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Former NBA players Kendrick Perkins and Richard Jefferson expressed concerns over the league’s continued globalization efforts, warning that the trend may negatively impact the development of American basketball players. The discussion took place on the latest episode of the Road Trippin podcast, where both former players cited the growing international talent pool as a challenge for U.S.-based prospects.
Perkins, who spent 14 seasons in the NBA and now serves as an analyst, emphasized that the increasing global reach of the league has widened the talent gap between American players and their international counterparts. Drawing from a recent experience at an AAU tournament, he warned that many families in the United States may not fully understand the level of competition developing overseas.
“The NBA being global doesn't help American basketball players,” Perkins said. “And I'm just thinking about it because I was in the AAU gym for the past week, this past weekend. And I'm watching all these kids in there. Great talent. And I'm watching these kids in there. And I'm listening to the dads, the moms, the aunties, the grand moms, and they screaming. They want their kid to get 20. They think this kid is better than this kid. The top ranked kids. All this stuff, right. In my mind, I'm saying you mother f—–ers don't have a clue because they have six Wemby’s in France. They probably have about seven in each class. Seven Luka’s and Jokic’s out there that we don't know about. We probably won't hear about them until your kid is actually a senior, right? And then in Africa, they probably got…”
Kendrick Perkins, Richard Jefferson highlight MVP trend as NBA ramps up global expansion talks
Jefferson, who also enjoyed a lengthy NBA career and now works as a broadcaster, pointed to the infrastructure being built internationally to develop talent similar to NBA stars like Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“The Basketball Africa League. They're looking for those Embiids and those Giannis’ and those Pascals,” Jefferson said. “They're looking for them.”
Perkins added that the international surge is already visible at the highest level of the NBA.
“I'm telling you. And listen, they probably have about 40 over there that they looking at,” Perkins continued. “And it just brings me back to the space of look at who has been our last what MVPs over the last six years. We have yet to have an American win the MVP. That tells me that other countries, it's a separation of development in the game of basketball.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a Canadian-born guard, became the latest international star to win the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award for the 2024–25 season. He followed previous MVP winners Joel Embiid (Cameroon), Nikola Jokic (Serbia), and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), extending the streak of non-American recipients to seven consecutive years.
Their comments come just a day after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver met with UK leaders and major stakeholders to explore the creation of a potential European league under the NBA’s umbrella. The move signals the league’s intensified global ambitions, further raising questions about the future of American player development.
