Bruno Sundov has lived basketball both at NBA and European level. Now a FIBA coach and a member of the NBA’s Basketball without Borders project, he sat down with Kurt Aquilina to discuss his career while also explaining what he deems to be the formula for success…
Bruno Sundov was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in 1998 and since then he went on to play with four other NBA teams, namely the Indiana Pacers, Bolton Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks.
The seven-foot-three Croat says that while American players have always been the pinnacle of the sport, Europeans have, over the years, caught up.
This showed especially during last summer’s FIBA Basketball World Cup in China where countries from the old continent dominated most of proceedings with Spain lifting the title after beating Argentina 95-75 in the final.
“Dallas started (bringing in European players), then San Antonio and now many others are realising that it’s not all about dunking and putting on a show. The game of basketball can be fun in an intelligent way,” Sundov told the Times of Malta.
“The perfect example is Luka (Doncic). He’s 20 years old – I don’t think he’s a great athlete but his basketball IQ is very high. He’s really smart and he’s using it on the court. I wake up in the morning and I watch him play. It’s just enjoyable, he’s having fun, he’s laughing.
“The game of basketball, not just the NBA, didn’t have this for a long time. People come to watch one guy, he’s 20 and dominating, making triple-doubles… it’s just amazing to see. So, I would say, especially in the last ten years, European players have caught up and are playing bigger roles in the NBA.”
This praise towards Doncic, a Slovenian who plays for Dallas as well, adds to the fact that last season’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) was Milwaukee Bucks player Giannis Antetokounmpo, who hails from Greece.
Sundov gives credit to Europe for this as even though he refers to the NBA as “the dream”, he admits it is the wrong window for youths to look into if they want to succeed in basketball.
He highlighted that there is an enormous difference between the game in the US and that in Europe and the easiest way to show it is through American players who leave to play in Europe.
“Americans coming from the NBA face a totally different sport. It’s totally different coaching,” he explained.
“In Europe you have less free time because teams train twice a day rather than once like the NBA. US teams have private planes, here you have to deal with many things.
“In the NBA, everything is made to be easier for the players. This is a problem most American players are facing – some of them adjust but others don’t.”
As a player, Sundov admits he might have been impatient.
“Dallas brought me over, but I didn’t play much. I could have easily stayed in the US for five more years but was like ‘I can watch a game on tv’, watching the game from the bench is no fun,” he admitted.
“I left early, 24 or 25 (years old) and when I moved to Spain I really started to grow as a basketball player. NBA is a dream but many things have to align.
“I heard about Luka around five years ago, making a move from Slovenia to Real Madrid at 15 years old. In the Under 16 and Under 18, he destroyed everybody, but these guys come once every 20 years.
“I’ve been in both places, NBA is fun to watch but it’s better to watch a Euro Cup game as a player because if you continue (playing), you might end up there.”
Sundov also pointed out how basketball in the US is run by its key players. The 39-year-old formed part of the Cleveland Cavaliers team of 2003, the year NBA icon LeBron James was drafted.
“LeBron James is a great guy, a great example and a leader from day one, even at 18. You could see it immediately that he will be great,” he remarked.
“The influence he has is huge and he’s only a player. Every team in the NBA has this kind of player who is the boss of the team. He’s the one who’s talking and everybody listens.
“The players run the team, not the coaches. If you’re a coach who doesn’t like that player, you’re going to get fired. This is very different from Europe.”
While having star players who are good examples to the team is beneficial, Sundov puts most importance into having good management.
Towards the end of his NBA career, Sundov was a New York Knicks man and he described the struggling team as ‘the hardest environment to succeed’.
“It’s too much pressure, being New York, all the media and especially because of the owner, Jimmy Dolan, who has no passion for basketball,” he lamented.
Dolan, who is also the owner of ice hockey team New York Rangers and Madison Square Garden itself, has been known to be unwilling to let go of the team and Sundov insists it is their main problem at the moment.
“You have to be a basketball fan and want to win. In New York they only want to make money. This was the same in Cleveland. When they drafted LeBron James, the stocks rose by 20 per cent and the owner at the time was blind and sold the team. They won a championship after that.” he said.
Sundov’s love for the Mavericks continued however, recalling his recent month-long experience on the coaching staff in 2017.
“This was more than ten years later and I found the same people – from coaching staff, to managers, even the equipment manager was there.
“Rick Carlisle (head coach) won the championship (2011) but then came last for three or four years in a row. They didn’t fire him and now, by sticking to the process and with a few good draft picks, especially Luka, they’re fun to watch. They are once again a playoff team,” he said.