For NBA players, international hoops is a whole new ballgame

It is, of course, still basketball.

But a few rule differences — some obvious, some subtle — in the international game vs. the NBA combine to create a vastly different on-court product.

In the new environment, some NBA players falter while others thrive. 

“If you like the challenge, if you like to measure yourself, if you like to be tested mentally, physically, emotionally,” said Michael Meeks, an analyst with the Canadian men’s team at the Olympics who competed in 2000. “If you like to grow and expand — if you’ve got a growth mindset — and then you’re an ultimate competitor, these are the kind of characteristics that players need to have to be impactful at this. 

One of those guys appears to be Dillon Brooks, who was the emotional leader of a Canadian team that won bronze and qualified for these Olympics at last year’s World Cup. Brooks scored a record 39 points in a medal-winning game as Canada topped the U.S. to reach the podium.

In Canada’s first game at Paris 2024, an 86-79 win over Greece on Saturday, Brooks contributed 14 points and five rebounds. Canada outscored Greece by 24 points when he was on the court.

WATCH | Brooks, Canada top Greece:

But Brooks, who plays in the NBA for the Houston Rockets, also fouled out — with five calls against him. Lu Dort, another notoriously aggressive defender, fouled out too.

In the NBA, of course, it would take six fouls to be disqualified from a game. Then again, NBA games consist of 48 minutes — Olympic games are just 40.

Meeks said because of the shortened game length, the value of each possession is the greatest difference between NBA and international hoops.

“Any day of the week you can watch the NBA and a team will be down 20, down 15 and they’ll come back and win because the games are a little bit longer,” Meeks said. “There’s [fewer] possessions in FIBA, so every possession you’ve got to be as efficient as you possibly can.”

Subtle changes

The game length is perhaps the most obvious difference in rules. But it’s the subtler contrasts that create the gap in the style of play.

In FIBA, the court measures 91.9 by 49.2 feet — slightly smaller than the NBA’s 94 by 50-foot floors. The three-point line is marginally closer to the net. Players can touch the ball above the rim in international play, unlike in the NBA.

And there’s no rule in FIBA preventing a defender from sitting in the key like the NBA’s three-second violation. 

Joe Raso, an ex-Team Canada assistant coach and now the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s director of operations, said the defensive rules are the biggest gamechanger.

“NBA defence is like WWE rules. They want to promote offence. You promote offence by limiting defence. I know where they’re coming from because they’re trying to market something, but I don’t think it helps the game. In FIBA, you can do whatever you have to do to stop that other team. If you want to play zone, if you want to [stay back] off a guy, if you want to play man to man but cheat off the ball you can do it,” Raso said. 

“I think strategically and tactically it makes for better team defence.”

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Team game

Meeks said the defensive flexibility played into how Canada guarded Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, where it loaded up against the NBA star and forced Greece’s other players to beat them.

Meanwhile, the smaller court confines lead to a more cramped environment which rewards teamwork over one-on-one play.

It’s a style that can reward European players who came up under FIBA coaches that tend to emphasize team concepts over individual skill-building — the opposite philosophy of many North American coaches, Meeks said.

Raso said coaching even at the Olympic level can set teams apart, especially since there are fewer timeouts at their disposal.

The gap from NBA to FIBA is so great that Canada Basketball made a pointed decision after failing to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics to emphasize continuity and FIBA experience.

Many of the players on its 2023 World Cup team are now competing in France.

“We’ve had talent for years and players that could compete on the stage. But you need the reps of being together to build cohesion. The cohesion is what allows you to dig a little deeper,” Meeks said.

Talent remains king

Still, at the end of the day, talent will often win out — just look at the dominant U.S. teams of the past.

In that regard, Canada has a gem of its own in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

With less than a minute remaining in its Olympic opener against Greece, Canada’s lead had been dwindled to two and the ball was in Gilgeous-Alexander’s hands.

From the top of the three-point line, Gilgeous-Alexander took a hard right-handed dribble and got a step on his defender. As a second Greek player came to help, Gilgeous-Alexander slammed the brakes and dribbled the ball back through his legs, almost mimicking the motion of a stepback jumper, then resumed his foray to the basket with a new head of steam.

When he touched the paint, he found Antentokounmpo — the Greek Freak himself — waiting at the rim. Gilgeous-Alexander pulled up before the long reach of Antentokounmpo could alter his shot, kissed the ball off the backboard and through the bucket.

It was the dagger Canada needed to secure its first Olympic win in 24 years.

And it transcended style.

“It’s the gift that he has,” Meeks said. “Regardless of the spacing, regardless of the dimension of the court, he’s going to figure out a way to get a shot off or make a play.”