Who will win the USA vs. the World NBA All-Star game?

LOS ANGELES – This has been discussed probably at hairdressers and probably at water coolers all over America. And this What happens if a team of American-born NBA players play an All-Star game against a team of international players?

Inquisitive minds would like to know.

“There’s a lot of talk about Europe vs. the US in the All-Star Game and which team will win,” Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said ahead of a 119-115 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in double overtime. “This was not a conversation 10-15 years ago or 20 years ago.

“When you look at international pool, it’s deep and young. So it’s exciting and I think it’s great for playing basketball.”

The pool of international players includes Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Rudy Gobert, Shai Giljeus-Alexander, Kristaps Porzingis, Jamal Murray, Steven Adams, Lauri Markkanen, Andrew Wiggins, Domantas Sabonis, Pascal Siakam, Buddy Heald, Nikola Vucevic, Al Horford, Ben Simmons, Clint Capela, Deandre Ayton and Jonas Valanciunas are just some of them.

A short list of American-born players includes LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving, Donovan Mitchell, Jason Tatum, Anthony Davis, Devin Booker, Jimmy Butler, Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal, Zach Levine, Zion Williamson, Paul George. , Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul, Klay Thompson, James Hayden, Jrue Holiday and Bam Adebayo.

Kidd acknowledges that the impact international players have had on the NBA has been extraordinary.

“It’s growing, and I think very fast,” he said. “I think the game, when you only talk about the basics of learning, you can see that with Luka, Giannis and Joker (Jokic). They are playing the right game.”

The last four NBA Most Valuable Player awards have gone to international players – Antetokounmpo in 2018-19 and 19-20, and Jokic in the last two seasons. Meanwhile, Doncic, Jokic and Antetokounmpo are among the big favorites for this season’s MVP Trophy, with the most widely discussed player to enter the NBA next season being France center Victor Vembanyama.

“I think we’re just more respected than before,” Doncic said. “We have a lot of international players who are really good.

“People like great basketball players. It doesn’t matter where you are from. They just enjoy it.”

So who will win the all-star All-Star Game? Kidd considered this thought, and then said: “It all depends on who will be the coach.”

After laughter from the assembled media, Kidd said, “It’s just a joke.”

Doncic, however, took the winner seriously when he said, “I have to say, international team, because I will be on the international team. But it would be a fun game.”

KIDD/DONCIC ON LEBRON: While Jason Kidd was 38 when he was the starting point guard when the Mavs won the 2011 NBA title, he marvels at what Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James has been able to do this season at age 38.

Regarding his former self, Kidd said, “At 38, that’s a lot of duct tape that hopefully doesn’t get wet or fall apart. But I think if you look at LeBron and his daily routine, you will understand that taking care of your body was part of the norm. You are talking about his body, but I think it isirritates his mind and freshness.

James 20^th season and close to passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.

“He has everything and he will achieve something special here,” Kidd said. “He is within 500 points (of Abdul-Jabbar). What else can be done?

“I think you can see that he still loves to play the game, he loves competition. At heart, he is a young man, although he is 38 years old. When he wakes up, maybe he really jumps out of bed knowing him. But at 38 or 39, your feet slip on the floor. You don’t lift your legs. It’s great that he still has influence at 38. The numbers he gives are amazing.”

Luka Doncic started watching James play when he was growing up in Slovenia. And now these two compete every time their teams play each other.

“LeBron was LeBron,” Doncic said. “Everyone was looking at him. I couldn’t watch a lot of NBA games because I had to go to school.

“But it’s always nice to play against these players, especially against LeBron. He’s been in this league for 20 years, playing at a high level in every game.”

As a rookie, Doncic was just 5-of-11 from the field and scored just 14 points in his first game against James on October 31, 2018.

“I was very nervous,” Doncic said. “Like I said, you’ve been watching a guy like that for almost your entire life.

“Playing against him was a dream. It was a game that I will never forget.”

SHORT: Coach Jason Kidd said guard Josh Green is doing full-contact work for the first time since he suffered a right elbow sprain during a Dec. 9 game against the Milwaukee Bucks. “He’s doing great,” Kidd said. “We’ll see how he reacts here in the next couple of days and we’ll continue training and hopefully get him back soon.” Forward Dorian Finney-Smith (right adductor) started light contact work on Thursday. Kidd said: “He’s doing great so we’ll continue to monitor his training and see how he’s doing and hopefully start giving him a little more light and heavy contact.” Finney-Smith, who was injured against the Minnesota Dec. 19, said: “Today is the first time I’ve touched another body. I’m going to get out of there very soon. If I can guard someone, I can play.” Regarding missed games, he said: “It’s hard, especially knowing what I bring to the team. I want to compete. I rarely miss games, so I feel different without them.” .Kidd said center Maxi Kleber started doing light non-contact workouts on Thursday, “and hopefully in two weeks we can ramp it up.” Kleber suffered a torn right hamstring during a practice session on 13 December. Luka Doncic has already had 10 triple-doubles this season, and nine of them have occurred when he scored at least 30 points. Incredibly, the rest of the NBA players combined for just six 30-point triple-doubles this season. Doncic has 30 career 30-point triple-doubles, the fifth most of all time. James Harden is fourth on this list with 35. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Doncic is the first player aged 23 and under to average 40 points in 10 games since Michael Jordan did in 1986. Doncic is also the first player in NBA history to average 40 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in 10 games. . Regarding LeBron James, who is that rare player who can play all five positions, Jason Kidd said, “I think when you talk about LeBron, LeBron is in his category with how he got into the league. And he never disappointed his fans, teammates and owners by winning championships and helping players get paid. After all, he is determined to win. He is a competitor. He never talked about records. The only thing he really talked about was trying to win championships and he did it at a very high level. And I said this about Luca, we can sometimes take people for granted. You must enjoy them while they are here. At some point, it seems that Father Time will not get to him, but when he decides to leave, we will miss him.

Twitter: @DwainPrice