Kawhi Leonard was the MVP of last year's NBA Finals, though the San Antonio Spurs wouldn't have won without their incredible international presence.
The victory celebration was a flag-waving party for players who came to San Antonio from around the globe. They had nine players born outside the US, all of whom are back this season as the Spurs try to win back-to-back titles for the first time.
Tony Parker (France) and Manu Ginobili (Argentina) are stars, but key contributions from players such as Boris Diaw (France), Tiago Splitter (Brazil), Marco Belinelli (Italy) and Patty Mills (Australia) made it easy for the Spurs to dominate Miami in five games.
Splitter missed the final six games of the regular season with a right calf injury and the Spurs hope he can play in their series against the Clippers and big men Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.
The NBA says there are a record 58 players from outside the US on the rosters of the 16 teams who will begin the play-offs on Saturday. While Dirk Nowitzki and Pau and Marc Gasol are all-stars, many of the international players are lesser known but still critical to their teams’ success.
With that in mind, a look at some under the radar international players to watch in the playoffs:
Nikola Mirotic, Chicago Bulls: The Serbian by way of Real Madrid was one of the top rookies in the NBA this season, averaging 20.8 points in March, when he led the league in fourth-quarter scoring. That helped Chicago overcome a series of injuries, and the Bulls need the 6-foot-10 forward to continue making an impact now that they're healthy.
Timofey Mozgov, Cleveland Cavaliers: LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love will do most of the scoring, but the Cavaliers will need their big Russian centre to do some stopping, particularly if they face the Bulls and their collection of post players in the second round.
Bojan Bogdanovic, Brooklyn Nets: The rookie from Croatia averaged 17.4 points and made 51 per cent of his three-point shots in the final seven games, including a career-best 28 in the season-ending victory over Orlando that helped Brooklyn earn the final play-off spot. He was voted the Eastern Conference rookie of the month for April.
Jonas Valanciunas, Toronto Raptors; Marcin Gortat, Washington Wizards: Sure, the obvious attention on the Washington-Toronto series is on the outstanding backcourts, the Raptors' Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan against John Wall and Bradley Beal of the Wizards. So a series that's expected to be close could be determined by the men in the middle, the muscular Valanciunas (Lithuania) and Gortat (Poland).
Beno Udrih, Memphis Grizzlies: Miami's Goran Dragic may be the best Slovenian point guard in the NBA, but he's not in the play-offs. Udrih is and could have an important role for Memphis with starting point guard Mike Conley battling a foot injury. He averaged 11.4 points in the final five games, starting four, including a season-high 20 on April 10 at Utah.
Andrew Bogut, Golden State Warriors: The Warriors boasted the best defence in the NBA during the regular season, holding opponents to just 98.2 points per 100 possessions. Their scheme, reliant position-switching and emphasising fluidity, doesn't work right though without their Australian big man guarding the middle, where he's one of the best in the game as a rim protector.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks: Likewise, the Bucks were a defence-oriented team, just behind the Warriors in points allowed per 100 posessions (99.3) thanks to a collection of long-armed and quick defenders who can shift between hounding the wings and deterring shots inside. Antetokounmpo, a 6ft 11in Greek of Nigerian heritage, at just 20 years old is Milwaukee's most promising talent.
Omer Asik, New Orleans Pelicans: The 7-foot Turkish centre doesn't do a whole lot for the upstart Pelicans offensively, but he's a key component next to Anthony Davis in manning the defence around the rim, where New Orleans had the most blocks in the NBA this year.
Donatas Motiejunas, Houston Rockets: For a team that has been plagued by a lack of quality depth around MVP candidate James Harden, the 24-year-old Lithuanian turned into an invaluable contributor with 12 points per game as well as an underrated ability to knock down a three and help space the floor for Harden.
Dennis Schroder, Atlanta Hawks: The 21-year-old German pistol-whip is speedy and creative, displaying his playmaking potential this season off the bench for Atlanta with 4.1 assists and an impressive 34.6 assist percentage. Schroder is probably the Hawks' most important player off the bench and a decent Sixth Man of the Year candidate.
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COMPANY PROFILE
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
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Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
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Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
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Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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Three stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
MATCH INFO
Mumbai Indians 186-6 (20 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab 183-5 (20 ovs)
Mumbai Indians won by three runs
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