European Things That Shocked NBA Americans 

Which story impressed you the most? Do you know any other stories like these? 👀 Let us know in the comments below ✍ If you enjoyed the video, help us grow by hitting the like button & subscribing to our channel! 🙌 Lastly, follow us on social media for more content: Twitter: twitter.com/basketnews_com/ Instagram: instagram.com/basketnews/ Inquiries for partnership: commerce@basketnews.com

replace *european culture with *eastern european culture and/or *balkan culture

There are no designated areas for smokers in Serbia. Everywhere is smokers area

As a Croatian, I don't understand why all of this is regarded as weird. Many people smoke, everybody likes burek with joghurt, eating a lot (of everything) is normal, a hangout with peers turning into a dancing and drinking party etc. Honestly, not doing all of this - is weird.

Imagining all of the Balkan players in the bubble turning the dining room into a kafana warms my heart

In Spain, a book could be written with the stories of Americans who played here in the 80's and 90's. A crazy one: Certain player I don't remember received a courtesy car from the team, so he could go from home to practice. After few days he told the team that sth is wrong with the car. It is extremely slow and makes huge noise. Staff from the team took the car, with the player not being present, tried it and it was all OK. After the car was returned to the player, next day he says it is still the same!! So they decided to go and check it together. Player was driving and the staff immediately noticed what the issue was... He was all the time using the first gear, didn't know he had to switch gears as in the states, 99% of cars are automatic. 😂

The players in the restaurant didn't realize how scary a bunch of GIANTS from Mythical lands partying looked 😂

Greg Popovich put Zeljko Paspalj in the clinic to make him stop smoking, first thing he did once he went out and popovic came to take him home was to light a cigaret

As someone from the Balkans what Toni Kukoc ordered counts as a nice, complete meal here. For a person of his stature and especially an active sportsman, I would wager he might need a bit more even. Good on him, seems like he was enjoying life while playing.

Steve Kerr is THAT guy that says EXpresso...

as someone from ex-yu countries,that pic from the bubble warms my heart and it makes me happy how it all turned out with all of them there,true to their roots haha

“And then Hedo, Hedo Turkoglu, was like ‘let’s pee on him.” Very far down the list of things I thought I’d ever hear Grant Hill say 😂

As a European, none of these surprise me

I am not surprised, the US is generally shocked that other cultures and languages even exist😂

What about Žarko Paspalj? Chain smoker black in the days in San Antonio. Back in Europe he had an unique contract at Olympiakos, which allowed him at any moment of the game to go in the locker room for smoking. While playing against him, we were all shocked from his smell after returning on the court in the Greek league.

There are no designated smoker areas in Serbia, only designated non smoker areas

As a Serb (and a Yugoslav back then), grew up in Yugoslavia during 80' those guys were our idols. RIP Dražen Petrović.

Darko Milicic takes the cake. The guy was so crazy and out of control. He spoke about those days and some bizarre things he was doing in some interviews in Serbian.

Back in the late 80s in Belgrade, I remember running into a cafe where Partizan players went after the training session. Divac, Paspalj, Djordjevic, Pecarski, Danilovic, Grbic were inside. I swear that you could cut the smoke with the sword! You could hardly see the players from the clouds of smoke around them. And Divac was driving a Yugo 45 back then, saw him with my own eyes 🙂

Guys in restaurant solved Yugoslavian conflict, respect

Europeans are the most Open-Minded people on the Planet. Life is not only abaut working but also living it to the full,because Life is to Short and "you" only live once.

I live in upstate rural New York at the foot of the Catskill Mountains am a basketball fan and foodie... The part about the Balkan boys had me salivating for their food and drinks and their music is awesome... I would love to have come from that part of the world, so much fun, I also go on Mushroom walks. Am so so sad for how out of touch so many Americans have come from actually being a Human on Earth. Thank God for the Balkan Boys and their IQ on and off the Court.

Eurobasket 1995 and somewhere around the oaka stadium a limo parks, the windows roll down and empty cans of beer are thrown to the general direction of garbage cans by the street. Sabonis and Kurtinaitis waved at us when as we recognised them and cheered.

I will give you why Toni is doing that quote "you cannot go out to play until you eat everything of that plate" By every Balkan mother

Smoking a cig before a game is the most European thing to do lol. Lots of Euros smoke even the athletes. Example. Back in the days, the Spurs had a player that came from teh Euro league, Žarko Paspalj. He would smoke cigs and eat pizza during halftime.

Kerr: "expresso"

I remember reading that the Lakers brass was not very happy when then-rookie Vlade Divac showed up for the first meeting at their offices smoking a Marlboro 😂

Forget smoking before a game. I remember seeing a player smoke *during* a game. It was in a European Champions League (precursor to the Euroleague) game in the 70's. Maccabi Tel Aviv was hosting one of the stronger teams in the competition (I believe it was Real Madrid or perhaps Simmenthal Milano). It was late in the game and Macabbi -- which had lost badly to the opposing team in the away game -- was leading by a lot. In fact, Maccabi was close to evening the score on aggregate. Suddenly, there was some major technical problem (the scoreboard or the lights, I don't remember) and play was stopped for several minutes. Next thing I know I see a Maccabi player (Yossi Lezha (not sure about the spelling)) smoking a cigarette on the Maccabi bench. Different times!

This is the Balkans: we love our family, our lands, our food, we work hard and party hard.

Europe players are really taking over the game. Luka's my favorite player. What a show he puts on every game!

the story about the party of all the players from former yugoslavian countries was just heartwarming. Maybe the wounds are slowly healing

'Café y cigarro, figurita de barro', is what we use to say in Spain. In English, 'Coffee and cigar, clay figurine'. The laxative properties of this pairing are well known world wide 😅 And the hobby to go to the forest and 'hunt' mushrooms is also usual here.

Žarko Paspalj has entered the chat…

When I visited Spain back in 1986 as a kid, i remember going to the local city's arena to watch their pro team play a game and I literally got sick from all the cigarette smoke. The arena was like in a fog of smoke. Then I will always remember, a player was subbed out, sat on the bench for a few seconds, then busted out a cig and started smoking.

The most shocking thing in here is Steve Kerr saying expresso

I used to work with Eastern Europeans, and my father in law is from Hungary. I know the culture very well

It's hard to let go of the habits from your roots even when on the other side of the world. Sticking to what you're used to gives you a peace of mind when engaging with the unknown.

You skipped Darko Miličić. SMH. For the Kukoč and espresso bit, it's a common knowledge, at least in the Balkans (coffee savants) that a cup of coffee helps you relieve yourself, if you know what I mean.

As a slovenian im not really surprised by any of these haha

When I lived in France, many locals liked to go mushroom hunting. It thought all Europeans did that.

Great episode! Ok, here's one I have (Yes, I am aware of the avalanche of of comments saying it did not happen) about Predrag Sasha Danilovic during his tenure in Dallas. The source of the story is Rasha Nesterovic who told it to my coach (his best man) and the rest of our team of cadets of Partizan back in ~2003 when Rasha came to our practice. The game was on the line and the game-plan was for Danilovic to take the last shot. Some other player did not pass the ball and took the shot. Now Euro-fans would know how clutch Danilovic was and that he always would want the ball, while Serbians are well familiar with his temper as well. Needless to say, the guy missed the shot. Right after in the looker-room, Danilovic beat the shit out of him, and then a couple of other teammates got into it trying (probably) to split the fight, but Danilovic beat them too. The story goes that by the end of his tenure in Dallas he fought the whole team and literally *fought and beat every single teammate*. And then he got back to Europe.

In Yugoslavia (Serbia) best handball players from my hometown (*Crvenka* who have great handball school) , everybody smoked cigarettes and drink beer ,before and after game *after game much more. : )

Here in Indiana, especially in southern Indiana a lot of people hunt for wild mushrooms. I think even Larry Bird used to do it growing up. On a side note, I grew up with a lot of Serbians here in NW Indiana/Chicago area and have been to many of their functions over the years. I can vouch for a few things- lots of smoking, drinking, cultural dances, and smoking hot women.....

I am from Turkiye whjat's so weird about what you mentioned. Borek is a traditional Turkish dough dish and when we sit at the table we want our eyes to be satisfied first. Meaning the plates and the table needs to be full before our stomach is full.

Peja Stojakovic and Vlade Divac smoked a cigarette regulary.

I loved the video, because I‘m from the balkans and as a basketball fan I love Lithuania but it would be nice to hear something about all the Spanish, French and German guys.

Žarko Paspalj's San Antonio Spurs' stories are incredible. Darko Miličić had some good stories as well.

In Serbia we have designated areas for non smokers. If you don’t smoke you stand in the corner 😂

I still remember a guy we were used to play together on open courts during college time and he was used to smoke before every game because he was saying that he made him feel more athletic! I remember listening to him saying ''God damn, I didn't smoke before the start of the game and I cannot lift my feet!'' Anyway, greetings from Greece!

I remember that pizza commercial with Hedo eating pizza in his uniform while talking to the coach on the phone, when he was with the Raptors. "Yes, coach...yes, coach...". Who knew it was an actual documentary of his life. Weird.

Man you do realize that the picture at 4:31 is Peace Nobel Prize worthy?

4:20 That was ex Yugoslavia boys doing it like in old days . . .

Balkan is beautiful part of 🌍.

I know an ex-pro Turkish basketball player. Incidentally, he's a smoker but some of his stories about the American players playing over here are also interesting. According to him, "smoking" is common among the American players.

For me is more weird to live in a concrete jungle than walking in the nature and picking up shrooms and herbs….

Really enjoyed this video

2:58 Mustaches + mullet = +100 bonus to fighting prowess

I remember when everyone on the 1969 Boston Celtics smoked cigarettes. The whole locker room was billowing blue smoke.

The European players are far more relatable and play the game in a way that is enjoyable to watch

good video, really entertaining

It’s 4 hours before tip off you take a crap have 10 minutes nap and your ready 😂😂

Imagine if all these guys had healthy habits. They would be the Novak Djokovic of basketball at least.

Miss hedo Turkoglu 😭

perfect video.. ty

That was fun to watch 😁 But as some others mentioned in the comments. There were only east European stories ... what love to see some of the other areas 🎉

Supposedly Sabonis used to chain smoke during halftime with the Blazers

Great video!

Great concept for a video

Didn't know that about Sabonis sounds like hes a serb or i guess Lithuanians a serbs are more alike then i thought lol great vid guys keep up the good work lol

It shocked people that Europeans smoke? Ugh. People in America smoked back then, a lot.

we need a part 2 of this

Weird how Giannis was not included to the Balkan table. I would consider us Greeks as much Balkan as any other Balkan nation and I love our similarities.

1:02 there are no designated smoking areas in cafe's and restaurants in Serbia. There designated areas for non-smokers.

nice content. you can add marcin gortat's kielbasa and pierogies day in nba studio

Burek sa sirom, palacinka w bijela cokolada, the best cheesecake in the world, fritule, man I miss it all

I used to play the game in France when I was young. Our coach would tell us to eat garlic before the games so the defenders wouldn't get too close. I also participated in a three-point contest where every contestant was drunk, including the professionals (Pro B). Last but not least, every rookie at our modest level had his penis forcefully covered in blue ink after his first game. It took me like 10 days before my wiener turned pink again.

How to be a sucessful European in the NBA: Don't shower, eat seafood for breakfast, smoke the rest of your cigs before tipoff, bribe the refs, celebrate with kebab, repeat.

Balkans is a "different" part of Europe... They are strange even for the rest of Europeans.

That restaurant Balkan boys story, its perfectly summed up in a chorus of Dubioza Kolektiv song: -" But when I taste some rakija.... In my head anarhija.... Back to original shape..... There's just no0 escape From BALKAN" 😂😂😂

Gotta love these Balkan boys.

you mention all big love from yugoslavija to you !

Steve Kerrs story about Tony was hell of a pre game ritual🤘

Žarko Paspalj and Darko Miličić...

While playing u18 in Italy we did culture interchange with a Serbian team... And wow,i remember that yogurt

Vlade also Pizza Hut at least while staying at the Marriot Hotel while the visiting team playing the Utah Jazz in Utah back then it was at the Delta Center. He was in front of me in line. If I had to guess it was 1999. Oliver Miller also at a ton!

Nice to see people are still treat like adults in Serbia 😂

I'm originally from Iran and we drink yogurt too. Fun fact the origin myths of both Croats and Serbs say that the descend from Iranian/Sarmatian tribes. And I remember reading how the name "Hrvat" had been traced to some obscure locale in present-day Afghanistan

Gytis is too young to remember a time when the smokers and non-smokers always shared the same public space. Bless his heart. I still remember the reactions when that law passed here in Athens. Plus most of the time, simple cigarettes were the "formal way" of relaxation. When you and a couple buddies are at home, it's a different story. You really need to take a deep look at the state of Greek basketball in the 90s, if lighting a cigarette is shocking to you. Fasoulas smoked pipes, Tarpley drank the Bosphorus and Black sea together in alcohol, and Fanis Christodoulou (a Greek basketball LEGEND) did both. It was common, until the mid-2000s. Tsartsaris said that Panathinaikos won the Euroleague listening to Sfakianakis. Meaning going to Bouzoukia all the time.

Burek and jogurt are always a W

I think there could be whole series of videos about cultural shocks while was Darko Miličić in NBA 😂

The balkan yogurt is closer to a buttermilk in the US.

In serbia we have a fuelstation where you have a restaurant inside. Guess what? You can smoke there 😂

Chicago cubs 1st baseman mark grace used to smoke In the walkway behind the dugout between innings and the early 2,000s And a lot of baseball players smoked in the dugout in the 70s and 80s

As a Greek none of this surprises me. Just your average day🤣

You forget Žarko Paspalj.😂He almost died from smoking but he still didn't stop

Dino Radja also has been smoker, Sabonis had beer at timeouts

You forgot Darko Miličić

Mike Bibby is getting more jacked in his middle age.

Because Toni Kukoč was a King of a game👑

I mean, Tony played in Treviso. I don't know about basketball, but they can teach anyone to eat for sure. 😂