Could Barcelona Make It In The NBA?

Phil Jackson clearly holds the NBA in high esteem.  After his Lakers lost 92-88 to reigning Spanish League champs FC Barcelona, a reporter asked him if he thought FCB could withstand the competition in the NBA night in and night out.

"No."

Well, that makes it fairly clear, I think.  And frankly, I am inclined to agree with him.  Xavier Pasqual, Barcelona's head coach does not agree.  And he does not think that this victory is an isolated incident, as he noted that Barcelona almost beat the Lakers in the Staples Center back in 2008.

"If we played [in the NBA] and we changed our way of doing things, I think we would be able to compete differently," Pasqual said.

Mr. Pasqual, with all due respect, NBA preseason games mean little.  Maybe I should point out to you that the Lakers also lost to Minnesota by 19 in their first preseason game.  Minnesota.  The same team that won fifteen games last year and just traded away their best player, Al Jefferson.

Or maybe you need to see that Kobe, the best basketball player in the world right now, played only 25 minutes because of recent knee surgery.

Or how about that the Lakers arrived in Spain only two days prior to the game and were likely still adjusting their body clocks.

Small sample size, Mr. Pasqual.  Yes, your team played well and their performance should encourage La Liga that they continue to improve.  But the NBA remains the greatest league in the world, a place where these players dream of playing ever since they were young.  The best of the best make it to the NBA, and if your team really has the talent to compete with the best, then they would already be over there.

For a couple of games, I think FCB would surprise a few teams.  But the wear and tear of traveling, the physical style of play, and the 82 game season would derail their season quickly.

Congratulations on the victory Barcelona, but the rest of the world remains miles behind the NBA.