Basketball continues to be a global game, and that is very much apparent in the National Basketball Association.
The NBA revealed that the Opening Night rosters from its thirty teams in the league number towards 107 international players from 41 countries, including seventeen from Canada and fourteen from Africa.
It's the seventh straight season the NBA has broken the century mark with its international players, with every single team having an international player on its roster. The high-water remains 113 players in the 2016-17 season and 42 nations in the 2017-18 season.
An addition ten more international players from eight countries are on two-way contracts, which could allow them to play up to fifty NBA regular season fixtures.
Aside from Canada, the nation with the most number of players from outside the United States is France, which has nine. That group includes Killian Hayes, who made history as the highest-drafted French native at seventh overall by the Detroit Pistons.
Australia has eight players, with Serbia and Germany each having six.
The Washington Wizards can be considered as the most diverse team in the NBA with their seven international players, which includes Deni Avdija. As the ninth overall pick in the recent NBA Draft, he is the highest-drafted Israeli ever.
The Dallas Mavericks and the Denver Nuggets each have six players, with both teams riding on their international superstars: Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis for the former, and Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray for the latter.
Three teams have five international players: the New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Toronto Raptors.
A record 34 players on these rosters are alums of the Basketball Without Borders program, which is the global basketball development and community outreach program run by both the NBA and FIBA. Since 2001, 76 BWB alums have been either drafted into the league or signed as free agents. Outstanding players who have BWB roots include Joel Embiid (BWB Africa 2011), Murray (BWB Global 2015), and Pascal Siakam (BWB Africa 2012).
Aside from these players, there are also American players who have roots overseas. The most prominent example is Jordan Clarkson, who has represented the Philippines in the SEA Games when it took place in Indonesia. Others with a similar international lineage include Victor Oladipo (Nigeria), Matisse Thybulle (Australia and Haiti), and Karl-Anthony Towns (Dominican Republic). Thirty American players have at least one parent from Africa. Nine of those are connected to Nigeria, including recent draft selections Precious Achiuwa and Udoka Azubuike.
International players are seeking to raise their success from last season, with six players named to All-NBA teams (First Team: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Doncic, Second Team: Jokic and Siakam, Third Team: Rudy Gobert and Ben Simmons).
Fourteen internationals have been named to the All-Star team at least once: Antetokounmpo, Doncic, Goran Dragic, Embiid, Marc Gasol, Gobert, Al Horford, Kyrie Irving, Jokic, Porzingis, Domantas Sabonis, Siakam, Simmons, and Nikola Vucevic.
The recently released GM Survey for the upcoming season showed that Giannis and Luka were the top two players likely to be named as the Most Valuable Player. They are also tied as the player whom they want to start a franchise with. The same survey indicated that Jokic is considered as the best center of the league.
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