Historically, the NBA was A tournament dominated by American players. They have led most of the most important statistics and They monopolized the game and the prominence of the championship Made to measure it extended to a planetary level driven by its great myths, legends wrapped in the science of stars and proven stripes On a base that seemed unattainable to the rest of mankind… Until now.
Jokic and Doncic, in Nuggets-Mavericks.
What seemed impossible years ago happened: The United States has lost the dominance of the NBA to an increasingly prosperous legion of international players This has taken over the competition. A growing trend highlighted In the last 10 years with a large influx of foreign stars Which were the main highlights and distinctions of the competition, Pushing American personalities into the background.
There is no best player in the United States since 2018
The most obvious example of such a surprise is that The last six outstanding players (Most Valuable Player of the season) They have been international players. The Greek was Giannis Antetokounmpo In 2019 and 2020, the Serb succeeded him on the throne Nikola Jokic In 2021 and 2022. Cameroonian Joel Embiid He was honored with this nomination in 2023 and Nikola Jokic Repeat again in 2024. American professional league He has not had the best American player since 2018, When James Harden won the award.
Nikola Jokic, the best player of 2024.
To highlight the importance of this revolution, it is enough to indicate that In the 69 years of existence of this award, created in the 1955-56 campaign, only 10 went to players who were not born in the United States, And the last six seasons in a row. Only seven international players have received this honour And it took 38 years to see the first, the Nigerian center Hakim Aliwan In 1994. Then they did the Canadian Steve Nash In 2005 and 2006), German Dirk Nowitzki (2007) and the aforementioned Antetokounmpo, Jokic, Embiid.
7 best international player in 69 years
1994: Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria)
2005 and 2006: Steve Nash (Canada)
2007: Dirk Nowitzki (Germany)
2029 and 2020: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece)
2021, 2022 and 2024: Nikola Jokic (Serbia)
2024: Joel Embiid (Cameroon
Doncic, gilgius Alexander and Jokic, the three finalists of the best player 2024.
Another fact that shows the abundance of international players in the NBA is last season The top three in the voting for the best foreign player were: Serbian Nikola Jokic, Canadian Shay gilgius Alexander and Slovenian Luka Doncic. This was the third year in a row that no American player was in the top three in the MVP voting. The last of the last three in the last five seasons were LeBron James, Stephen Curry and James Harden.
125 foreigners from 40 countries
The presence of international players in the NBA has grown significantly in the last 30 years. In 1992, they accounted for only 5% of the total number of players in the league. In 1999 there were only 35, in 2006 this number reached 80 (18%), and in 2021 the percentage increased to 23%. And this hatching does not stop. According to data from the NBA itself and in the absence of official closure of the preparation of templates of this campaign, The record for the presence of international players was broken last season , with 125 foreigners from 40 different countries and six continents.
Wimpanyama talks with Jokic at the Tottenham Nuggets.
He was The third consecutive season in which at least 120 international players were registered and the tenth consecutive campaign with at least 100 non-American players. This will be the eleventh. The most represented country was Canada (26) The European legion was more present than ever with up to 64 players Among those who stood out were the French (14), Serbs (7), Germans (6), Turks (5) and Croats (4). And also a review 15 Africa (5 from Nigeria) and 9 Australians. The most multinational NBA in history.
The 15 best international players in the NBA
1. Nikola Jokic (Serbia)
2. Luka Doncic (Slovenia)
3.Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece)
4. Joel Embiid (Cameroon
5. Galgius tea-Alexander (Canada)
6. Victor wimpanyama (France)
7. Domantas Sabonis (Lithuania)
8. Pascal Siakam (Cameroon)
9. Kristaps Porzingis (Latvia)
10. Kyrie Irving (Australia)
11. Jamal Murray (Canada)
12. Lauri Markkanen (Finland)
13. Alperin Singh ocean (Turkey)
14. Rudy Gaubert (France)
15. OG Anunoby (England)
Y This presence of international players is noticeable and is also noticeable in the NBA Draft Every year the teams select the best young projects , among which The presence of foreign players in senior positions is becoming more and more common. Up to 13 players who were not born in the United States were selected with the # 1 pick in the draft.
The No. 1 draft picks who were not born in the United States.
1978 Michelle Thompson (Bahamas)
1984 Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria)
1998 Michael olukande (Nigeria)
2002 Yao Ming (China)
2005 Andrew Bogut (Australia)
2006 Andrea Bargnani (Italy)
2011 Kyrie Irving (Australia)
2013 Anthony Bennett (Canada)
2014 Andrew Wiggins (Canada)
2016 Ben Simmons (Australia)
2018 Deandre Ayton (Bahamas)
2023 Victor wimpanyama (France)
2024 Zachary Rischer (France)
It is noteworthy that last season the first two picks in the NBA Draft were French: Zachary Rischer was selected with the first place by the Atlanta Hawks and Alex Saar, with the second place by the Washington Wizards. And in 2023 they were preceded on the throne by another Frenchman, the giant Victor wimpanyama, He was invited to celebrate an era in the NBA and he was chosen by San Antonio Spurs He represented the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. This legion of international youth in the next few years will compete for that dominance in the league with the young American Cubs Anthony Edwards (Wolves), Paolo Banchero (Magic) or Ja Morant (Memphis).
