Two of the NBA’s top teams have something in common.

Both teams have an elite big man capable of running the floor and posting up.

Both teams have a floor-general point guard.

Both teams have spent wisely in free agency and have made trades for players that fit their system.

Oh, yeah, they have a lot of similarities.

Both teams were built by the same man: Raptors General Manager Bryan Colangelo.

Colangelo, the anti-Isiah Thomas, built the Phoenix Suns into the juggernaut it is today before taking over the job in Toronto mid-way through last season.

In Phoenix, Colangelo was lauded as a genius around the league for getting New York and Thomas to take Stephon Marbury and Anfernee Hardaway in return for expiring contracts and Antonio McDyess. Also on Colangelo’s impressive résumé is drafting Leandro Barbosa, Amare Stoudamire and Joe Johnson.

Among his best moves is trading Johnson to the Atlanta Hawks for two first-round picks and Boris Diaw. Where Joe Johnson has developed into one of the league’s best guards, the Suns haven’t skipped a beat due to the development of Diaw (9.7 points per game) and Barbosa (18.7).

The beauty of the Suns is that every player on the floor knows his role on the team, as opposed to the typical one-on-one play of the NBA.

If you’ve been one of the few to tune into a Raptors game this season, you can see the early signs that the Raptors’ future is just as bright as that of the Suns.

Perhaps Colangelo’s best move, though, was to bring in Maurizio Gherardini as his assistant general manager in Toronto. Gherardini was responsible for one of the best clubs in European basketball for many years, Benneton Treviso.

Colangelo and Gherardini immediately used their contacts in Europe to bring in rookie phenoms Jorge Garbajosa and Jose Calderon. Calderon is another point guard who understands the game, putting up 9 PPG and 5 APG.

To use that style of basketball, he needed a pass-first point guard in Toronto. With the acquisition of T.J. Ford, that was taken care of. Next, he needs big men that can run the floor. Well, Chris Bosh can do almost anything — so that’s out of the way. Finally, he needs a group of guys who understand how to play as a team. Before this season, Anthony Parker was just Candace’s brother; this season, he’s a key part of the Raptors team game. Any of these guys can have a big game; Morriss Peterson, Juan Dixon — you name it. The Raptors don’t care who scores.

No matter how talented a GM is, the ability to bring in players from Europe puts him or her on another level. European-style basketball is taking over the playgrounds and consequentially basketball at all levels.

You’ll see that style at the highest level over the next few months if you tune into the NBA Playoffs, thanks to Bryan Colangelo.