"It's all imitation!" Durant takes a shot at foreign players in the NBA: They try to play like Americans, and in a way, they've succeeded

Basketball is played all over the world. That's the goal, for basketball to develop everywhere. It was about time for international players to be the best in the league. They've been coming since the '80s, so it's natural that some of them would become the best. The real question is, who influenced them? Well, it was Americans who had an influence on them. It's cool that some of them have won MVP awards, but who were they watching? Jokić, Porziņģis, Shai, they all wore Iverson jerseys and imitated his crossovers... They're trying to play like us, and they've succeeded in their own way.

Is he an international player? But most of his path to becoming an NBA player came through the American system. Where did he go to college? Where did he play high school? So there are many factors that contribute to why these guys are where they are, and the main credit goes to the hard work they've put in. But it's all imitation. Who do you look up to and who are you trying to imitate on the court? That's how everyone improves. Who were they imitating? The Dream Team, American players. So, they just learned from us, just like I learned from American players. My generation learned from the guys before me. It's a natural evolution.Kevin Durant