2009.06.25 Will Rubio be a Yao or a Darko?
| International Players with No College Experience - Selected in Top 5 Picks, NBA Draft History | |||||||||||||||||||
| Year | Player | Pick | Career All-Star Selections | ||||||||||||||||
| 2009 | Ricky Rubio | 5 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | Andrea Bargnani | 1 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | Darko Milicic | 2 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2002 | Yao Ming | 1 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2002 | Nikoloz Tskitishvili | 5 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | Pau Gasol | 3 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
2009.06.25 Spanish First-Rounders
| Players Born in Spain - Drafted in First Round | |||||||||||||||||||
| Player | No. | Year | Selected By | ||||||||||||||||
| Pau Gasol | 3 | 2001 | Atlanta | ||||||||||||||||
| Ricky Rubio | 5 | 2009 | Minnesota | ||||||||||||||||
| Wally Szczerbiak << | 6 | 1999 | Minnesota | ||||||||||||||||
| Victor Claver | 22 | 2009 | Portland | ||||||||||||||||
| Rudy Fernandez | 24 | 2007 | Phoenix | ||||||||||||||||
| Raul Lopez | 24 | 2001 | Utah | ||||||||||||||||
| Sergio Rodriguez | 27 | 2006 | Phoenix | ||||||||||||||||
| >> Szczerbiak was born in Madrid while his dad played professionally | |||||||||||||||||||
2009.06.15 NEXT LEVEL: Defending Dwight
Dwight Howard dealt with single coverage in Game 5 and still couldn't muster any offense. Pau Gasol guarded him on 38 possessions and didn't allow Howard to score from the field.
| Defending Dwight Howard - Magic Half-Court Offensive Possessions | |||||||||||||||||||
| Primary Defender | Possessions | Pct | Howard's numbers | ||||||||||||||||
| Andrew Bynum | 31 | 43.7 | 10 pts (5-5 FG, 0-1 FT) | ||||||||||||||||
| Pau Gasol | 38 | 53.5 | 1 pts 0-4 FG, 1-2 FT) | ||||||||||||||||
| Lamar Odom | 2 | 2.8 | 0 pts (0-0 FG, 0-0 FT) | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 71 | N/A | 11 pts (5-9 FG, 1-3 FT) | ||||||||||||||||
| >Double-teams on 1 of 71 possessions (1.4 pct) | |||||||||||||||||||
2009.06.15 NEXT LEVEL: Gasol vs Howard
Pau Gasol outperformed Dwight Howard in the paint. Gasol also scored 16 points outside the paint; Howard had 0.
| Pau Gasol vs Dwight Howard in paint - NBA Finals | |||||||||||||||||||
| Category | FG | Pts | |||||||||||||||||
| Gasol | 28-44 | 56 | |||||||||||||||||
| Howard | 21-42 | 42 | |||||||||||||||||
2009.06.14 Gasol, Vujacic Are Latest European Champions
Pau Gasol becomes the first player born in Spain to win an NBA championship, while Sasha Vujacic becomes the third player born in Slovenia to win a title. They are the 8th and 9th European-born players to play at least 1 game in the Finals for a title-winning team.
| European-Born Players to Win NBA Championship - Players Who Played A Least 1 Game in NBA Finals | |||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Birth Country | Title Season(s) | |||||||||||||||||
| Pau Gasol | Spain | 2009 | |||||||||||||||||
| Sasha Vujacic | Slovenia | 2009 | |||||||||||||||||
| Tony Parker | Belgium | 2003, '05, '07 | |||||||||||||||||
| Beno Udrih | Slovenia | 2005, '07 | |||||||||||||||||
| Francisco Elson | Netherlands | 2007 | |||||||||||||||||
| Rasho Nesterovic | Slovenia | 2005 | |||||||||||||||||
| Darko Milicic | Serbia-Montenegro | 2004 | |||||||||||||||||
| Slava Medvedenko | Ukraine | 2002 | |||||||||||||||||
| Toni Kukoc | Croatia | 1996, '97, '98 | |||||||||||||||||