Why does Lorenzo Brown play the European League with Spain?

Lorenzo Brown (32 years old, 1.96 meters) can boast of being one of the architects of unexpected Spanish success. Against all odds, the American base became one of the pillars of this team thanks to his attacking ability and leadership that he showed in key moments: he finished against Lithuania with 28 points, 12 of them in extra time, and in the semi-final against Germany, the host team, was one of the stars of the team with 29 points And 6 assists.

He did this in the first championship of the national team, because even a few months ago, the player did not have Spanish citizenship. American nationalized in an “explicit” manner Just before the Eurobasket tournament, the once announced decision caused an uproar in the basketball world. But why does Lorenzo Brown play with Spain?

Why does Lorenzo Brown play with Spain?

The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) considers in its rules the possibility of competing in the ranks of each national team nationalized player “More than half of the teams participating in this Eurobasket have one team in their ranks.” Although Spain played for many years without benefiting from this clause, the absence of Ricky Rubio and the resignation of Sergio Rodriguez made Spain. Lorenzo Brownborn in the United States, in the nationalized chosen by Sergio Scarello for this Eurobasket.

Although it is not the first time we see a player who was not born in our country wearing the national team jersey, Wayne Brabender, Clifford Locke, Serge Ibaka or Nikola Mirotic are some of the most famous, the truth is that Lorenzo Brown’s case is typical: He does not have any kind of relationship with Spain. Which is that while the nationalized players were trained athletes in our country or, failing that, with some kind of relationship with Spain, Lorenzo Brown did not even play in the national territory before the 2022 European Basketball Championships.

Player nationalization is an increasingly frequent measure to improve a team’s sporting performance. However, on many occasions, the chosen They have no roots with the state.

This is the case of Lorenzo, whose nationalization was “explicit” approved by the cabinet Last July, after the Supreme Sports Council decided to submit the petition to Spanish coach’s requestSergio Scarello.

Brown’s Spanish passport was granted thanks to a privilege of the Spanish government, which has the power to grant Spanish citizenship Under the Charter of Nature For any citizen who was not born on Spanish soil If it serves the “national interests”.

Brown’s nationalization controversy

His announced nationalization did not correspond to certain sectors of basketball, which were highly criticized by the fact that a player with no connection was selected against the rich pool of young players that Spain possessed. In fact, the Professional Basketball Players Association (ABP) was completely at odds with this decision, asserting that “the message being sent to the national players is extremely harmful and has a negative impact on both the present and the future.”

They asked from the organization, “Is it credible that the current world champion team does not find Spanish players to compete with in the highest international events?”

Other great names in Spanish basketball were also added to this criticism, which took nothing good from the nationalization of a player without any connection with Spain. It’s the case of Spanish Daniel Pereza goalkeeper for Baxi Manresa and a frequent player on the lists of Scarello for the windows of the International Basketball Federation, who described this decision as “unfortunate.”

Despite this, Lorenzo Brown is not the only player who decided to nationalize with a different flag the international basketball tournaments without any roots. It’s the case of an NBA star Joel Embiid that although he decided not to participate in this Eurobasket tournament, he could be part of France’s “menu” for the next World Cup in 2023 and the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024. Examples of Mike Toby (Slovenia), Shane Larkin (turkey), Tyler Dorsey (Greece) or Thad McFadden (Georgia).