height and if Jason Kidd could shoot, that is the comp. Nikola Jokic is one of a kind and one of the greatest shooters that we've ever seen in the league. Someone who spanned multiple generations and played with Michael Jordan, was there with Tim Duncan. And now he's the head coach of the greatest shooter of all time, Steve Kerr.
The head coach of the Golden State Warriors. He talked about Nikola Jokic and, let's just say, he didn't mince words with what he thought about him. It's unfair to compare Arias, but he's the best center I've ever seen. I mean, again, I played against Kareem, so I'm kind of old, but I think maybe one year I played against him. But watched him, obviously, and Kareem couldn't do all this stuff.
Again, Arias dictate a lot of that. So we're in the modern era and we are watching a guy who is doing things that nobody's ever done before. It goes so far beyond the skill level, though, with Jokic. It's the demeanor. It's the competitiveness. It's the intelligence. He is absolutely one of the smartest players ever and you see it in so many different ways.
Yeah, it's wild. What are you going to tell me that Jokic doesn't do? The one thing he doesn't do is jump. And he's still better than everybody. I got Nikola Jokic number three on my list. Top six international NBA stars ever. Jokic is three. Who's next?
Number two. This, I got to be honest, this is my favorite basketball player of all time. This man comes from Nigeria. This man has been known and was known coming out of Houston with the Cougars as the Nigerian nightmare. He was the first overall pick in 1984. He was the NBA MVP in 94. He got a finals MVP in 94, 95. Michael Jordan didn't retire temporarily because of him.
But please believe Michael Jordan did not want to see this man. He's a 12-time All-Star Hall of Famer. He dream shook some of the best players in his era. At number two on my list, I have Hakeem Olajuwon. I want you to listen to Robert Horry, who played with Hakeem. He was seven titles, seven championships, played for the Lakers with Shaq, played with Tim Duncan, played for Hakeem with Hakeem.
Listen to Robert Horry talk about how hard Hakeem worked. And Dream is 20 times better than Tim Duncan. See, I played with both.
I know the work after the both. So I've seen it live and you've seen what... Wait, did you just take a shot at Tim Duncan's work?
No, I'm just saying, like Kobe's is the best ever. And I've seen these two guys in the gym. I know what Dream brought to practice. I know what Tim brought to practice.
I know Tim, he brought work after the practice, but it's the extra level. To be a superstar, you have to go to the extra level. I'm not saying Tim's not a superstar, but I'm saying what Dream brought to the game is amazing. I don't think people understand how good Olajuwon was.
Hakeem Olajuwon, you should know how good he is when LeBron, Kobe, all these guys go to him for advice and on how to do his footwork. You know, this guy's footwork was some of the most amazing footwork you will ever see. But his tenacity in the gym, I mean, you think he was mad during the game. He was even mad at doing practice if the guys wasn't practicing hard. Or he felt like we weren't putting forth the maximum effort.
Yeah, and there was a point in time, you could ask Xavier McDaniel. There was a time Hakeem slapped him in the face. Okay, Hakeem was not the one to be messed with. Hey, it's a top six list, top six international NBA stars ever. Got Hakeem Olajuwon at number two.
When we come back, I'm going to tell you who I have at numero uno. It's the JR Sport Brief Show, here with you coast to coast, the Infinity Sports Network. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief.
It is the JR Sport Brief Show, here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. Game one of the Stanley Cup Finals is underway, and let's just say it did not take long for somebody to get up on the board. It took one minute and six seconds for Leon Driscital to score a goal. Edmonton now leads already one to nothing against the Florida Panthers. Yeah, one minute and six seconds into the game here, obviously still in the first period. So, hey, you want to talk about having some home ice advantage. We know that Driscital is one of the guys that they need to go out there and stop if you're Florida, and he put a goal in to the back of the net with a minute and six seconds into the game. And so we'll keep you up to date on game one of the Stanley Cup Finals as they continue to skate on.
Here on the Infinity Sports Network, it is Wednesday. I'm sharing with you a top six list. And today, because of the news that came down of the NBA now utilizing a new format in 2026 for the All-Star Game, Team USA versus the world, I decided to share with you a top six list of the biggest international stars that we've ever had in the NBA. And I'm thinking about impact not just on the court, but off of the court as well.
People have had massive impact and staying power. And so I'm just seconds away from sharing with you who I have here at number one. But before we do that, let me give you a quick recap.
And if you missed the list and the fancy audio and the sound bites and the explanations, you can always go ahead and hit rewind on the free Odyssey app. At number six, I gave you Dakembe Mutombo. Unfortunately, he passed away last year due to brain cancer. It's one of the greatest defensive players the NBA has ever seen, ever seen. And number five, I gave you Yao Ming. Yao Ming.
China on his back. The only thing slowing down Yao Ming is the fact that his feet were too damn small. He had foot problems. Seven, five, seven, six, more than 300 pounds, Yao Ming's feet couldn't hang on. But you think about how dominant he was and skilled he was.
He could post you up. He could shoot. He could pass out of a double team.
Nobody could stop him. He was bigger than everybody. Yao Ming was a problem. And number four, I gave you Giannis Atetokounmpo. Giannis Atetokounmpo, one of the most dominant players that the league has ever seen, has a motor unlike anyone we've ever seen, can go to the basket, can pass, can block and rebound, has no fear. I got Giannis at number four here on the list. The two-time MVP in 19 in 2020. Number three, I have someone who in my lifetime is certainly the most skilled big that we've seen in the NBA. His name is Nikola Jokic.
He is a one-man team. He's a walking triple-double. Damn it, he just averaged a triple-double this past season while competing for another MVP of which he already has three and could have had four if people didn't take a dump on him, you know, if they weren't sick of him with Joel Embiid. Nikola Jokic, a one-man basketball team, Steve Kerr called him the best big man that he's ever seen. And number two, I give you my favorite big man, Hakeem The Dream Olajuwon. This man played defense, couple-time defensive player of the year, couple-time finals MVP. This man could shoot. People were looking at this dude for his footwork. He won Kenny Smith, his two championships in 94 and 95, 12-time All-Star Hakeem Olajuwon, shaking and baking everybody from David Robinson to Shaquille O'Neal.
Everybody, nobody wanted to see him. Hakeem Olajuwon, nobody. And if I have Hakeem at number two on my list, that leaves us with only another spot.
And it's this one. Number one. If I have to think about the NBA player who overall had the best career, the top international player ever, is someone who played his entire career with the team. Longest tenured player on the team, which drafted in 1998, could have got the boot from his team way before that, was an NBA MVP in 2007, became a finals MVP in 2011, slayed a dragon, a three-headed monster super team. This man is sixth in scoring.
He came over from Germany, he could barely run, jumped, became one of the best players ever. His name is Dirk Nowitzki. Why am I giving Dirk the edge here at number one? Top international player ever? Over someone like Hakeem?
I think a little bit more. I think Hakeem overall is a better player than Dirk. But you talk about career, Dirk had the longevity. I mean, he was even able to play and finish his career alongside Luka Doncic.
Apparently, some of the work ethic elements didn't rub off on him. But to this day, they're still buddies. And we saw the support that Dirk had for Luka and not the Mavs when Dirk or when Luka was traded over to Los Angeles. And people talk lonely about Dirk Nowitzki and what he meant to the Dallas Mavericks and the city of Dallas.
They put a trophy outside front for this man. Dirk is in the Hall of Fame. Mark Cuban, when he was still the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, before he sold, he sat down with Shannon Sharpe. And Shannon asked him about what Dirk means to him, the Mavericks, the city. Listen to this. What has Dirk meant to you and this organization?
Everything. He is the organization. He's the definition of the Dallas Mavericks. And again, not just what he did for us on the court, but who he is off the court. Dirk's that guy that's going to the hospitals without being asked, that's taking time with kids, visiting them. When he has a special event and he's had many, he's making sure kids are coming. And he's just got that heart. People know he loves Dallas, and as a result, Dallas loves him. Oh, you know that. And Dirk, we saw it in his Hall of Fame speech.
The guy was bawling and crying. I want you to listen to Dirk talk about his time in Dallas. He was sitting down with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson from the All the Smoke podcast.
Listen to Dirk. I was very fortunate, obviously, to be here and stay in one spot. Stay sort of injury-free throughout my whole ride. I was blessed. It was an incredible ride. To me, it topped it off this summer with the Hall of Fame.
I think now, to me, that was sort of the closure. My first half of my life is over with this and couldn't have gone any better, honestly. I'm extremely happy and, of course, proud. My family is super proud. Out of Germany, I was able to play in the NBA for 21 years.
It's been a hell of a ride, and we'll see what the next chapter looks like now. 21 seasons. 21 seasons this man played with the Dallas Mavericks. And they had their biggest stretch of success. The Dallas Mavericks were a joke. No disrespect to Mark Aguirre.
No disrespect to Michael Finley. They were a joke. Nobody looked at them as a winning organization until Mark Cuban took over, put money into the franchise.
God bless the tech boom. And then they said, hey, I'm going to ride with Dirk, even though Dirk took time to go out there and develop. Dirk was getting punked.
It took him time. The Dallas Mavericks stuck with him, and it ultimately paid off. If you want to think about being a player from outside of the United States of America, if you want to think about an international player, damn, I got to put Dirk at number one on the list. The phone lines will open if you want to give me a holler. 888-710-4ISN.
That's 888-710-4ISN. I just gave you a top six list of the best NBA players, the best international players the league has ever seen. The most impactful players on and off the court. And number six, I gave you Mutombo. Number five, I gave you Yao Ming. And number four, I gave you Giannis Atarokounmpo. And number three, I gave you Nikola Jokic. And number two, I gave you Hakeem Olajuwon. And number one on my list, Dirk Nowitzki.
The phone lines will open if you want to give me a holler. And of course, there are more than six great international players. I want you to call me up and give me one. I don't need your top six list. Call me up and give me the name of one player.
I can think of quite a few from all over. Some places close by and some places far away. I'll get to your calls on the other side of the break. But right now on the Infinity Sports Network, there's a lot going on including the Stanley Cup Finals. It's time for a news flash.
Here he is. It's Rich Acker. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief. It is the JR Sport Brief show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network.
It is Wednesday. I'm sharing with you a new top six list. The NBA said it's all-star game is going international.
USA versus the world. Well, I took this opportunity with today's top six list to give you a top six list of some of the best international players the NBA has ever seen. I'm talking about individuals who had massive impact, not just on the court, off the court as well. And if you just missed the top six list, here's a little bit of a short recap. At number six, I decided to give you Dakenbe Mutombo. At number five on my top six list, after Dakenbe Mutombo, I gave you Yao Ming. At number four, I gave you Giannis Atetokounmpo. At number three, I gave you Nikola Jokic. And number two, I gave you Hakeem Olajuwon. And number one, because of his longevity, I gave you Dirk Nowitzki.
There are plenty of other players that you could think of from an international perspective that had amazing careers. Here's one right off the gate. And by the way, the phone lines are open. 888-710-4ISN.
That's 888-710-4ISN. When I say international player, who's one of the best that comes to your mind? Who's a great international player that I did not mention?
I mean, we'll see one tomorrow in Shay Gilgus-Alexander. Maybe one day he'll go ahead and make this list. There's another guy from Canada who could have been on this list.
And there's another guy from Africa who I said, I ain't putting on the list because I think he's soft. I'll explain momentarily. I need you to think O'Reilly Auto Parts for all of your car care needs.
Get guaranteed low prices and excellent customer service from the professional parts people at O'Reilly Auto Parts. Here in game one of the Stanley Cup Finals, Florida, Edmonton, they are now all tied up at one goal apiece. A little less than eight minutes to go here in the first period. 888-710-4ISN. David is calling from Los Angeles. David, you're on the JR Sportbreeze show. What's up?
Hey, good afternoon, JR. Thanks as always for taking my call. I know you asked for one.
Can I name two? Yeah, go for it. Knock yourself out. Wonderful. Okay, I'm going to start with Steve Nash. I mean, he's from Canada, so we tend to forget he's international because he's from right over in Canada. Two-time MVP, knew how to distribute the ball to whoever he played with. I mean, one of the best point guards of all time. And he kind of, you know, set the stage for all these Canadian studs playing in the NBA now with Jamal Murray and Shea Guilds Alexander.
The second one is... Yeah, well, slow down, David. Let me give a response to Steve Nash. You know, I thought about putting Steve Nash on my list, but there's a lot of his accomplishments that feel muted. And we can think about all the amazing players that came out or have come out of Canada as a result. I don't know if I want to pin all of that on Steve Nash.
I think, to be honest, and maybe it's from an American's perspective, I tend to think I try to think a little bit more broader than that. I think the Toronto Raptors had more of an impact on what you see than Steve Nash. I can look at guys like RJ Barrett and his dad and his relationship with Team Canada. And I think players absolutely were able to look at Steve Nash and go, Yeah, yeah, I can do it.
I just don't know. You know, him winning MVP those seasons in 05 and 06 is just like, well, one of those earmarked for Kobe. Without a shadow of a doubt, Steve Nash is one of the greatest point guards to ever play in the league. I just, he's great. I was thinking about him for my top six.
I'm like, yeah, he'd probably just be right outside of it. Go ahead and give me your other player, David. Yeah, I can definitely agree with you and understand that point as well. My other player is Pau Gasol. Pau Gasol has his number retired by the Lakers, which you know is a very, very difficult feat. And if not for Pau Gasol, I don't think Kobe gets those two extra rings that make him an absolute legend.
Yeah, no, absolutely. Now, we saw what Pau did, six-time All-Star, a two-time champ in 09 and 010. And he was that next big man that Kobe went out there and played with, one of the best players to come out of what is not necessarily so much recently, one of the biggest players to come out of Spain, which is a hotbed. We can think about Fernandez and his brother, a big deal for Pau Gasol. Thank you so much, David, for calling from L.A. Appreciate you.
Thank you, JR. No doubt about it. Yeah, I thought about Pau. And then I said to myself, well, it wasn't tough, but I think about Akeem Olajuwon. He's one of the few players to ever play the game, to win a championship, win an MVP, without another All-Star on the team with him.
The man did it twice. Pau Gasol was great. Could shoot, could block shots, pass out of a double team. Nobody was going to say that he was standing there initiating the entire offense. Pau Gasol was absolutely one of the greatest players to come from overseas, coming out of Spain.
Him and his brother, Mark, who even people look at Mark and go, hey, he won a Defense Player of the Year. Him? He did that?
Yeah, he did. 888-710-4ISN. That's 888-710-4ISN.
We are talking about some of the greatest players to play in the NBA who were not born in the United States of America. Let's go to Allen. Allen is calling from Wisconsin.
Allen, you're on the chair of the sport re-show. What's up? Hey, what's going on, man?
How are you? Hey, I told your producer I was going to bring up Luau Deng or Lin Stanity. Wait, wait, wait, wait. Allen, wait a minute. Jeremy Lin from California? Yeah. I mean, the excitement that he brought in for that time. Wait, wait, wait. But Allen, we're talking about international players.
How international is California? Well, no. I mean, he was an Asian-born player, though.
He just had that buzz. But I see what you're saying, though. No, he's not an Asian-born player. He's from America. Oh, well, I don't know his background. He's a small-time guy. He is Asian, but he's from America.
What else you got, Allen? Oh, my bad. It's okay. Yeah, I get it.
He's Asian, yes, but he's American. But go ahead. I was just going to bring up the Spurs as a whole franchise. Okay. I mean, they brought in Tim Duncan, and then immediately after that, followed it up with Parker and Ginobili, and all three of them are, you know, I don't know if they're all in the Hall of Fame, but they're Hall of Fame caliber. Yes. All three of them are in the Hall of Fame.
Yes, they are. Okay. So, yeah, I would just go with that whole franchise, because I think they also kept it, like, I want to say kept it cool, but, like, you know, guys like Dirk came in, but when the Spurs were doing their thing with so many international players, I mean, it was almost like a given that they were going to steal their roster with international players, even they had another center that was, like, French or something like that. I can't remember his name, but, like, their entire roster was always flooded with, like, international players. Well, Greg Popovich ahead of the curve in bringing in guys who he knew were going to be conducive to a team system. So, yeah, you can talk about an individual player. You named the whole team. I'm with you on that one, Allen.
Thank you for calling from Wisconsin. Yep. No doubt about it. Hey, Batra, he said Jer—oh, man, he said Jeremy Lin. I respect the comments. You didn't know Jeremy Lin is American? Oh, my goodness. It's confidence, you know?
Whatever. Hey, is there a player that stands out to you, Batra? Uh, off the top of my head, I would tend to go towards the Tim Duncan-esque players.
Maybe Joel Embiid. I know he's injured, but he's still won an MVP. Other than that, Nets fan, love, draws, and Petrovich didn't really win much, but he's an icon to us.
Yeah. Well, I mean, I thought if Joel Embiid wasn't soft, injury-prone, always moping around, miserable, sad, excuse-making, I would have thought about strongly putting him here on the list, but he's just—I don't want to say he's a phantom MVP. He certainly did win an MVP that season two years ago.
He was dominant. But he seemed more concerned with winning MVP as opposed to just being a winner. And even when he's been justified and kind of sticking up for himself and, you know, talking about Philadelphia, how hard he's played and with the injuries, it's just—it seems like he's not committed fully to the game. He seems complacent to a certain degree. He's just, oh, I played hurt. I played hurt. Well, what they want you to do is to get in shape and play a lot.
I get it. His body is probably past that point for right now for Joel Embiid. It's just—I find him to be a disappointment given what his talent is. He's definitely one of the most talented guys that we've seen still here in the league.
It's just that I feel like he's never really given it his complete all, all the time. 8-8-8, 7-10, 4-I-S-N. That's 8-8-8, 7-10, 4-I-S-N. The Florida Panthers, they're now up 2-1 against Edmonton. About five and a half minutes to go here in the first. Get some more of your calls on the other side of the Gerald Sport Reshow, Infinity Sports Network.
