International Basketball Expected to Be Opened to Professionals

Like it or not, the United States may have no choice but to allow the world’s best basketball players, namely those from the National Basketball Assn., to represent the country in the Olympic Games and other major international tournaments.

In a special, one-day session Friday at Munich, officials of Federation Internationale de Basketball (FIBA) are expected to eliminate the distinction between professionals and amateurs, thus granting eligibility to all players.

The FIBA narrowly defeated the proposal at its regularly scheduled Congress two years ago, although it did vote to drop the word amateur from its title. But this time, FIBA’s persistent president, Boris Stankovic of Yugoslavia, is believed to have more than enough votes to go all the way and open the international game.

“It’s inevitable that it’s going to pass,” said Dave Gavitt, commissioner of the Big East Conference and president of the Amateur Basketball Assn. of the USA (ABAUSA), which selects players to represent the United States in international competition.

If so, professional players, including those from the NBA, Continental Basketball Assn. and U.S. Basketball League who are now ineligible, could compete for the United States as soon as June, when teams from North, South and Central America play in a tournament at Mexico City to qualify for the 1990 World Championships.

But since the ABAUSA has not even begun to formulate a plan for integrating professional players into its selection process, Gavitt said it is more likely that the U.S. pros will make their international debuts at Argentina in the World Championships in the summer of 1990. He said that he believes the 1992 U.S. Olympic team could consist entirely of NBA players.

“I hope I’m not a Benedict Arnold, but there’s a lot the NBA could bring to the dance,” Gavitt said.

Although it might be presumed that the ABAUSA would revel in having NBA players represent the United States, that is not necessarily the case. Gavitt said he personally favors the proposal, but he does not have the support of his ABAUSA constituency, which consists largely of college coaches and officials.

Gavitt has requested permission to abstain, rather than cast a no vote, but, either way, the United States will be among the few countries at Munich not supporting the proposal.

Another one, predictably, is the Soviet Union. The Soviets are expected to offer a counter-proposal, which would allow teams to include two professionals on their 12-man rosters. But that alternative is believed to have virtually no support, not even from the United States.

“We either want all the pros or none,” said the ABAUSA’s executive director, Bill Wall.

Wall’s preference would be for none, although his position has softened since the United States failed to win its last two major events, the 1987 Pan American Games and the 1988 Summer Olympics. Nothing ailed the United States team against the Soviets last summer at Seoul that Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird could not have cured.

The proposal also would affect the women’s game, although less dramatically. It would enable players who competed in the defunct Women’s Basketball League, such as Nancy Lieberman-Cline, to represent the United States. But other outstanding Americans, such as Teresa Edwards and Katrina McClain, played in Europe or Japan after leaving college and did not lose their international eligibility.

Like those of many ABAUSA officials, Wall’s concerns are primarily economic. Although the United States has an occasional close game against the Soviets, the Brazilians or the Yugoslavs, more often it has to empty the bench early to prevent running up the score in the preliminary rounds against teams such as Egypt and China.

Even at the Olympics, the United States does not attract much television exposure for those games, which makes it more difficult for the ABAUSA to sell less attractive international tournaments, such as the World Championships, to the networks.

Another fear, Wall said, is that sponsors, whose financial support enables the ABAUSA to operate an extensive junior program, might not feel it it necessary to contribute if they believe their money is going to NBA millionaires.

But although Gavitt said he recognizes that the ABAUSA will have to adjust, he questioned the fairness of the current system, which allows paid players in most countries, such as Italy, to participate in international competition because they are identified as amateurs but prohibits professionals in three countries--the United States, Puerto Rico and the Phillipines.

“It’s time to end a very serious and indefensible hypocrisy,” he said. “People can earn up to three-quarters of a million dollars a year in some countries and still represent their countries in international competition. Yet, players who are paid in the United States are not allowed to play. That is difficult to defend philosophically.”

That also is the position of the International Olympic Committee president, Juan Antonio Samaranch, who enlisted Stankovic to carry the fight for him. Stankovic was rewarded last year, when he was elected an IOC member.

Stankovic has received support from some unexpected places, such as China. If it is inevitable that some hapless teams are going to lose by large margins to the United States, Gavitt suggested that they would rather do it against Magic and Bird than a team of college all-stars. It at least gives the players something to tell their grandchildren about.

Middle-level teams, Gavitt said, might even become medal contenders if they are allowed to use their NBA players. For example, West Germany might improve significantly with Detlef Schrempf of the Indiana Pacers, Christian Welp of the Philadelphia 76ers and Uwe Blab of the Dallas Mavericks. And Nigeria could intimidate a few teams with Akeem Olajuwon of the Houston Rockets in the middle. Seton Hall’s Andrew Gaze could graduate to the NBA and still represent Australia.

“From a very pure philosophical standpoint, there are also some countries that feel they will never be able to reach their full potential in this sport until they are competing year in and year out against the best players in the world, which means the NBA,” Gavitt said. “They’re willing to get their clocks cleaned for the next 20 years if the end result is that they’ll get better.”

Will NBA players want to compete internationally?

According to an Associated Press poll released Wednesday, two-thirds of the players believe that professionals should be eligible for international competition, but only 58% said they would play if given the opportunity.

“I would go in a heartbeat,” Utah’s Karl Malone said. “I’d pay my own ticket over there. It teed me off when the Russians were high-fiving like they had beaten America’s best (at Seoul), and I knew they hadn’t.”

That sentiment was echoed by the Lakers’ Johnson, who said: “It’s about time for us to let the world see what we can really do. I definitely would like to play. The Soviets think they can beat us, but they haven’t beaten our best.”

Other NBA players said they believed that international competition, particularly the Olympics, should be reserved for college players.

“For us to be selfish and say we want to win at all costs is not right,” Detroit’s Isiah Thomas said. “I’d hate to deprive a college player like (Virginia Tech’s) Bimbo Coles, for whom the Olympics are a crowning point of his career.”

Also expressing reservations in the Associated Press poll was Laker General Manager Jerry West, one of three NBA executives, along with Cleveland Vice President Wayne Embry and league Vice President Rod Thorn, on the ABAUSA’s Men’s Games Committee, which would be responsible for integrating the pros and college players.

“We’re capable of winning with the right team of college players,” West said. “If I was an owner, I wouldn’t let our players play. You play until June in the NBA, then they would have to play all summer without a rest and then come back in the fall. I don’t think the owners would want that.”

Neither would some of the players.

“When the Russians beat us, I wanted to play just them,” Jordan said. “But I came to my senses when I realized what it would take--giving up our time off in the summer.”

But whether or not the pros play internationally, the ABAUSA already has decided to take one step. It, too, is about to eliminate the word amateur and change its name to USA Basketball.