Why Xavier McDaniel Thinks Modern Game Benefits International Players

Former one-time NBA All-Star small forward Xavier McDaniel recently spoke with longtime big man Tim Thomas and Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson about a variety of topics in a fresh installment of their pod “No Nonsense With Tim Thomas & Scoop B.” The 6’7″ swingman out of Wichita State, infamously nicknamed X-Man during his 12-year NBA tenure, explained why he felt the modern game has tilted in favor of international, non-American players — and why that has taken away some of the toughness that highlighted his era.

“I tell people all the time what I don’t like about the game… and I like the Greek Freak [Milwaukee Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo] and you can probably agree with me on this — I’ve been saying it for years and ain’t nobody [has challenged] me on it, but they don’t never talk about it: All the rule changes in the NBA is set up for the European players and the players in Africa; the players in China,” McDaniel said. “When they come over here, I’ve been telling people [there’s] more money in the world than the United States. So what better way to [broaden the NBA’s global reach than to] have guys like the Greek Freak, [Philadelphia 76ers center Joel] Embiid who’s from Cameroon, [Dallas Mavericks point guard] Luka Dončić [become stars]?”

All these players, perennial MVP candidates, number among the league’s leading luminaries. Antetokounmpo is a two-time league MVP already and a one-time champion, Embiid is the reigning MVP, and Dončić has been in that kind of conversation as a frequent All-NBA honoree for years. McDaniel didn’t even mention probably the NBA’s best player, Nikola Jokic. Among these four international stars, only Antetokounmpo and Embiid have the kind of toughness McDaniel seems to prefer.

“…[If] you come to the hole… I ain’t gonna lie and I ain’t gonna sugarcoat it: If you dunk on Moses Malone (RIP) or you could’ve dunked on Manute Bol and stared him down? I did it once and that motherf—er hit me so hard and I was laying on the floor and I was like — it was after the game and Manute came to me and said, ‘I thought we was friends motherf—er! You f—in’ dunk on me and stare at me!’ When he hit me, I was laid on the floor and I was like, ‘If I get up I’m gonna kill him! [laughing]… and they got him out of there, right? Next time we played he was saying, ‘X-Man, I thought we was friends,’ McDaniel noted. “I said, ‘Manute. My bad.'”

Bol, of course, was from what is now known as South Sudan and seemed to pack all the requisite toughness McDaniel wants out of the modern game. But his point is fair.

“The way they do it now, they made the rules easier for them to be successful. And not to take anything away from any of them because they’re fantastic players but, if you hit a guy now man, you get ejected out of the game and I think that the game was made for them because think about it: Luka Dončić [scored] 73 points,” McDaniel said. “How many people are buying those jerseys? That’s a lot of checks for the NBA. So I tell people all the time, and I’ve been talking about it that way back in the ’90s, the NBA [has] been trying to get the teams in Europe, trying to get the teams in China to play the guys.”

The inference here seems to be that Dončić’s offensive production is too valuable to the NBA for him to be sidelined from games. And that disincentivizes players from hitting him too hard.

“American players don’t even see it, you know?” McDaniel opined. “Think about it: When you look at it, outside of [Golden State Warriors All-NBA point guard] Steph [Curry], [Los Angeles Lakers All-Stars] LeBron [James] and AD [Anthony Davis], name me five outstanding players where you just stand and say to yourself, These motherf—ers can PLAY. Kevin Durant? He’s an OG. He’s about to be done in a few years, that’s one. Kyrie Irving? See, now you’re thinking. When you gotta think, that’s a problem.”

“Now if you go and say, ‘Name me [the] five best players of the ’80s — Moses [Malone], Doc [Julius Irving], Larry [Bird], Magic [Johnson], [James] Worthy, Dominique [Wilkins]… you keep going on and on.”

The ’80s were a particularly fruitful time in the league. McDaniel didn’t even mention Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, or Isaiah Thomas, all of whom had pretty great runs that decade, too.

“You don’t have that same stability to say that right now,” McDaniel opined. “When you start talking about 5 players? I mean, you can name 5 players but, I’m talking about that household name. We don’t have five players even if you put ’em all in you can’t name ten players that are feared today in America.

McDaniel made his lone All-Star appearance while still playing for the team that drafted him, the Seattle Supersonics, in 1987-88, his third pro season. He also enjoyed productive stints with the Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks, and Boston Celtics. After one year playing internationally in Greece, he returned to the league as a reserve with the New Jersey Nets from 1996-98.