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Hall Of Famer Pau Gasol Explained How Toni Kukoc Paved Way For Foreign Players

Hall of Fame inductees Pau Gasol, Tony Parker and Dirk Nowitzki all followed Toni Kukoc's international path to NBA

Shandel Richardson

Hall Of Famer Pau Gasol Explained How Toni Kukoc Paved Way For Foreign Players
Hall Of Famer Pau Gasol Explained How Toni Kukoc Paved Way For Foreign Players /
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The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame welcome three international inductees Saturday. 

Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker and Pau Gasol solidified themselves as NBA greats but all were inspired by Toni Kukoc. 

Kukoc, a 2021 Hall inductee, was among the first foreign players to have a huge impact in the league. A native of Croatia, he was so admired by young overseas player he was the presenter for Gasol. 

"If you had told me when I was young, a little boy growing up in a little city that I would meet Toni Kukoc but that he would be presenting me into the Hall of Fame, I wouldn't have believed you," Gasol said. "And yet here we are, Toni. Toni was a great player, a heck of a player. I mean, he inspired so many European players growing up. I looked up to you. You inspired me to follow your follow your steps." 

After gaining international fame, Kukoc was drafted in the second round by the Chicago Bulls in 1990. He arrived in the NBA three years later, becoming a key cog in the second three-peat by the Michael Jordan-led Bulls from 1996-98. His other accomplishments included making All-Rookie Second-Team in 1994 and winning Sixth Man of the Year in 1996. 

 Kukoc averaged 11.6 points and 4.2 rebounds during his 15-year career but the highlight was hitting the buzzer-beating, winning shot against the New York Knicks in the second round of the 1994 playoffs. The basket drew attention because Scottie Pippen refused to enter the game because coach Phil Jackson drew up a play for Kukoc. 

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Shandel Richardson is the Publisher of Back In The Day NBA. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

TWITTER: @ShandelRich

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com

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