Alright, so you wanna know about them British fellas playin’ basketball in the NBA, huh? Well, listen up, it ain’t as many as you might think. It’s a tough gig, y’know, gettin’ all the way over there to America and makin’ it big.
Them fellas who made it
First off, there’s this fella, OG Anunoby. He’s from London, yeah, born and bred. Plays real good, strong like an ox, they say. He’s been doin’ alright for himself over there. Then there’s Jeremy Sochan, plays for San Antonio, good lad.
- OG Anunoby
- Jeremy Sochan
Now, there was this other one, Tosan Evbuomwan, but he didn’t last too long. Detroit Pistons, they let him go. See, it ain’t easy. You gotta be somethin’ special to stick around in that NBA.
There’s been a few more, mind you, over the years. Not a whole heap, but a few. They say there’s only nine of ’em who really came up through the British system, learned their basketball here and then went over there. Nine! That ain’t a lot, is it? Not when you think about all them fellas playin’ basketball all over the world.
It ain’t easy, you know
One fella, they call him Amaechi. He wasn’t exactly born in Britain, but he grew up there, in Stockport. Started playin’ kinda late, 17 years old. But he made it, for a bit anyway. Shows you, it don’t matter where you start, it’s where you finish.
They say it’s hard for anyone from Europe to get into the NBA, not just the Brits. It’s a whole different ball game over there, faster, stronger, more… everything. You gotta be the best of the best, and even then, it ain’t a guarantee.
Kentucky and the NBA
Now, this ain’t got nothin’ to do with Britain, but I heard tell that there’s a whole bunch of fellas in the NBA from this place called Kentucky. Twenty out of thirty teams got at least one fella from there, some got two or three! The Sacramento Kings, they got three! Heard tell there is a college basketball team there and those Kentucky fellas play really good college basketball then go to the NBA. Those college teams, they must be somethin’ else, trainin’ them fellas up good. Maybe them Brits need to go to Kentucky to learn how to play!
Back to the British fellas
It makes you wonder, don’t it? Why ain’t there more British fellas in the NBA? Maybe they ain’t got the right trainin’, maybe they ain’t got the height, maybe they just ain’t good enough. Who knows? But it’s somethin’ to think about.
They’re talkin’ about havin’ more NBA games over in Britain. Maybe that’ll get more young’uns interested, get ‘em dreamin’ about playin’ in the big leagues. It’d be nice to see more of our own over there, wouldn’t it? Show them Americans what we can do.
There’s this team in Britain, the Newcastle Eagles, they’re real good, winnin’ all sorts of trophies. Maybe one of them young fellas will make it big someday. You never know. Stranger things have happened.
So, there you have it. That’s all I know about them British basketball players in the NBA. Not a whole lot, but enough to get you thinkin’. It’s a tough world, that basketball world, but some of our lads are givin’ it a go, and that’s somethin’ to be proud of.
Tags: British basketball players, NBA, UK basketball, OG Anunoby, Jeremy Sochan, Tosan Evbuomwan, Amaechi, Newcastle Eagles, Kentucky basketball, International basketball
