We all know that North America has talent when it comes to NBA 2K18, but not many know about the serious overseas talent at the game. These are the best seven players from all around the world, and all of them have good cases to have their name be called come draft time in March.
JLBTheGreat
Country: Germany
Team: Rise Above
Position and measurables: Center | Sharpshooting Athletic Finisher | 7’2, 300 lbs.
Playstyle: Marc Gasol
JLBTheGreat’s combine expectations: “Right now, our plan is just to get right until then and figure out a way to stand out in Europe.”
The 2017 NBA 2K E.U. RTTASG Champion center is the real deal. Just by watching and listening to him for a few possessions you can tell that this guy has the total package. What really separates JLB from the rest of the international centers is how well and consistently he set picks on defenders. His greatest strengths are shooting, the pick and roll and the pick and pop, which helps when you have an international star like Gooner as your point guard to pass it to you.
When I saw JLB competing against Throwdown I was amazed, not just because he was playing great against his opponent Mooty, but also having to play through the delay due to U.S. and E.U. server issues. JLB ended up having 21 points, 4 rebounds and a steal. Sometimes stats don’t always tell the truth, but in this game it did.
A few things JLB needs to work on is moving his feet on defense and shading to help when his teammates get beat on blow by animations. I’ve seen in some games where JLB will sit still and get beat on backdoor cuts and cuts from the wings.
JLB can compete against the top centers here in the U.S., especially after watching him compete against Throwdown.
What the players are saying
Gooner: “JLB is aggressive with the ball and is a reliable teammate on the court and off the court. You can trust him to be on time and ready to play and make sacrifices for the team. Can shoot well, rebound, play defense and is versatile.”
Mooty: “Strengths Solid offensive player, great pick and popper, high offensive IQ when it comes to getting himself open for a jumper. Great shooter. Solid teammate. Doesn’t talk negatively. Weaknesses Paint defense is questionable. Seems to have low defensive IQ. Doesn’t know when to roll when in the P&R (has many chances to roll but seems to pop every time). Not very vocal, tends to be quiet.”
Pencil
Country: New Zealand
Team: Run The Trap
Position and measurables: Center | Slashing Rebounder | 7’3, 293 lbs.
Playstyle: Jonas Valanciunas
Combine expectations: “At this point I don’t have the highest expectations but I would love to make it. But I know there is an insane level of competition all round the world with very limited spaces. I’ll do all I can to make it. It would be a dream come true.”
(Note: Pencil deleted his past clips and streams. There is no available video of him.)
Pencil was the first New Zealand player I scouted, and two things stuck out to me. One, he’s a very entertaining streamer and interacts with his fans in the stream while communicating and hyping his teammates up. Two, how well he boxes out his opponents and grabs boards. I always preach how important it is to grab boards in 2K18 because of this year’s mechanics and how it’s an offensive game, so you want to eliminate second chances as much as you can.
A bad habit Pencil has is getting offensive boards and trying a put back with numerous defenders in his face instead of passing out and resetting the play. He has the potential to do well in the upcoming combine
What the players are saying
TheGreenRelease: “Pencil is a highly capable center. Tends not to shoot much past the mid-range but knows his role. Easily a top-10 player in Australia/New Zealand when you combine his on-court skills, high IQ basketball and excellent attitude in the locker room. A real glue guy.”
JimBoh: “He’s one of the old school centers. He’s a dog for those rebounds.”
Gooner
Country: England
Team: Rise Above
Position and measurables: Point Guard | Playmaking Sharpshooter | 6’5, 185 lbs.
Second position and measurables: Point Guard | Shotcreating Playmaker | 6’5, 175 lbs.
Playstyle: Chris Paul
Combine Expectations: “As you probably know, our goal is to not only be the best team in Europe but the U.S. as well. We all feel and know that we can compete with the best, so we are always looking at the bigger picture. We are all just getting ready for the combine, working at becoming better as a team, trying new lineups even if it costs us a loss here and there. Ultimately, we are just looking at the bigger picture and waiting for what the combine has in store.”
If you’re in the U.S. 2K Pro-Am community and think of a top E.U. player to watch, the name “Gooner” should come to your mind quickly. Gooner is the owner and captain for Rise Above, the #1 E.U. team and #2 team on the PS4 leaderboards. I compare him to Fab, not just because of his ball handling skills but how aggressive he is on defense. It can be easy playing offense with a point guard on 2K18 but defense is a different story. When I watch Gooner I feel like he plays with a chip on his shoulder after falling short in the 2017 E.U. RTTASG, and I think he would be a great pick and a player you can build your franchise around.
How well a point guard can play defense, especially on-ball defense, is what separates them from the rest and puts them in the “top guard” conversation. That’s why Gooner is a top guard.
A few things he needs to work on are that he tends to take very questionable contested shots rather than taking a little more time to read the defense, and I also see him forcing passes into the paint and putting his center in uncomfortable situations.
What the players are saying
JLBTheGreat: “I’d say he’s a top-three point guard. Great handles, great scorer in both isolation and pick and roll situations and finds the open man. What I think separates him though is defense, he plays amazing on-ball D with a playmaker.”
RafaelTGR: “Best point guard in E.U., easy. ‘The killer,’ as I call him. If you wanna compete you probably need Gooner on your team. Always be ready to play, for me he’s the type of player that improves your level only listening him. Awesome.”
pOtUrTURKEY
Country: Turkey
Team: Turkish Kings
Position and measurables: Point Guard | Playmaking Shotcreator | 6’5, 175 lbs.
Playstyle: James Harden
Combine expectations: “I’m very confident about it. There are a lot of good players in E.U. Pro-Am. We will prove ourselves.”
This guy pOtUr is one of my favorite overseas players to watch. When I first saw him I said to myself “Man! This guy plays and has IQ like some of the guards here in the States.” Honestly I was shocked that there were players like this in Turkey, but I’m glad I found him a while back when they first played against Rise Above. One of my favorite things about pOtUr is how well he gets his teammates involved on offense and how he knows when to be aggressive. There are times to speed the offense up and to slow things down and the let offense setup, and pOtUr knows how to do that well. He has great defense, especially on-ball defense. I just wish there was a way I could see him play against top guards in the States. I’m excited to see what he does in the combine.
Just like almost every playmaker, pOtUr tends to over-dribble or dribble into defenders. I also noticed him not taking open shots, especially threes, which has me worried if he is confident in his three-point game.
What the players are saying
Rafael TGR: “For me, he’s the light version of Gooner but with more defensive rating. pOtUrTurkey is special, nobody knows if he speaks English or not. He needs to improve his social media and marketing.”
JimBoh
Country: Australia
Team: EXE Squad
Position and measurables: Point Guard | Playmaking Sharpshooter | 6’7, max weight
Second position and measurables: Small Forward | Pure Playmaker | 6’10, minimum weight
Playstyle: Ricky Rubio
Combine expectations: “Don’t really have expectations but I’m grinding the 50 wins with Milo and LockUpAD.”
If your team is looking for a pass-first point guard, JimBoh is your guy. He’s great at finding the open man and having little to no turnovers.
I do have concerns, like can he turn the switch on and become a scoring threat if his team needs him in big games. JimBoh’s defense could be a lot better, too. I’ve seen him ball watching in games and not shading when an obvious cut is coming from the wings. He also tends to get beat on backdoor cuts.
What the players are saying
LockUpMilo: “He’s not bad. I am teaming up with him and LockUpAD for the 2K League combine.”
TheGreenRelease: “Jimboh is a great guard in a similar vein to Dimez. Jimboh plays a distinctly American, primary ball handler style with a vast array of dribble moves with great control. Great court vision. Jimboh is a capable on-ball defender, however he can get caught out hedging and reaching too far into passing lanes. Also falls in love with his three-point shot when he’s far more dangerous off the dribble.”
CruzIQ: “Honestly Jimboh ensures that all of his teammates get involved in some way, he is a great passer and allows others to have great impact in crucial games. If he isn’t having a good game, one of his teammates are doing good.”
xJoni_11
Country: Spain
Team: Team Blitzers
Position and measurables: Point Guard | Shotcreating Playmaker | 6’7 (Weight unavailable)
Playstyle: John Wall
Combine expectations: “We’re going to compete. I’m a great point guard and leader. We’re going to run a lot of plays, isolations and more.”
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Joni is explosive. This is another guard that I wish I could see play against top U.S. competition. Just watching him go up against Gooner you can tell he has the IQ and skills to compete with these guys. I can’t say enough how important it is for your guard to have high defensive IQ and to be able to play on-ball defense consistently, and that’s what Joni brings to the table.
Offensively, Joni gets everyone involved, and most importantly he knows when to kick it up a notch in big games to become a consistent threat whether from the three-point line or hitting the defender with slick combination dribbles and driving to the paint. I think the language barrier will be his biggest problem.
What the players are saying
RafaelTGR: “Joni is probably a top-two E.U. point guard. I know Gooner has a lot of influence in the U.S., but when you see Joni balling, it’s like Fab’s and Dimez’s style here in E.U. I’ve played with both, and Joni gives me more security as a team leader.”
Gooner: “Good scoring point guard/isolation scorer. It’s fun to go against him and play defense on. A nice, marketable guy.”
Avemario32
Country: Spain
Team: Team Blitzers
Position and measurables: Power Forward/Center | Sharpshooting Post Scorer | 7’1, 260 lbs.
Playstyle: Dirk Nowitzki
Combine expectations: “I don’t know, all around the 2K draft is weird, I think E.U. players won’t have a lot of possibilities. We can’t compete against U.S. teams on servers and that’s a handicap. I want to be there, there’s not a lot of post scorers in the game but I think it will be hard. I just hope E.U. talent gets recognized by 2K League managers, we actually got some players who are able to dominate the league in my opinion.”
I’ve recently started watching Avemario32. He’s a great shooting center and can really stretch the floor on offense. He can also become a threat in the paint especially when he’s hot.
What worries me about Avemario32 is his defensive IQ and presence. I’ve seen him struggle when it comes to protecting the paint and making the right decisions. In a couple of games, I saw him really struggling to box out and grab boards. Sometimes I saw him jumping several times against a smaller ball handler rather just putting his hands up and moving his feet. If he can work on his paint protection he will be an all-around elite center.
What the players are saying
RafaelTGR: “Best offensive center in E.U., easy. He’s clever and knows how to adapt to every play. His weakness is he doesn’t speak English fluently and needs to improve it. He also needs to improve his confidence.”
LockUpMilo
Country: Australia
Team: Team Lock Up
Position and measurables: Center | Pure Athletic Finisher | 7’2, 320 lbs.
Playstyle: Hassan Whiteside
Combine expectations: “Well with the upcoming 2K League I didn’t think anyone outside the U.S. was able to qualify. I feel no one can fully see our potential until we face the U.S.”
LockUpMilo is a versatile center. I believe he’s one of the consistent centers I’ve seen in the AU/NZ competitive community. When I first started watching him I wanted to see if he could shoot or if he was just a paint clogger that spams “X” in the paint. After a few quarters I saw that not only could he shoot, but he could also play great defense and grab boards. You don’t have to tell Milo when to pick up or shade to help, and most importantly when a center or ball handler drives to the paint he rarely gets anxious and spams jump. Instead he moves his feet and puts his hands up as you should.
I did see in a couple of games where Milo struggled against other top centers like JLBTheGreat. I think he should work on not getting put into bad positions on defense, like playing defense in front of the rim instead underneath the rim.
What the players are saying
JimBoh: “Real good player, probably the best center on our server.”
TheGreenRelease: “xMilo/lockup Milo is a good cutting and slashing athletic center or power forward, depending on his team’s make up. Generally sets a great high screen and rolls to the rim, has a nice shooting range for a big man. Milo is adept at knowing when to finish at the rim and when to pass out if the defense has collapsed on him. Not too many negatives for Milo, he plays his role expertly, a rim-running big man with some knock down range.”
AnkleTv: “Good bloke. People can say what they want about him but he’s a glitch.”
Honorable mentions and under-18’s:
- FLAGRANT Point Guard | Pure Sharpshooter | 6’4, 175 lbs.
- LYCKE Center | Rebounding Athletic Finisher | 7’3, 310 lbs.
- LockUpAD Point Guard | Playmaking Sharpshooter | 6’5, 185 lbs.
- Baqqy Small Forward | Pure Point Forward | 6’10 (Weight unavailable)
- CruzIQ Small Forward | Sharpshooting Slasher | 6’10 (Weight unavailable)
- DefaultXClll Center | Sharpshooting Rebounder | 7’2, 330 lbs.
- AnkleTV Point Guard | Sharpshooting Playmaker | 6’5 (Weight unavailable)
- MGoCrzy Point Guard | Shotcreating Playmaker | 6’5, 205 lbs.
