Wake up! Why should we learn European basketball? We just can't!

Continuing from yesterday's topic.

Brothers, I bet once this men's EuroBasket begins, the internet will be flooded with comments like:"The Chinese men's basketball team needs to learn from European basketball!"

When I was young, watching Rubio, Navarro, and Teodosić's ghost-like passes, I actually wondered: "Why can't our guards be like the Europeans!"

You in front of the screen might also think:"We can't learn America's individualism and physicality, but European team basketball is easier for us to learn!"

If you think this way, underline that sentence and let's see how many people really feel like this.

After gaining more experience and reflecting, my thoughts have changed.

European basketball is even harder for us to learn.

It's not about bringing in coaches like Jonas or Đorđević, nor about our coaches and players watching a few EuroBasket games to solve it.

If it were that easy to learn, we wouldn't have to wait until 2025.

The learning method of a super scholar is not something you can simply copy.

Why can't we learn it? Let me explain deeper reasons beyond basketball.

My viewpoint may not be entirely correct, and it doesn't require everyone's agreement.

The reason we can't learn it relates to a person's way of thinking and behavior, and even more to historical culture.

Football and basketball are highly socialized sports, deeply embedded with social history, rooted in national spirit and artistic traditions.

Why can Spanish football play tiki-taka style?

This collectivist spirit aligns perfectly with Spain's historical emphasis on cooperation and national character.

Why do Argentine commentators say after winning the World Cup: "The lone wolf from the pampas will eventually defeat the orderly flock of sheep"?

They stubbornly believe the world is chaotic and governed by borderless rules.

Why do they produce players like Maradona and Messi with such styles?

Argentinians are almost unlike any Europeans or Americans; their personalities are uninhibited, steeped in strong national culture and profound historical background.

Why is samba football flashy and creative?

Brazil is a country of racial diversity, cultural variety, and extreme socioeconomic imbalance.

Expecting Brazilians to play Spanish-style football is very difficult...

Back to basketball, the logic is similar.

Whether strong or weak teams in Europe, how can they play such smooth basketball? Is it just good coaching? Just solid fundamentals? That’s only part of it.

Digging deeper, there are profound historical and cultural reasons:

For example, European basketball emphasizes fluidity and entertainment value, pursuing beauty in practicality without any messiness. Isn't this consistent with the classical and romantic traditions in European art history?

For instance, players’ technical moves focus on standardization and elegance, tactics emphasize rhythm and balance, reflecting Europeans' pursuit of "beauty."

Take Spain, multiple-time EuroBasket champions, as an example.

Spanish culture contains strong artistic expressiveness, like the rhythm and emotional tension of Flamenco dance, or the calm judgment and instant decisions in bullfighting, which are reflected in Spanish players’ technical style.

Another point is the issue of faith.

The Catholic Church historically dominated Spain’s education system; many early basketball clubs were founded by church schools or religious organizations, viewing basketball as a tool to cultivate youth discipline, morality, and team spirit.

Also, Spain was a core country during the Age of Exploration, with the legendary "Invincible Armada," right?

Maritime activities were great adventures relying on precise crew division and unconditional trust, needing immediate route adjustments according to wind, waves, and pirates.

Basketball depends on equal division of labor among players, originating from the contractual roles of ship crews.

Additionally, aggression and a "robber logic" are also very necessary in basketball.

Don’t forget,The social, economic, and cultural changes brought by the Industrial Revolution laid the foundation for modern sports development, indirectly shaping European basketball style.

The establishment of factory systems required precise coordination at every step, replacing isolated handicraft work with machine production.

Thisstandardized processandcollective cooperation model,deeply influenced Europe’s collective subconscious.

For European coaches, the court is a dynamic factory where how to pass, how to move, and how players B, C, D, and E position themselves when player A is dribbling are all strictly regulated.

For example, the Germans’ rigor...

Meanwhile, Europe’s frequent wars and conflicts throughout history fostered an extreme pursuit of discipline, execution, and collective development.

Take several countries from former Yugoslavia as examples.

So, when Đorđević coached, many Chinese players were confused.

Is this something we can learn?

We simply are not that kind of people at our core.

You watching now might live in Beijing, Shanghai, or Shenzhen, urban areas.

But strictly speaking, we are all children of farmers; our ancestors mostly worked the land.

Agricultural civilization, dependent on land and seasonal cycles, profoundly shaped sports culture traits that fit this lifestyle.

"Take care of your own small patch," "Mind your own business," "Ensure stable production," "Good weather is enough," "No room for mistakes"... these deeply integrate into our personalities.

Are these ways of thinking incompatible with the confrontational nature of team sports?

After all this, what am I trying to say? Not that we are unsuitable for basketball or football, but:

People are shaped by their environment; European basketball’s team consciousness has strong social and historical roots.

We are Chinese with a long history and unique culture; many of our thinking patterns are deeply ingrained over thousands of years.

Therefore, just play basketball that fits our historical and cultural traditions and suits our players’ characteristics.

For example, emphasize hardworking, resilient, and courageous traits, or play fast, tall, and accurate.

No need to imitate Europe; better to find ways to beat Europe.

After so many years of copying this and that, we lost ourselves instead.

One more thing: if someone grows up like Zhao Weilun, it might be possible to learn European player thinking.

Because he lived in Italy from childhood and played basketball in the European system, this is a special case.

As for the upcoming EuroBasket, just enjoy it as a piece of "art."

Don’t be naive thinking your assembly line can truly replicate it...