Scola, Navarro not your average NBA rookies

The top two scorers in the Spanish League last season are coming to an NBA arena near you this fall. Luis Scola and Juan Carlos Navarro have lots of things in common, but name recognition among NBA fans isn't one of them. That will change once the NBA season gets rolling Oct. 30.

Like most rookies, Scola and Navarro will have a learning curve when it comes to the NBA. Getting accustomed to the level of competition, the never-ending travel and their new hometowns are only the most obvious adjustments they must make.

But unlike most NBA rookies, Scola and Navarro are hardly novices when it comes to being primary players in pressure situations. Both were drafted by NBA teams all the way back in 2002, and since then they have burnished their reputations as two of the very best basketball players in the world outside the NBA.

Scola and Navarro are regarded as superstars in European and international basketball, and they have the gold medals to prove it. Now all that is left for them is to bring their talent and confidence to the NBA, where they should be dynamic additions to their teams right away.

Luis Scola (Argentina), 6-8 power forward, Houston Rockets

During the 2006 World Championships in Japan, Luis Scola averaged 14.3 points and seven rebounds per game for Argentina. Roslan Rahman/AFP/Getty Images

Scola, drafted by the San Antonio Spurs with the 56th pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, is a native of Argentina, a country that has given the NBA Manu Ginobili and Fabricio Oberto of the Spurs, Andres Nocioni of the Chicago Bulls, Carlos Delfino of the Toronto Raptors and Walter Hermann of the Charlotte Bobcats.

For the last several years, Scola has been starring for Tau Ceramica, a team which is always in the hunt for the Spanish League (ACB) and Euroleague titles. The ACB is the best national basketball league outside the NBA and the Euroleague is a multinational competition featuring all of the elite teams in Europe.

The Spurs considered bringing Scola to the NBA the last couple of years, but the timing was never right. They finally traded his draft rights to the Houston Rockets in July in a deal that also relieved the Spurs of the contract of seldom-used center Jackie Butler in exchange for Greek guard Vassilis Spanoulis, a future second-round draft pick and future considerations. Houston quickly signed Scola to his first NBA contract.

At 27, Scola is a rugged yet polished power forward who is very physical on both ends of the court. He has an excellent scoring touch with his back to the basket, but also finds other ways to score, like converting offensive rebounds into baskets and getting to the foul line. He is expected to compete with another rugged forward, Chuck Hayes, for playing time in the Rockets' frontcourt.

Scola has been a key member of Argentina's national team for many years. In 2004, he teamed with Ginobili to lead Argentina to the Olympic gold medal. In that competition, Scola averaged 17.6 points per game and shot 65.5 percent from the field. In the gold medal game against Italy, Scola came up big, leading Argentina with 25 points and 11 rebounds in a 84-69 victory.

In 2006, Scola was solid at the World Championships in Japan, but Argentina lost to Spain by one point in the semifinals and then lost in the bronze medal game to the United States. In Japan, Scola averaged 14.3 points and seven rebounds per game.

Playing for Tau last season, Scola averaged 17 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. He was second in the league in scoring to Navarro and was in the top 10 in the ACB in rebounding and field goal percentage (60 percent).

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