Opponent: Philadelphia 76ers
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: KeyArena, Seattle
TV: KONG (Ch. 6/16)
Radio: KJR (950 AM)
Radmanovic returns: As expected, Seattle’s Vladimir Radmanovic returned to action on Saturday, exactly one week after a terrifying fall during a game against Detroit left him with a mild concussion.
Asked how he was feeling, and with no pun intended, Radmanovic said: “I’m perfect, knock on wood.”
He entered the game with 8:06 to play in the first quarter and received a nice ovation. Minutes later he drained his first attempt of the night, a long 3-pointer from beyond the top of the key.
Radmanovic began the night with a scoring average of 5.9 points in 17.4 minutes per game. He was the team leader in 3-point percentage at 47.2 (25-for-53), though he was near the bottom in field goal percentage at 40.7 (48-for-118).
“I still have to learn a lot, that’s for sure,” said the 21-year-old Radmanovic. “But I feel comfortable because my shot is falling. I feel all right about everything, and I’ll continue to play like this and maybe better. But like I say, I have to learn a lot. I’m a young player and this is a different game than in Europe. Not the game itself, but the (faster) style of play is different.”
More international look in league: It once was that only a handful of foreign players were found on NBA rosters. Now most teams have at least one or more. The Sonics, for example, have three – Radmanovic and Peja Drobnjak (Yugoslavia), and Olumide Oyedeji (Nigeria). Meanwhile, players like Sacramento’s Peja Stojakovic (Yugoslavia) and Dallas’ Dirk Novitzki (Germany) and Philadelphia’s Dikembe Mutombo (Zaire) are among the league’s best players.
Do international players need to prove themselves to their American peers?
Nope, says Seattle’s Desmond Mason. “There’s some tremendous foreign talent (in the NBA),” he said. “If you look around the league, some of the better players are foreign players. A lot of them are big guys who can dribble the ball and shoot the ball. That’s more than a lot of our bigger American players can do. A lot of them just stay in the post.
“A guy like Vlade (Radmanovic) can put the ball on the floor and go to the basket. He can shoot the 3. Or he can post up when he needs to. To some extent, foreign players have an advantage because that’s the way they’re taught when they play in Europe.”
Short shots: Seattle’s Gary Payton sank a free throw in the final moments of the first quarter, his 16,000th point in the NBA. … Brent Barry’s dad, NBA legend Rick Barry, was in the KeyArena crowd for Saturday’s game. … Saturday’s win allowed the Sonics to close December with an 8-5 record.
Rich Myhre
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