Kim Bohuny Senior Vice President, International Basketball Operations, NBA I've been doing this for 26 years now, and it’s changed a little bit over time. Take Manute Bol—I remember Wes Unseld telling me a story. They put him up in a house, and the next day he doesn't come to practice. So they go the house and say, “Are you OK?” He'd never been in cold weather before, and he had a runny nose. And he thought he was, like, gravely ill. So the difference between then, and Giannis and Kristaps now, is they know America. When the pioneers came over, they had never seen NBA games on TV. There were no computers then. The language barrier was huge.

Vlade Divac Kings General Manager; Lakers Center (1989-1996) | Serbia Right now, it's great. But back then, it was a culture shock. Off the court, obviously, but even basketball style. It was like two different sports.

Alexander Wolff Former Sports Illustrated Senior Writer, Author of Big Game, Small World The standard of training and the expectations that the NBA had took a few of the early Europeans by surprise. I remember Zarko Paspalj, he was on the Spurs for a while, and he would smoke cigarettes in the locker room. That might go over in Split or Dubrovnik [two cities in Croatia], but it's not gonna go over in an NBA locker room. And it was an easy stereotype, but for a while I think there was some truth to the idea that they weren't hard-nosed defenders.

Sarunas Marciulionis Naismith Hall of Famer; Warriors Shooting Guard (1989-1993) | Lithuania It was [different] intensity. And different drills. Now, kids in the U.S. or Europe, it's the same drills. That's the impact of U.S. coaches and college coaches coming over. The whole training system is pretty much the same. But at that time, it was: Whew. We never had a clue. Rotations, footwork, when to push the ball. It was tough. It took a while.

Alexander Wolff You look at a guy like Petrovic, his entire game was the Balkan Pete Maravich. Creativity is what drew him to the game. That's what he loved. It was only after Rich Dalatri, the trainer with the Nets, put him on this incredible workout regimen, where he became this physical monster and he showed you he could be as competitive on defense as he was creative on offense. So I think that switch went off for a lot of these guys, where they knew that was going to be expected of them.

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Donnie Nelson Mavericks General Manager; Warriors Assistant Coach (1986–94) The early years, Petrovic and Divac and Sarunas, that first wave of guys, there was more than just the average rookie hazing. There was a misconception within the general public with some of these guys. Even though they played for the Soviet Union, they had no choice. You know? So there were some, let's call them “residual cold war effects.”

Vlade Divac It was tough. I had to go through it to get respect not just from teammates, but also the coaches, the referees, other players. I was one of the first Europeans coming here to make it happen, trying to prove that we play basketball all over the world.

“That first wave of guys, there was more than just the average rookie hazing. There were some, let’s call them ‘residual cold war effects.’ ” — Donnie Nelson

Donnie Nelson I think there was a really cool backstory that happened within our locker room [in Golden State with Marciulionis], and then other locker rooms as well. Magic [Johnson] embraced Vlade as only Magic can. In the early days it was human beings like Magic, and Chris [Mullin], and Mitch [Richmond], and I'm sure there were a lot of other guys in a lot of other locker rooms who did the same thing.

Vlade Divac I was lucky in terms of getting the right organization. The people—from the business side, to the basketball operations, teammates, coaches—everybody helped in some way. Like a teammate named Mark McNamara. He didn't play a lot, but he was a guy who was actually my first English teacher. He would teach me English, I would teach him Serbian. Later on, A.C. Green was also somebody who taught me about the NBA lifestyle. How to be on time, how to do our job. And on the court, it was Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Byron Scott.

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Donnie Nelson When guys like Mitch Richmond, Chris Mullin, and certainly a guy like Magic, are all in the forefront—recognizing that these guys can help your team win, putting arms around them, making them feel part of things—that's where sports really cut through all this political, racial, religious dogma. It brings people closer together.

Vlade Divac Mychal Thompson had a big part of it too, just making me feel good. His wife helped my wife a ton, just adjusting socially. Klay was small back then, but it was his kids playing with my kids, you know? Everybody in the Forum Club together. And when somebody embraces you like that, you feel comfortable.

Donnie Nelson Those things were all critical to those early, let's call them the “Jackie Robinson International Years”. That really set the stage.

Vlade Divac It's totally different now. Back then when I grew up, I had a chance to watch two, maybe three games a year. It wasn't live either. It was more like on tapes. VHS.

Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee Bucks | Greece My welcome to the NBA moment... I saw Kyrie Irving, it was the first preseason game. I saw Kyrie coming out to warm up, and that was a guy I was playing with on NBA 2K. So I saw him, and I was like, “Oh, there’s Kyrie.”

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Aylton Tesch Agent to Several International Players Most of the players coming here have done the research on the internet. Like 20 years ago, a guy from Europe would come here, that would be a different thing. But now, no way. Any city you're going to, they have seen pictures, they know what to expect.

Brooks Meek NBA Vice President, International Basketball Operations & Head of Elite Basketball But at the end of the day, they're still going through stuff. Their families are somewhere else, or they've got visa issues. There are common struggles that bond them together.

Kim Bohuny What happens is, Brooks and myself and other members of our [NBA International Operations] department, we go and visit each team. It's a collaborative effort. So when an [international] player comes [to the NBA], we'll be with the players through the draft, and the minute they go to their team, we work with the teams.

“It’s because of guys like Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and those guys. Even older, Drazen Petrovic. They set the path for us.” — Giannis Antetokounmpo

Brooks Meek The minute they're drafted and sign a contract, the team, with our help, they'll file for an employment visa. It's a P1-visa, which allows them to play. And if they're married, their spouse gets to be part of that. If they have a girlfriend, the girlfriend doesn't get to be part of that [P1-visa]. We then have to work with the team on what to do for the girlfriend. Like with [one NBA player], his girlfriend, he's not engaged yet. But she's in pharmaceutical school, so we'll look at a student visa for her to maybe finish in [NBA city] next year. So everything's a little different.

Aylton Tesch Sometimes family has to understand, it doesn't matter how much money your brother makes. If you're not a citizen or you don't have a visa, you have to go home. If you overstay, they'll never let you back. So those issues are what we try to avoid.

Giannis Antetokounmpo It was difficult [in year one]. I felt lonely at times. Thank God, I had people around me that helped me on a daily basis. But it was definitely hard living without my family here.

Brooks Meek Giannis is a great example. His situation was unique. Giannis is Nigerian, his family is all Nigerian, and they were refugees in Greece. So you have that situation before he even gets to the NBA. Then when he gets to the NBA, his family are still Nigerians, not even Greek passport holders at the time. And that entire family wants to be with Giannis. So you have to look at the immigration laws, and figure out: what's the right way to get his family with him?

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Giannis Antetokounmpo That was the only time I've felt lonely in my entire life.

Brooks Meek We worked with the Bucks and [decided] his dad was a support mechanism for him. There's a P1-visa, which is the athlete, and then there's a P1-S visa, which is supporting [for family members]. A good way to look at [the P1-S visa]: if you're a lead singer in a band, there's also a drummer. So that's the way we got around it [with Giannis]. But it's complicated, and it takes time, and it has to be done the right way.

Giannis Antetokounmpo They helped a lot. [The team and the league] have the best people with everything. Even the little things, just setting up a bank account. Everything, you know? They did a great job making me feel comfortable. They knew my family wasn't here, and they took care of the visas. Every little thing, they helped.

Brooks Meek This is not a one- or two-person operation. This is agent, league office, team office, outside counsel, great relationships with our government. Everybody wants these players to succeed, it's just a matter of doing it the right way.

Arturas Karnisovas General Manager, Denver Nuggets I worked with Kim and Brooks for five years [at the NBA]. They take pride in working with international players, their families, and making them comfortable. They work very closely with teams.

“It was difficult in year one in Milwaukee. That was the only time I’ve felt lonely in my entire life.” — Giannis Antetokounmpo

Kim Bohuny What we do each year, it changes. Like at lunch with the Nuggets [last year]. With [Juancho] Hernangomez, we talk about how he's getting settled. Just making sure he's OK. With Jusuf [Nurkic], he wanted to work on a green card. So we started that process with him, getting letters of support, so his aunt and uncle could come visit him. And he did his first camp [in Bosnia], so this year we're planning on how to support him, and next summer he'll do a three-day camp in Sarajevo. And with Gallo [(]Danilo Gallinari], he’s in year nine.

Brooks Meek With Gallinari, he becomes basically a member of the family. All the international guys—you go through good times, bad times, injuries, language difficulties.

Kim Bohuny We met with [an NBA rookie] and you could tell, his English is good, but he misses the little things. So we spoke with the team, and we're working with them to get an English tutor right away. We're all collectively talking. Even if the game is more global now, it’s still… You’re not in your country. Your family and friends are far away.

Marcin Gortat Washington Wizards | Poland One thing I'll just say is: you gotta learn English. You gotta pick it up as fast as possible. And then, you just gotta understand that you're gonna make mistakes saying certain words, or using different terms, and there will be times you don't understand what they're talking about. So, you gotta toughen up with that part. They’re gonna make fun of you, they're gonna crack jokes, that's what's gonna happen. You're in their country, not the other way around, that's the way it is. You gotta learn with Americans.

Ricky Rubio Utah Jazz | Spain It's not the same speaking it, to really living in it. Like Spain, people speak English, but we don't speak it that well. So I come over here, and to process all that, it's hard. In the beginning there's just a wall that you have between you and your teammates, between you and the coaches.

Timofey Mozgov Brooklyn Nets | Russia The first year, I didn't speak great English. So sometimes when they try to give me rookie duties, I'd act like I didn't speak English. I understood what they wanted to me to do, like, “Hey hey, bring those towels out.” But then I go “What? What? What?”

Goran Dragic Miami Heat | Slovenia It's a different language, but it's a lot of different stuff. It's different food. When I came here, everything was so sweet, you know? Too sweet. I had some trouble with that in the beginning. You’re working hard, you're practicing hard, and after practice you need to eat well. If the food is not… If you're not familiar with this kind of food, it gets a little bit tough.

“The first year, I didn’t speak great English. So sometimes when they try to give me rookie duties, I’d act like I didn’t speak English. I understood what they wanted to me to do, like, ‘Hey hey, bring those towels out.’ But then I go ‘What? What? What?’ ” — Timofey Mozgov

Dario Saric Philadelphia 76ers | Croatia The food… the oil. There's more oil than what I ate in Croatia. I get a little bit fat because of that.

Timofey Mozgov It takes you some time. You don't get a lot of the soups or other food you find in Russia.

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Ricky Rubio Minneapolis impressed me. At that time, I was a little afraid of the cold. Everybody was telling me it was super cold over there. But actually, people were super nice. Great restaurants. It's one of the most underrated cities in the league for sure.

Dario Saric That commercial, that show, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I think that's not true. The last couple months, I didn't see the sun. Except for L.A., maybe San Francisco. I like Philly, but I'm from a very sunny part of Croatia, so the weather, it could be better.

Ricky Rubio When I was young, I remember watching Iverson. Friday and Saturday nights were the nights I could stay up late. Games were at like 2, 3 in the morning. I was 10 years old. I'd sneak out of the bedroom and get back to the living room to try and watch. Watching all those players in the NBA, I never thought about playing. But then once the ball was on the court, I forgot about who they were, and just played basketball.

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Dario Saric [James] Harden, he always scored on me. It was unbelievable. Five, six times, he always scored on me. I think, “What can I do?” I was so close to him, I tried to contest every shot, but he scored, scored, scored. It was a really unbelievable night. All the players, you know? Like Russell [Westbrook], he's hungry for every possession. LeBron, his IQ is bigger than anyone. At the game against Bradley Beal, he scored on me, some stepback three. And he called me, like, “come here, come here.” And I talked to him like, “You are a very good player, you are almost All-Star, why you talk to me? For you it's easy to score three points.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo [Carmelo Anthony], I don't remember what he said [during Antetokoumpo’s first start]. Probably it just bother him that a guy like me come from overseas, just trying to play hard, and did not care about the NBA stats that he had. I was just trying to be competitive.

Dario Saric It’s some kind of adjustment. It's hard to pick one special thing that changes. On the court, everything is one level up. Off the court, there's more travel, there's not too much time for team practices. It’s more individual.

Ricky Rubio On the road, the hotels. We play so many games, sometimes I didn't know what room I was in. You get in a hotel at 3 in the morning, then you have meetings the next day because you're playing a back-to-back. Then you go back to your room, and the key doesn't work? It's not because the key doesn't work, it's because it's not your room.

Kim Bohuny Another thing they have to deal with: they go back to their national teams during the summer and they’re the man. Like, Gorgui Dieng goes home to Senegal and he's the face of Senegalese basketball. Or Tomas Satoransky, his minutes are up and down for the Wizards, but Czech Republic? He's the face of the Czech Republic basketball.

Brooks Meek You have an entire country following you. So when they're not playing, what do they say that ends up on the front page of those papers? What's said about them in the media impacts their families at home.

Kim Bohuny If they aren't playing, the papers are like, “Well why isn't he playing? Why isn't he playing?”

Brooks Meek It becomes, “Shouldn't have gone to the NBA, he should've stayed at home...”

“That show, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I think that's not true. The last couple months, I didn't see the sun. Except for L.A., maybe San Francisco. I like Philly, but I'm from a very sunny part of Croatia, so the weather, it could be better.” — Dario Saric

Dario Saric When you start playing good basketball, everything’s easier. Because OK, a lot of players earn so much in this league, but everybody wants to play, everybody wants to win.

Brooks Meek It's about minutes, it's about scoring, it's about feeling like you're playing at a high level. At the end of the day, these guys are elite athletes. They want to play, and they want to win, they want to play well.

Marcin Gortat The biggest thing is expectations. If you're coming from a team where you're a big superstar—Real Madrid, Barcelona, Maccabi Tel Aviv, CSKA Mocsow—the expectations are huge. You're coming in as a superstar from a village, and then you're coming into the city, where you're pretty much just one of the lost guys in the city. So you gotta wait for your time.

Timofey Mozgov I'm so much more comfortable. I can speak English, I can finally understand the menu and understand what I'm ordering. All this stuff, it gets better.