Tiago Splitter knows both sides of the basketball world well. A EuroLeague champion and former NBA big man with a championship ring from his time with the San Antonio Spurs, Splitter has lived the cultural and stylistic divide between European and American basketball. He recently stated:
"The strategic part, the toughness, how hard it is, like the physicality of the game. People have no clue how much more physical European basketball is."
"Consider the NBA, you touch a guy, it's a foul. Here, to get a foul, man, you got to beg the referee to call you a foul, you know."
This echoed a sentiment that players like Luka Doncic and Damian Lillard have reinforced in recent years: European basketball is far more physical.
Splitter’s words have reignited a conversation around the stylistic differences between the two worlds, especially in a season where, for the seventh straight year, a non-U.S.-born player has claimed the MVP award as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander claimed it this time.
With names like Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at the top, and with Luka Doncic and Victor Wembanyama still ascending, the NBA’s elite is increasingly international.
The global game’s influence has never been stronger, and with that has come a deeper appreciation and critique of how the NBA is officiated compared to its European counterpart.
Splitter isn’t wrong about the contact tolerance. In EuroLeague and FIBA competitions, defenders can be significantly more physical. There’s no defensive three-second violation, which means the paint can be packed and rim attacks are often met with heavy resistance.
Players are frequently allowed to ride ball handlers, bump cutters, and contest with more physicality than what would be tolerated under NBA officiating.
Yet, it’s not simply about toughness or grit. The NBA operates under an entirely different framework. As Luka Doncic explained in The Old Man & The Three, the defensive three-second rule opens up the floor in ways European players dream of.
Doncic’s success in the NBA, averaging over 34 points per game in 2024 is a testament to how rule sets change scoring dynamics. Damian Lillard echoed this during the Tokyo Olympics, noting how FIBA play is far less generous to offensive players.
While it’s true that scoring is “easier” in the NBA, that doesn't mean it's less skilled. The NBA's pace, spacing, and talent depth are unmatched. Players operate in open space at high speeds, with every defensive rotation and read being scrutinized.
The league favors offense not by accident, but by design, because scoring is entertaining. That doesn’t devalue the skill; it magnifies it in a different way.
Splitter's observation taps into a broader truth: The NBA rewards finesse, space, and rhythm, while Europe prizes toughness, execution, and grind.
Both are beautiful in their own way, and when players like Jokic, Doncic, or Giannis dominate the NBA stage after cutting their teeth in Europe, it’s a testament to how both systems forge greatness.
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