1) Oscar Schmidt

When asked as a child whom he considered to be the greatest basketball player in the world, Kobe Bryant usually responded not with Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson but with Schmidt, his father’s Italian league rival. Many fans around the world would still agree with that sentiment, especially in Schmidt’s native Brazil, where he earned the nickname “Mao Santa (Holy Hand).” He is considered the all-time leading scorer in basketball history, compiling 49,737 points in his 29-year career with club teams and the Brazilian national team. The Nets drafted him in the sixth round in 1984 but Schmidt was committed to playing for Brazil in FIBA competitions and declined an NBA contract. Though he never won a medal, he did play in five Olympics tournaments with Brazil, including in 1988 when he averaged a tournament high 42.8 points per game. His greatest national team moment came in 1987 at the Pan American Games in Indianapolis, when he poured in 46 points to spur a stunning Brazilian upset in the gold medal game over an American team led by David Robinson. Whether you agree with the young Bryant’s sentiment as a whole, there’s little doubt Schmidt, who was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2013, is the greatest player of all time that didn’t play in the NBA.

2) Dejan Bodiroga

22 years after they drafted him in the second round of the 1995 NBA Draft, the Sacramento Kings finally gave up on importing Bodiroga, officially renouncing his draft rights in 2017. The Serbian-born superstar was 44 years old at that point and had officially retired from basketball a decade earlier. But it set off a new round of discourse on what might have been had the man nicknamed “White Magic” had played in the NBA when he had the chance. That nickname was bestowed on Bodiroga due to his size (6’9″) and skill set (ball handling, long range shooting, can play all five positions) drawing comparisons to the Lakers Hall of Famer Johnson. However, Bodiroga was supposedly intimidated by the speed of the NBA game and didn’t follow several of his Yugoslavian peers like Peja Stojakovic and Toni Kukoc to America. Instead, Bodiroga remained in Europe and dominated, earning MVP honors in the top Spanish, Greek, and Italian leagues, while also leading both Panthinaikos and Real Madrid to EuroLeague championships and getting named Finals MVP each time. He also starred with the Yugoslavian national team, earning gold medals at the 1998 and 2002 FIBA World Cups, earning MVP honors in the latter, and a silver medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

3) Dmitris Diamantidis

Before Giannis, there was Dmitris, a Greek superstar with an uncanny feel for the game. Though he never reached the NBA, Diamantidis is the rare European star who faced off against an NBA All-Star team in international competition and won. This came at the 2006 FIBA World Cup in Japan, where Diamantidis was the starting shooting guard for the Greek team that pulled a stunning upset in the semifinals over a U.S. squad that included LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Paul. Not only did he star for his national team but Diamantidis also spent his entire pro career in his native country, mostly with the the powerhouse Panathinaikos. Like a Hellenic Bill Russell, he led them to 10 Greek Cup titles in a 12-year span, as well as EuroLeague championships in 2007, 2009, and 2011. An especially adept passer and defender, he led the EuroLeague in assists twice and won their version of Defensive Player of the Year six times (he earned the nickname “3D” as in “Dmitris Diamantidis Defense”). Un-drafted in 2002 due to his lack of athleticism (even at 6’5″ he couldn’t dunk), he arguably still could have been a solid NBA players thanks to his court IQ and work ethic.

4) Dino Meneghin

One of the few players who can match Oscar Schmidt in terms of longevity, Meneghin played professionally in his native Italy for almost three decades, in a career that started at age 16. In fact, he lasted so long that he got a chance to play a game against his son, Andrea, in the ’93-’94 Italian League season. Unfortunately, his career started winding down in the late ’80s, just as European players were ramping up as legitimate NBA assets. Meneghin actually was the first European player ever drafted, way back in 1970 by the Hawks in the 11th round. Like most Euro players at the time, he was only vaguely familiar with the NBA and opted not to pursue an American career so that he could retain his amateur eligibility for the national team (he eventually earned a silver medal at the 1980 Olympics). He did get a chance to play with an American superstar in the late ’80s, when former NBA MVP Bob McAdoo teamed up with him on Olimpia Milano to win back-to-back EuroLeague titles. In 2003, Meneghin was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame alongside McAdoo, becoming just the second Italian player ever enshrined.

5) Kresimir Cosic

Unlike most of the players on this list, Cosic did make the journey to play in America, though it wasn’t at the pro level. He enrolled at BYU in 1969 and in his junior year the Croat was somewhat ironically named an All-American, becoming the first non-American born player to earn that honor. With an ahead of his time “stretch five” of play, the 6’11” could rebound, defend, and pass preternaturally for a big man and was already displaying major leadership skills in college. He was summarily drafted twice by NBA teams, the Blazers in 1972 and the Lakers in 1973 but spurned both offers out of a sense of loyalty to his home nation, then Yugoslavia. (It’s an interesting “what if” to consider Cosic joining either of those franchises, blossoming into a star, and rendering moot the respective arrivals of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton). Returning to the club team that first employed him at age 16, Cosic developed one of the greatest European league careers of all time, earning EuroBasket MVP twice and winning eight championships in either the Yugoslavian or Italian leagues. He was also a legend for the Yugoslavia national team, setting the FIBA record for most games representing his home nation, with 303. That part of his career included an Olympic gold medal in 1980, silver medals in 1968 and 1976, and FIBA World Cup titles in 1970 and 1978. His 1996 Naismith Hall of Fame induction was posthumous, as he tragically had passed away a year earlier at age 46 from lymphoma, while working as a Croatian ambassador to the U.S. 

6) Sergio Llull

While his Spanish peers like the Gasol brothers and Rudy Fernandez have left their mark on the NBA over the last decade-plus, Llull has opted for superstardom in his native country. He signed with Real Madrid in 2007 at age 19 and has remained with the club ever since, earning six Spanish Liga ACB titles, two EuroLeague championships, and EuroLeague MVP honors in 2017. Llull (pronounced “yool”) has also been a mainstay on the Spanish national team, winning silver at the 2012 Olympics, bronze at the 2016 Olympics, the FIBA World Cup title in 2019, and three EuroBasket championships. A combo guard with solid speed, elite handle, and shooting skills, Llull was an intriguing commodity when the Nuggets drafted him in the second round in 2009 but has never expressed a desire to leave Real Madrid for the NBA. The Rockets held his rights for over a decade and constantly tried to lure the Spanish guard, knowing he would fit perfectly into their up tempo analytics-driven offense, but finally gave up right before the ’20-’21 season, trading his draft rights to the Knicks. Though Llull himself will likely never reach the NBA, his influence definitively has, as he mentored Luka Doncic for a couple years before the Slovenian left Real Madrid for the Mavericks in 2018.

7) Nikos Galis

When once asked what was the biggest mistake of his decades-long career as a Celtics executive, Red Auerbach responded that it was not signing Galis when he had the chance. Born in New Jersey to Greek parents, Galis was a boxer in his youth until his mom forced him into the safer sport of basketball. He finished third in the NCAA in scoring in his senior season at Seton Hall but fell to the Celtics in the fourth round of the NBA Draft, seemingly due to mismanagement from his agent. Playing in rookie camp alongside Larry Bird, Galis impressed up until an ankle injury sidelined him. Rather than hold on to the promising rookie the Celtics cut him and he wound up in Greece, embarking on a Hall of Fame career in the Greek Basketball League (GBL). For 11 consecutive seasons, starting in 1981, Galis led the GBL in scoring and during that stretch led the EuroLeague in scoring eight times. Playing mainly for Aris, which is based in the city of Thessaloniki, he won eight GBL titles and was MVP of the EuroLeague in 1987. NBA teams would occasionally come calling but Galis wanted to retain his eligibility for the Greek national team, which he represented for years though never at an Olympics. Despite all his accomplishments, possibly Galis’ biggest claim to fame is that he reportedly outplayed Michael Jordan during an exhibition match in 1983 between the Greek national team and the North Carolina Tar Heels (footage of this actually does exist). The arena in Athens that was used for the basketball tournament at the 2004 Olympics was renamed in 2016 as the Niko Galis Olympic Indoor Hall.

“Unfortunately for American fans, Belov’s career came at the height of the Cold War and the chances of him leaving the Soviet Union for the NBA were negligible at best.”

8) Manuel Raga

The first non-American NBA draftee was not European or Canadian but the Mexican-born Raga, who was selected by the Hawks in the 10th round in 1970 (they drafted Dino Meneghin one round later). Marty Blake, who was then Atlanta’s general manager, have never seen Raga play but drafted him based solely on recommendations of those who had. By that 1970 draft, Raga was already a legend in both his home country and in Italy, where he starred for the Ignis Varese club. Nicknamed the “Flying Mexican” for his incredible leaping ability (he could reportedly touch the rim with his elbow), he had breakout performances for the Mexican national team at the 1967 FIBA World Cup and the 1968 Olympics (in Mexico City), then led Ignis Varese to three EuroLeague titles. Hawks management was unwilling to spend the $35,000 fee to pry Raga away from his Italian contract so he remained in Europe for his entire pro career, eventually dominating the Swiss Basketball League as well. When Horacio Llamas became the first Mexican to play in the NBA in 1997, he credited Raga not just for the inspiration but also for being one of his first coaches at the national team youth level.

9) Fragiskos Alvertis

Like his basketball peers Kobe Bryant with the Lakers or Tim Duncan with the Spurs, Alvertis is synonymous with the Greek club Panathinaikos. He played his entire 19-year club career with “The Greens” (nicknamed as such due to their shamrock logo), leading them to 11 Greek Basketball League titles in a 12-year stretch starting in 1998. During that stretch, he also captured five EuroLeague titles, the second most all-time behind Dino Meneghin. Though he never reached the NBA, going un-drafted in 1996, the NBA came to Alvertis, so to speak, when Dominique Wilkins joined Panathinaikos in 1995. The post offense of Wilkins perfectly blended with Alvertis’ outside shooting, and they led The Greens to the 1996 EuroLeague title. Alvertis would also later team up with Lakers legend Byron Scott and Pistons “Bad Boy” John Salley. Upon his 2009 retirement, Alvertis became the first Panathinaikos player ever to have his jersey retired and he quickly became the team’s general manager, building the roster that earned another EuroLeague title in 2011.

10) Drazen Dalipagic

A soccer devotee in his youth, Dalipagic didn’t take up organized basketball until the age of 19 but quickly developed into one of Yugoslavia’s premier players. He spent most of his pro career with Partisan, based out of Belgrade in what is now Serbia, and established himself as arguably the greatest scorer in First Federal Basketball League history (the league was shut down in 1992 with the dissolution of Yugoslavia). A terrific athlete and shooter that earned the nickname “Sky Jumper,” Dalipagic averaged 27.1 points per game in his first 10 pro seasons, leading Partizan to two league titles. In fact, later in his career as he bounced around other European leagues in the ’90s, he led the Italian Serie A in scoring at age 36 in ’87-’88. He spent time in Celtics training camp in 1976 after impressing at that summer’s Olympics but opted not to sign an NBA contract in order to retain his eligibility for the Yugoslavian team. And what a national team career he had, scoring more total points than any other Yugoslav player in history, earning gold medals at the 1980 Olympics and 1978 FIBA World Cup, silver at the 1976 Olympics, bronze at the 1984 Olympics, and three EuroBasket titles.

11) Wlamir Marques

Before Oscar “Holy Hand” Schmidt, there was Wlamir “Blonde Devil” Marques pioneering basketball in Brazil. Though he never reached the NBA or even the European pro leagues, Marques is undeniably one of the most influential basketball players of all time. In 1959 and 1963, he led the Brazilian national team to back-to-back FIBA World Cup titles, earning MVP honors in the latter in front of his home nation. Those still stand as the last World Cup titles by a non-American or European nation. Marques also led Brazil to bronze medals in the 1960 and 1964 Olympics, holding his own in each case against the top NCAA players on the American squads. In his club career, Marques spent nearly two decades playing for teams in the Brazilian basketball league, earning three championships in the ’60s with Corinthians. His pro career likely would have been more decorated but Brazil didn’t have a major basketball league until 1965, when Marques was already 28 years old.

12) Theodoros Papaloukas

Before the start of the ’20-’21 NBA season, reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo shared a picture of himself training with Greek legend Papaloukas. It was an appropriate choice, as Papaloukas, a 6’6″ forward with preternatural play making abilities, never reached the NBA but did leave his mark on the league in the 2006 FIBA World Cup, where he led a stunning semifinal round upset for Greece over a U.S. team that featured LeBron James, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, and Dwight Howard. That tournament came at the height of his club career, as he led CSKA Moscow to the 2006 EuroLeague while earning tournament MVP honors. Papaloukas was also MVP of the 2007 EuroLeague season, Russian Basketball Federation Player of the Year three times, and EuroLeague champion again in 2008. He also dominated NBA opponents further in the summer of 2007 during a series of exhibition games between CSKA Moscow and the Clippers. The Lakers were one of several teams that reportedly made Papaloukas a contract offer around that time but he opted to remain in Russia for the rest of his prime before making late career stops in Israel and his native Greece.

13) Felipe Reyes

When asked in 2017 if he regretted never signing a contract with an NBA team, the Spaniard Reyes responded “not from any serious teams” and added “Real Madrid is like being in the NBA. Or better.” One could debate the merits of Real Madrid versus, say, the Sacramento Kings, but there’s no doubt Reyes has established himself as a legend with the premier Spanish franchise. A 6’9″ power forward with a strong post-up game, he’s the all-time rebound king in the Liga ACB and eighth in career points. In 2015 and 20178 he helped lead Real Madrid to the EuroLeague championship and was additionally a Liga ACB champ seven times. Along with his Spanish national team teammate, Rudy Fernandez, Reyes became the second player in basketball history to win the EuroLeague, EuroCup, EuroBasketball, and FIBA World Cup titles.

14) Sergei Belov

No player better represents pre-Dream Team era European basketball than Belov. In fact, in 1991, FIBA named him the greatest player in the organization’s history and one year later he became the first international player inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame. Unfortunately for American fans, Belov’s career came at the height of the Cold War and the chances of him leaving the Soviet Union for the NBA were negligible at best. Instead, he became the Bill Russell of what was then called the USSR League, leading CSKA Moscow to 11 championships in 12 years, and two EuroLeague titles, in 1969 and 1971 (unsurprisingly, Belov credited Russell as a basketball hero who inspired his teenage training routines). As a member of the national team, he was the leading scorer in the controversial 1972 gold medal game where the Soviets defeated the U.S., plus earned three more Olympic bronze medals, three FIBA World Cup titles, and four EuroBasket championships. Belov became an icon of Russian sports, earning many of the nation’s highest honors, including serving as the final torch bearer at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, lighting the cauldron. A shifty combo guard with play making skills and long range shooting, Belov undoubtedly could have forged a solid NBA career if he was ever given the chance.  

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