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#5 Tony Parker
An import from France, Tony Parker was drafted by Greg Popovich at the young age of 19. Parker was coach Pop's favorite scapegoat in his initial years, serving as the lightning rod for his outbursts on many occasions as Parker took some time to get adjusted to the NBA game.
Once he had the hang of it, though, Parker was more than a handful, and became one of the best foreign NBA players ever. His speed off the dribble, ball movement and ability to create open shots for himself opened up tons of possibilities for the Spurs. Parker was an integral member of 4 Spurs championships, winning the Finals MVP trophy in 2007 for a dominant display against the Cavs.
Parker retired as a 6-time All-Star after 18 seasons in the NBA. Romantics will do their best to forget his final season in the league with the Hornets, but Parker will definitely rank somewhere near the top on most people's listings of the best foreign NBA players in the league's history.
#4 Manu Ginobili
Not only is Ginobili one of the best foreign NBA players ever, he ranks among the greatest players of all time as well. The Argentine, drafted in the second round by coach Pop and stashed overseas for 3 seasons, came into the league in the 2002-03 season.
Manu's presence gave an instant facelift to the Spurs offense, which suffered with Duncan off the floor. Ginobili became the creative fulcrum of the back-court, and his high-energy playstyle rubbed off on the rest of the team as they embarked on a championship run in his rookie season.
Ginobili was moved to the bench in 2007-08 by Coach Pop, and he responded by winning the Sixth Man of the Year award. Ginobili was so talented that he could well have led a playoff team anywhere else, but he chose to carry out his role to perfection. He retired as a beloved legend and one of the best foreign NBA players ever after 16 seasons with the Spurs.
#3 Steve Nash
Steve Nash is not only one of the best foreign NBA players ever; he has a shout to be considered as a top 5 player at his position of all time. With career shooting splits of 49/42.8/90.4, Nash is one of the greatest shooters of all time, but his strength lay in passing the rock.
Drafted by the Phoenix Suns in 1996, Nash played a backup role to Jason Kidd during the first few seasons of his career. He was traded to the Mavs in 1998, where he formed a dominant duo with the player who's just ahead of him on this list.
In 2004, Nash moved back to the Suns as a free agent after Mark Cuban opted not to pay him big money. Under Mike D'Antoni, Nash was the orchestrator of the Seven-Seconds-Or-Less offense which took the league by storm. On the back of his offensive prowess, Nash won two straight MVP trophies, but he never made it to the NBA Finals due to the ultra-competitive nature of the Western Conference.
Nash finished his career with the Lakers without much fanfare, but was a first ballot inductee into the Hall of Fame.
#2 Dirk Nowitzki
The greatest European player of all time, Dirk Nowitzki is not just one of the best foreign NBA players ever, but also a top 20 player at any position of all time. A 21-year veteran with the Dallas Mavericks, Dirk retired with over 31,000 points to his credit.
He broke the conventional big man's mould by being a world-class shooter. At 7 feet tall, there was precious little that any opponent could do to handle his shooting prowess. By the end of his prime, Nowitzki had even added the unguardable one-legged fadeaway to his arsenal, which he used lethally in his NBA Finals triumph in 2011.
A 14-time All-Star with a streak of 11 consecutive seasons, Nowitzki is one of the most respected players and one of the best foreign NBA players ever.
#1 Hakeem Olajuwon
The first draft pick ever announced by commissioner David Stern, Hakeem Olajuwon's place at the top of this list of best foreign NBA players ever was quite an easy decision. The Nigerian was a monster on both ends of the court. His 1993-94 season is the single most dominant season by a player ever - he won MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP in addition to the Rockets' first NBA championship.
Olajuwon featured in 3 NBA Finals, winning 2 of them (1994, 1995). He made the All-Star team 12 times and was an All-NBA First Teamer 6 times, in addition to winning 2 Defensive Player of the Year titles.
The Dream Shake is one of the most iconic moves of all time, and has been successfully used by big men after him to score tons of points. He is undoubtedly the best foreign NBA player to ever play in the league.
Guess the Bulls players in this quiz and it's not going to be easy!
