In the NBA, it’s centers who been dominating the MVP discussion over the past few years.
Nikola Vucevic has consistently been one of the league’s dominant bigs. The Montenegrin international, 33, is averaging 18.1 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists with the Chicago Bulls.
Now that centers are getting the attention that they deserve again, the veteran big man observes that his counterparts have enriched their offensive arsenal.
“I think what’s happened is that centers have evolved with the way the game’s been changing, we’ve changed as well. Now you have centers that can really pass the ball, can put the ball on the floor, make plays, shoot threes, play like guards and we have Wembanyama who was 4 or 5. He plays like a guard,” Vucevic told Amerikanos24.
“So I think we’ve had to adjust because the game has changed and I thought it’s just kind of created just a different center position that he used to be. You don’t see as many big men anymore. Just posting up and playing that way. There’s a lot more threes going up. Faster pace and we have to adjust.
Whatever position you play, the game’s always evolving, it’s always changing. And you can’t get stuck in time. The game changes, you have to follow and you have to be able to adjust. A lot of big men that have been here for a long time, they’ve been able to do that.
Obviously, the newer generation that’s coming in, they’ve been learning to play that way. So I think it’s been great for the game of basketball to see more big men being able to do different stuff and adjust.”
Vucevic refused to respond to what Gilbert Arenas said in a podcast about Europeans being soft and blaming overseas players for what he perceives as a lack of defense in the NBA.
“I have nothing to say about that, but I think it’s very hard to play defense in the NBA,” he replied.
“Part of it is the change of rules where a lot of it was favoring the offensive players. With the 3-point line now, and everybody’s shooting so many threes and you have at least 3-4 guys that can just shoot threes and get hot at any time.
It creates so much space and it’s hard to defend now, especially with all the skill set that’s in the NBA.
For example, the Clippers have James Harden with the ball. But then you have Zubac rolling, and then you have Kawhi Leonard and Paul George and Norman Powell on the wing. It’s everybody can shoot and they spread out the defense. So, there’s a lot of space.
There’s a three second rule in defense, and it’s just hard to cover so much space when the ball is moving, guys are making moves and everything.
And I think that people that haven’t played in the NBA and have not actually competed at this level, don’t understand it. And sometimes I know on TV, it looks like that, but it’s also because guys are very, very good offensively and they make it look easy.
A lot of people say stuff just for attention, but it doesn’t matter. The NBA is the best league in the world. If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t have as much of a big following as we do,” Vucevic argued.
Graduating the University of Southern California in 2011, he was selected with the 16th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. He even got to play in his home country with Buducnost during the lockout. But for the most part, Vucevic’s career has been inextricably bound with the world’s top league.
That doesn’t mean that the experienced center isn’t following the EuroLeague.
“Yeah, I watch it. I follow it a lot,” he admitted.
“And obviously, the team I watch the most is Crvena Zvezda. I’m a Zvezda fan, so unfortunately, not a great season for us. A little rough, but it is what it is.
A lot of good teams that can compete for the Final Four. I would say I’m not a big fan of the Final Four, just because it doesn’t necessarily mean the best team wins. When you play one game, you can have an off night or something. I think they should change it to a best-of-5 playoff set at least. And that’s when you really see who the best team is,” Vucevic suggested before making his Final Four predictions.
“But as far as this season, who I see in the Final Four, I think obviously Real Madrid have been playing great all year. I think Fenerbahce might get in there. They’ve been playing well.
Barcelona have got a good team. They’ve been up and down, but I think they got a chance. And number four, maybe Monaco. I mean, they’ve been playing pretty good, Monaco, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, Virtus Bologna, I like them a lot.
Panathinaikos have been playing really well, especially since they added Kendrick Nunn. He’s been playing really well for them, so I think they have a chance. They have a really deep team as well. And Ataman has won it before, so he knows what it takes.
This Thursday, Olympiacos Piraeus take on Panathinaikos AKTOR at the Peace and Friendship Stadium. The two teams are only separated by just one win and the winner will take a big step towards securing home-court advantage in the playoffs.
“If I have a chance to watch, I’ll probably watch,” Vucevic declared.
“It’s always a great game. Obviously, it means a lot to the fans, like Zvezda and Partizan back in Serbia. So yeah, it’ll be fun to watch.
Obviously, I have to go with Olympiacos, because I have to do that,” Vucevic concluded, implying that, in his eyes, Olympiacos’ connection with Zvezda render the Reds the team to cheer for.