Mark Bradley of the AJC writes that once upon a time, the Hawks were ahead of their time. From 1986 through 1988, they spent nine draft picks on non-Americans. Only one -- Alexander Volkov, known as Sasha -- played for the Hawks. The Hawks were ripped in many sectors, this one included, for straying so far afield. But are we critics laughing now?

The most intriguing playoff series matches Dirk Nowitzki, a German, against Vlade Divac of Serbia, Peja Stojakovic of Yugoslavia and Hedo Turkoglu of Turkey. The rookie of the year is Pau Gasol of Spain. The first player taken in the June draft could be Yao Ming of China. It's still billed as the National Basketball Association, but the league has gone global. The Hawks were ahead of the curve.