Former NBA player and Olympic gold medalist in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic games, Sam Perkins, now 52, has made it known that he 
approves of the influx of foreign players into the NBA.
approves of the influx of foreign players into the NBA.
So much so that he is weighing in on current foreign players and specifically San Antonio Spurs' Tony Parker and Minnesota's Ricky Rubio.
Parker is one of the premier point guards in the league. With three NBA titles and the face of the Spurs, there's no doubting he is one of the best but rising in the ranks is Rubio. However, when Perkins looks at these two players, he feels Rubio will be better than Parker eventually.
Sam stated that although Rubio is still young and making mistakes, Ricky, "leads the team where it needs to be taken", and leads, "very good."
Via Marca.com
Perkins, in an interview with Efe, highlighted Ricky Rubio, who has said that he is still very young and makes mistakes, but "leads the team where it needs to take" leads "very good", and when compare him to a point guard like Tony Parker, he will be much better player than this.
He went on to predict that once Ricky plays as long as Tony Parker, he will be superior to the accomplished San Antonio Spur point guard.
Like Sam Perkins, I am also an admirer of the young Minnesota Timberwolves point guard, and I agree that he will carve out a very nice career in the NBA, as well as help keep his Spanish national team at the forefront of international play. But my sometimes good sense causes me to stop short of agreeing with Sam that Rubio is destined to surpass Parkers' considerable achievements.
Unless a remarkable change of culture quickly happens up in Minnesota, I just don't see Rubio winning championship rings, much less a Finals MVP as Tony Parker has.
But who knows, perhaps Ricky ends up on a team with a better pedigree than the Timberwolves, and does manage to collect a ring or two. But even then, it's a long road that the young Spaniard will have to travel to surpass a virtual HOF lock like our own Tony Parker.
Let me hear you Spurs fans. Do you agree with Sam Perkins on Ricky Rubio? Or, like me, do you think Tony Parker will end up setting the bar just too high for Ricky to reach?
