Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker,. Beno Udrih, Tiago Splitter, Patty Mills, Boris Diaw, Marco Belinelli, Aron Baynes. The aforementioned are just a handful of international players the San Antonio Spurs front office has been able to identify in the draft process over the years. If the championship banners hanging in the AT&T Center are any indication, several of those selections have paid their dividends, and then some.
Similar to the introduction of sabermetrics by Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane in Major League Baseball, which ushered in a new era of analytics that would forever change the landscape of scouting in the sport, the Spurs were among the first pioneers to delve into the international talent pool and popularize the idea of utilizing foreign-born prospects to serve as the cornerstones of their franchise.