Dirk was a credible NBA franchise player for a decade : -Won a NBA title as clearly the best player on the team - The only European to win the NBA regular season MVP award - 7th scorer ALL TIME He still won a bronze medal at the 2002 world championship and the silver at Eurobasket 2005 with Germany basically by himself. Pau FIBA career makes it closer but saying Pau is as good as Dirk is quite the stretch imo
I don't know that it's QUITE a stretch, but I think Dirk is probably the best international player ever. Pau is a very close second though. Pau has more hardware in both the NBA and International ball.
Pau has a succesful international career since 98/99. His longevity and hunger are quite rare. He won on every level, he does a bit of everything on the court too. Don't get me wrong, Dirk is a beast but i have Pau as no.1 by the slightest of margins
I think the title belongs to the Dream, but he did become a US citizen sometime in the '90's. I'd have Dirk right after the Dream.
For longevity and what Dirk/Pau mean to Eurobasketball which exploded with them, I put them ahead of Hakeem. If you mean the greatest talent to play in the NBA that isn't from America, then yeah Hakeem is there. If you mean most impactful international player, Dirk and Pau have my vote because of what they've done to the sport.
