In recent years, the level of international and especially European players has exploded on the NBA scene.

During the past season, LeBron James revealed which of them is the GOAT in his eyes.

The tribute was most vibrant.

It is impossible to deny it, there have never been as many good players stamped FIBA ​​in the NBA as there are right now.

No US athlete has won the MVP since 2018 and when we know that Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic or even Giannis Antetokounmpo and Victor Wembanyama still have a lot of years ahead of them, it could well continue like this for a while… despite the most ardent defenders of the American team.

Present in the big league since 2003, LeBron James has been able to witness the explosion of European basketball in particular from the front row.

He has faced a bunch of monsters from the Old Continent over the seasons… but the first of them remains number 1 in his eyes to this day, since he paid a superb tribute to Dirk Nowitzki, shortly after his statue was unveiled in front of the Mavericks’ arena:

LeBron James’ Huge Tribute to Dirk Nowitzki

Before they revealed what the statue was going to look like, I already knew what it was going to look like.

It was going to be a fade-away on one leg, that was it, no discussion.

Dirk is a legend, he’s an icon.

I think he’s the greatest international player of all time, I put him right up there with Manu (Ginobili).

That guy was a killer.

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Dirk was a killer, he was… when you talk about the best power forwards of all time, he’s right up there with Barkley, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Kevin McHale, all those guys are tough guys. Dirk was a tough guy.

When you talk about someone like that, yeah he was tough.

Dirk was a tough guy, for sure.

It should be noted that the King’s opinion echoes that of Tony Parker, who continues to defend tooth and nail the former interior’s case despite the emergence of Jokic, Wemby and others.

At the same time, Bron was probably marked for life by the level of play of the German giant during the 2011 Finals, where the Wunderkind beat his Heat armada in the Finals.

One of the most beautiful titles in history, still to this day:

With over 30,000 career points, a championship title and a regular season and Finals MVP, Dirk Nowitzki is one of the greatest monuments of European basketball and even in its entirety.

It is therefore not surprising that LeBron James himself paints such a glowing portrait of him, he who has undergone his greatness.