The Olympics are less than a week away and a US player is going to star for the Russian team.

J R Holden was granted citizenship by President Vladimir Putin when Euroleague changed the eligibility requirements in 2002. Holden was playing for CSKA Moscow at the time and they were pushing for Euroleague glory. His citizenship being granted meant CSKA could bring in more foreign players for their campaign.

Now Holden is a key member of the Russian National team and hopes to play against the US Dream Team in Beijing.

Holden won't be the first naturalised american to play in the Olympics for another country, and won't be the last. His change of allegiance is a sign of the shift in basketball away from the US towards Europe.

Last week saw Josh Childress of the Atlanta Hawks sign for Panathanikos of Greece, for a much larger salary than the NBA team were able to offer. There's nothing unusual in lower quality players or veterens coming to Europe, but Childress is neither of those, and the financial rewards are far greater than the NBA team could offer.

Euroleague is growing in stature, both in Europe and in the way that the US and in particular the NBA view it.