Notice that none of the three you mentioned are originally from the US (Canada, Germany, Argentina).
That's right, I guess for the US, a premier basketball player may be Kevin Love. As I've said, I don't really keep up with the NBA, I find it such a step down from March madness but to each their own really. I don't watch many regular season college games either.
Gasol, some Greeks, are others in the NBA to do well but the 3 I mentioned have had a huge effect.