Lonnie Walker thinks the EuroLeague has the upper hand over the NBA in certain aspects when it comes to comparing the two leagues. The guard of Zalgiris Kaunas also named the four teams he believes will make it to the next Final Four.
As a guest on the Triple Threat Show podcast, Lonnie Walker weighed in on the differences between the NBA and European basketball. The 26-year-old guard, who joined Zalgiris Kaunas on October 30, described his first few days in Europe.
Lonnie Walker IV
Lonnie Walker IV
Lonnie Walker IV
MIN: 22.63
PTS: 16.29 (48.7%)
REB: 2.57
As: 1.29
ST: 1
BL: 0.14
TO: 1.14
GM: 7
"This time of being alone and not having anyone is definitely a culture shock to an extent," he reflected.
"But you have to appreciate it," Walker added.
The former NBA player, who had spent his entire professional career in the NBA, posting career averages of 9.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 341 games, revealed that he had several discussions with Kendrick Nunn prior to making his decision to move overseas.
"He didn't talk to me about the fans," he said, referring to his former Lakers teammate.
"He just said I was going to love it overall, just because of the overall intensity that comes with it. And I watched a couple of games before I made my decision to come to Zalgiris. I watched their game against Red Star and how mad everybody was.
I had a small glimpse of how crazy it was, and I really loved it because I love to play with passion, and I like the passion that people bring to the game. Being in Belgrade and playing Panathinaikos at home, seeing how crazy our fans over here is one of one. It's something I've appreciated way more than I ever thought I would," Walker admitted.
The EuroLeague newcomer was asked to compare the level of play in the world's top leagues. Walker noted that the main advantage of the NBA over the EuroLeague has little, if anything, to do with players' talent but rather with their athleticism.
"In the NBA, you got so many super athletes, a bunch of tall 6'7''-6'8'' guys who can run and jump. If you're a super athlete, you can get away with certain things," he observed.
Points this season
Zalgiris Kaunas
EuroLeague
On the other hand, Walker thinks the EuroLeague has an edge over the NBA in terms of Q and intensity.
"There are 82 games in the NBA; there are people who just take days off, or if you have a bad game, you can play the next one. In the NBA, every possession doesn't count. People will shoot from half court and shrug their shoulders. Here, you can't afford to turn the ball over. It's a rare occasion that you beat a team by 20 points.
That's because of the level of intensity, the physicality, and the IQ. Everyone's smart here. No one's playing the wrong way. Obviously, the NBA and the EuroLeague are far, but it's not like there's a huge gap because there's plenty of NBA players and lottery picks that came here and gotten swallowed up for a reason," he pointed out.
Finally, Walker made his Final Four predictions, naming his first two picks right away.
"I definitely got Panathinaikos, Real Madrid," he replied before explaining why he's choosing Partizan over Paris Basketball.
"They started off slow, but I think they're starting to pick it up. They're a really good team as far as overall intensity. On paper, they look like a Final Four team. They have a lot of guards, so it's hard to give them all minutes. You got to find the right system with that team. That's the overall hard part," he said about the Serbian outfit.
Of course, Walker couldn't leave Zalgiris out of the Final Four conversation.
"I'll put my team in there, let's be for real. We have some really good players, and Iggy [Brazdeikis] hasn't been playing as much, but he can change the game. He's one heck of a scorer, but he's also fearless. You need a player like that who doesn't shy away from the limelight.
I think we have the right team, and if I'm still here and [Sylvain] Francisco and I can get going as far as a backcourt, a lot of players and teams are in trouble."
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