The National Basketball Association is one of the pre-eminent sport Leagues in the world and every Thursday, Bleacher Report will bring you a round-up of all the action on and off court Stateside. NEWSMAKER . Kobe Bryant – The Los Angeles Lakers star has never been afraid of speaking his mind, and he's taken a strong stance on the current state of American basketball. The 36-year-old claimed that European basketball players are better than American ones. Kobe said: "I just think European players are just way more skillful. They are just taught the game the right way at an early age. They're more skillful. It's something we really have to fix. We really have to address that. We have to teach our kids to play the right way.” LA Lakers ace Bryant (left) passes the ball as Clippers' forward Blake Griffin defends the net in Los Angeles . One of the reasons Kobe believes European players are surpassing domestic ones is youth club basketball. Kobe added: “It's stupid. It doesn't teach our kids how to play the game at all so you wind up having players that are big and they bring it up and they do all this fancy crap and they don't know how to post. They don't know the fundamentals of the game. It's stupid.” Bryant (left) battles for position with Clippers' player Matt Barnes during Lakers' 89-114 defeat in Los Angeles . GOOD WEEK . Dirk Nowitzki - The Dallas Mavericks forward scored 15 points in Monday's 96-88 overtime win over the Brooklyn Nets to move past Moses Malone for sole possession of seventh place on the NBA's all-time scoring list. Nowitzki will now look to close in on Shaquille O'Neal who is sixth on the NBA's all-time scoring list with 28,596 . The German sharpshooter entered the game with 27,397 career points, needing just 13 to surpass Malone's 27,409. Though he finished regulation with just 12 points, Nowitzki then got to move up the scoring list in dramatic fashion, nailing a contested three-pointer with 34 seconds remaining in overtime to extend his team's lead to an insurmountable 96-88. Nowitzki will now take aim at Shaquille O'Neal, who sits in sixth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list with 28,596 points. BAD WEEK . David Blatt - Losers of five of their past six games, the Cleveland Cavaliers have a plethora of concerns. General Manager David Griffin addressed the media shortly before tip-off against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday to squash any questions regarding the Cavaliers’ coach. "This narrative of our coaching situation is truly ridiculous. It is a non-story. Coach Blatt is our coach, he's going to remain our coach. Do not write that as a vote of confidence. He never needed one. It was never a question." It's natural for Griffin to be defensive about Blatt, whom he handpicked this summer to lead the Cavaliers. Remember that the last Cleveland regime, GM Chris Grant and coach Mike Brown, was viewed as a package deal. After the Cavs fired Grant last February, they relieved Brown of his duties just three months later. Five defeats in six games means Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Platt has plenty of things to worry about . BRIT WATCH . The New York Knicks faced off against the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday for the last time before their NBA Global Games London 2015 showdown on January 15. The Bucks ran out eventual 95-82 winners with point guard Brandon Knight top scoring for the visiting team with 17 points. Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds and said of the upcoming game in London: . “For sure I will visit the city and the main sites. We have five or so days on the ground so it will be nice to visit things and experience places I have never been before. I am sure we will find the time after practice to do things together as a team.” Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo will soon be heading to London for the NBA Global Games London 2015 . AND FINALLY... The 2014-15 NBA regular season is only approaching its midway point, but the Knicks’ dreadful start to the season has already taken its toll on a beat writer. At 5-33, they own the NBA's worst record, are currently riding a 13-game losing streak, a franchise record, and are 1-23 over their past 24 games. With the rest of the season looking bleak, . The New York Times is trying to help out its Knicks beat writer by asking readers to recommend games he should cover: “So we feel it's only merciful to give our Knicks beat writer, Scott Cacciola, a break from such woeful basketball. He deserves to see the game played at a higher level. For the next month or so, we would like to point him to some good, quality basketball, wherever it might exist. Any suggestions?” Bleacher Report's Mobile App 'Team Stream' helps you stay in the know with your favourite teams across a range of sports via hand-picked, curated sports stories from around the web. Get news for your teams all in one place and get real-time alerts for breaking stories. DOWNLOAD NOW.
Lakers star believes American youngsters need to be taught better skills .
Claims European players learn the fundamentals from a younger age .
Dirk Nowitzki claims seventh place in NBA's all-time point scorer list .
New York Knicks lose thirteenth game in a row as poor form continues .
The National Basketball Association is one of the pre-eminent sport Leagues in the world and every Thursday, Bleacher Report will bring you a round-up of all the action on and off court Stateside. NEWSMAKER . Kobe Bryant – The Los Angeles Lakers star has never been afraid of speaking his mind, and he's taken a strong stance on the current state of American basketball. The 36-year-old claimed that European basketball players are better than American ones. Kobe said: "I just think European players are just way more skillful. They are just taught the game the right way at an early age. They're more skillful. It's something we really have to fix. We really have to address that. We have to teach our kids to play the right way.” LA Lakers ace Bryant (left) passes the ball as Clippers' forward Blake Griffin defends the net in Los Angeles . One of the reasons Kobe believes European players are surpassing domestic ones is youth club basketball. Kobe added: “It's stupid. It doesn't teach our kids how to play the game at all so you wind up having players that are big and they bring it up and they do all this fancy crap and they don't know how to post. They don't know the fundamentals of the game. It's stupid.” Bryant (left) battles for position with Clippers' player Matt Barnes during Lakers' 89-114 defeat in Los Angeles . GOOD WEEK . Dirk Nowitzki - The Dallas Mavericks forward scored 15 points in Monday's 96-88 overtime win over the Brooklyn Nets to move past Moses Malone for sole possession of seventh place on the NBA's all-time scoring list. Nowitzki will now look to close in on Shaquille O'Neal who is sixth on the NBA's all-time scoring list with 28,596 . The German sharpshooter entered the game with 27,397 career points, needing just 13 to surpass Malone's 27,409. Though he finished regulation with just 12 points, Nowitzki then got to move up the scoring list in dramatic fashion, nailing a contested three-pointer with 34 seconds remaining in overtime to extend his team's lead to an insurmountable 96-88. Nowitzki will now take aim at Shaquille O'Neal, who sits in sixth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list with 28,596 points. BAD WEEK . David Blatt - Losers of five of their past six games, the Cleveland Cavaliers have a plethora of concerns. General Manager David Griffin addressed the media shortly before tip-off against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday to squash any questions regarding the Cavaliers’ coach. "This narrative of our coaching situation is truly ridiculous. It is a non-story. Coach Blatt is our coach, he's going to remain our coach. Do not write that as a vote of confidence. He never needed one. It was never a question." It's natural for Griffin to be defensive about Blatt, whom he handpicked this summer to lead the Cavaliers. Remember that the last Cleveland regime, GM Chris Grant and coach Mike Brown, was viewed as a package deal. After the Cavs fired Grant last February, they relieved Brown of his duties just three months later. Five defeats in six games means Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Platt has plenty of things to worry about . BRIT WATCH . The New York Knicks faced off against the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday for the last time before their NBA Global Games London 2015 showdown on January 15. The Bucks ran out eventual 95-82 winners with point guard Brandon Knight top scoring for the visiting team with 17 points. Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds and said of the upcoming game in London: . “For sure I will visit the city and the main sites. We have five or so days on the ground so it will be nice to visit things and experience places I have never been before. I am sure we will find the time after practice to do things together as a team.” Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo will soon be heading to London for the NBA Global Games London 2015 . AND FINALLY... The 2014-15 NBA regular season is only approaching its midway point, but the Knicks’ dreadful start to the season has already taken its toll on a beat writer. At 5-33, they own the NBA's worst record, are currently riding a 13-game losing streak, a franchise record, and are 1-23 over their past 24 games. With the rest of the season looking bleak, . The New York Times is trying to help out its Knicks beat writer by asking readers to recommend games he should cover: “So we feel it's only merciful to give our Knicks beat writer, Scott Cacciola, a break from such woeful basketball. He deserves to see the game played at a higher level. For the next month or so, we would like to point him to some good, quality basketball, wherever it might exist. Any suggestions?” Bleacher Report's Mobile App 'Team Stream' helps you stay in the know with your favourite teams across a range of sports via hand-picked, curated sports stories from around the web. Get news for your teams all in one place and get real-time alerts for breaking stories. DOWNLOAD NOW.
Angeles Lakers star has never been afraid of players are better than American ones. Kobe said: the reasons Kobe believes European players are Angeles . GOOD WEEK . Dirk Nowitzki - The Dallas place on the NBA's all-time scoring list. It's natural for Griffin to be defensive about WATCH . The New York Knicks faced off against the upcoming game in London: . “For sure I will visit