Over the past few years, European players have begun taking over the NBA. In some ways, their style of play seems better suited for the Association than American players', which leads many folks to compare European basketball to the product we see in the league.
One guy who got to experience both European and American basketball was Patrick Beverley . When asked to compare the two, though, it quickly became apparent that there aren't all that many similarities in the veteran guard's eyes.
Pat explains what are the differences
After being selected with the 42nd overall pick of the 2009 NBA Draft, Beverley spent three years playing overseas before he found his way to the league. A season in Greece and two in Russia helped harden Patrick into the gritty defender we all know him to be nowadays.
Even casual fans can quickly recognize that the style of basketball played in these leagues is very different. When asked about the topic, Pat Bev didn't take long to point out some of the main differences.
"The games are different," Beverley said on The Pat Bev Podcast with Rone. "Every game in Europe you play, you play with a team concept of you have to win the games. In the NBA, some nights are different. So when I compare EuroLeague, NBA I'm comparing the effect on every single game. It's an effect on NBA games, of course, but you know you not going 82-0. Some nights are different. Some nights, you'll have some guys playing."
"In Europe, everyone is trying to play and fight through everything. You don't really have a lot of guys missing stuff unless it's something serious. If it's not something serious, guys are playing. Over there, every game is important. You lose one, two games in the regular season, you might not even make the qualifier. If you're EuroLeague and you finish last, you get kicked out, or you gotta play the team who won EuroCup, and they might beat you out," Patrick said.
There's a greater sense of urgency to win every night in the EuroLeague, which simply doesn't exist in the NBA. Further increasing that sense of haste is the fact that their final few playoff games are single-elimination games rather than lengthy series' like in the Association.
"It's steady competition every game, you can't sit out, you can't be like, 'OK, cool, y'all got this game.' It's none of that. You talking about single game elimination versus seven games, win or literally go home. It's just two different games, and you have to play it to understand it," he concluded.
Related: Phil Jackson once shared why he wasn't happy when Michael Jordan scored 69 points on the Cavs: "It's not my favorite thing to do”
Bev proves European basketball is different
Given all the successful European players we have seen in the NBA lately, you'd figure there would be some sort of similarities between the two that allowed these players to excel. And while the game is the same, Beverley notes how different many aspects of that game are.
At the same time, that may be what is helping these guys succeed. Superstars like Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic are able to do things that many players in America have never really seen before, and it has allowed them to excel so far in their careers.
For Pat, it's clear European basketball impacted his game. The increased level of physicality in Europe resulted in lower-scoring games, and Bev brought that with him to the NBA. That sort of physicality isn't frequently seen in the league nowadays.
Fans will always compare European basketball to the NBA, but many differences between them often get overlooked. Beverley does a good job pointing them out, which are certainly things to remember when you come across these comparisons.
Related: "I turned in a paper that wasn't mine" - Patrick Beverley on why he left NCAA to play overseas
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