“Careful before yelling so loudly about everybody else’s politics”: Derek Fisher refuses to criticize Abu Dhabi before USA gets diplomacy in order

NBA legend Derek Fisher has roamed the world because of the game he loves. He’s currently serving as one of the senior directors of the NBA draft combine, and that has taken him to different latitudes. That includes Abu Dhabi, as he was one of the league’s representatives for an exhibition game between the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets.

Given how the United States and Middle Eastern nations have often had cultural and political clashes, that partnership raised some eyebrows. Even so, the former NBA champion believes that Americans should focus on their own turf before criticizing other cultures.

“There was a diplomacy in how we disagreed with people on the other side. That no longer exists within our own borders,” Fisher said on the ‘Freakonomics’ podcast.

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"I’m not saying we should have photo-ops with men and women that are clearly antagonizing, and creating crimes of humanity. We just have to be careful before we’re yelling so loudly about everybody else’s politics, and why we don’t want them to invest here, when we clearly aren’t willing to invest with our own people very often."

NBA wants to continue its international growth, Derek Fisher said

The NBA is now more global than ever. Commissioner Adam Silver has done a good job continuing David Stern's vision and legacy of internationalization. As a result, foreign players have won most major awards in the past decade.

Per Derek Fisher, that's not a coincidence. If anything, they're looking forward to expanding their brand all over the world, so they will continue to have those barnstorming trips to exotic nations.

"The NBA is continuing to test and focus-group what NBA basketball would be like in countries outside of the United States," Fisher said. "Who are the right partners from a marketing perspective, an investment perspective?"

Foreign countries have closed the gap with Americans. We've seen it in the FIBA World Cups, and, to a lesser degree, in the Olympics. And with so many international stars opening up doors and pioneering in the most competitive basketball tournament on Earth, young hoopers can also dream of taking their talents to the US one day.

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About the author

Ernesto Cova

Ernesto Cova is a journalist at Sportskeeda with a PhD in Sports Psychology. His education helped him develop a clearer understanding of the sports world as a whole, including basketball. Ernesto has over eight years of experience in the field, working for Fadeaway World, The Inquisitr, NBA Blast, The Cold Wire and Bolavip, among others.

His favorite team is the Chicago Bulls because of the Michael Jordan era. Jordan is Ernesto's all-time favorite, as he changed the game forever. Ernesto's second favorite was Kobe Bryant because he embodied that same competitive fire and Ernesto watched him play throughout his entire career. Nowadays, Ernesto really likes Stephen Curry, who he believes to be the most influential player of the past 15 years or so.

Ernesto's favorite basketball moment was when Venezuela -- his country -- took down Canada to take home the 2015 FIBA Americas Cup.

When not watching or writing about basketball, Ernesto likes to read and is interested in photography.

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