The Oklahoma City Thunder had the opportunity to participate in the NBA Global Games effort by competing overseas during their preseason run, playing a pair of games in Spain against EuroLeague basketball teams Real Madrid and FC Barcelona Lassa.
Talking about the experience and what he saw that was different than the NBA game, Thunder guard Russell Westbrook shared his admiration for the European style of offense, via Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer Fred Katz:
Thought this quote from Russell Westbrook about how offenses in Europe “are 10 times better than NBA offense” was interesting: pic.twitter.com/Ryspbd7LCC
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) October 8, 2016
More NBA teams are starting to embrace the European style of offense, which as Westbrook alluded to, focuses more on ball movement and player movement to score. It’s more predicated on skill and IQ than athleticism and talent, which tends to be more of the typical trend in NBA basketball.
The Spurs have been the shining model of adapting to what’s considered the European style of playing offense. While most teams would probably like to replicate it, this kind of basketball is highly dependent upon personnel. While you still need talent, you also need skilled, selfless players to make it work. The more Westbrook and other players and coaches get to see it up close, perhaps the more we’ll see teams try and mimic that style of play.
