Vlade was among first foreign delegates

Victoria Sun

Thursday, June 27, 2002 | 10:53 a.m.

Magic Johnson remembers when the international invasion began. It was 1989 when the Lakers drafted Yugoslavian center Vlade Divac with the 26th pick of the first round.

Since then, the influx of international players to the NBA has steadily increased.

The globalization of the NBA continued Wednesday night when six foreign players were drafted in the first round.

"The big reason (teams are seeking foreign talent) is we don't have great shooters anymore," Johnson said before his All-Stars lost to Team Europe 97-96 in the semifinals of the World Pro Basketball Challenge at Cox Pavilion.

"In the 1980s, teams had two or three guys who could shoot the basketball. Now (foreign players) are taking over as the NBA's great shooters.

"Also, (U.S. players) are coming out younger and younger without the proper fundamentals. The European players ... they have good fundamentals."

The Houston Rockets drafted 7-foot-5 Chinese center Yao Ming with the No. 1 pick. The next international player taken was 7-foot Nikoloz Tskitishvilli of the Republic of Georgia, selected fifth by Denver.

Maybyner "Nene" Hilario from Brazil went seventh to the Knicks, Houston took Bostjan Nachbar 15th and Philadelphia picked Jiri Welsch of the Czech Republic 16th. The other first-rounder was Yugoslavian forward/center Nenad Krstic, who went to New Jersey at No. 24.

After Divac, Johnson recalled the arrivals of former Nets shooter Drazen Petrovic, who died in a car accident, and Golden State guard Sarunas Marciulionis. Petrovic will be inducted into the Hall of Fame along with Johnson in September.

Since David Stern became NBA commissioner in 1984, one of his priorities has been to globalize the league.

"It's an international game, no question," Johnson said. "As more and more guys from other countries come into the NBA, it just makes other players in those countries work harder to chase their dreams so they can make it to the NBA."

Last year, there were 51 international players in the NBA from 30 countries.

Spaniard Pau Gasol made the biggest impact among foreigners in the 2001 draft class. Picked third by the Memphis Grizzlies, he won the rookie of the year award after averaging 17.6 points and 8.9 rebounds.

Other foreign players made their presence felt in the NBA playoffs, such as Spurs point guard Tony Parker (France), who averaged 15.5 points in the playoffs. German forward Dirk Nowitzki starred for Dallas, and Sacramento had guard Hedo Turkoglu.

There are four international teams in the World Pro Basketball Challenge: Vasco da Gama (Brazil), Taiwan United, OSG Phoenix (Japan) and the London Leopards.

Taiwan United coach Jeremy Chen said it will be difficult for Taiwan to produce an NBA player since the professional Chinese Basketball Association disbanded three years ago.

But he remains an avid NBA fan and is encouraged to see more Asian players in the league. Chen has played against Dallas center Wang Zhizhi, the first Chinese import.

"I'm happy to see more players from Asia make it to the NBA," he said through a translator.