NBA rosters feature 125 international players from record-tying 43 countries

The National Basketball Association (NBA) on Tuesday announced that 125 international players from a record-tying 43 countries across six continents are on opening-night rosters for the 2026-27 season.

Including both international and American players, there are a record of more than 60 players who were either born in Africa or have at least one parent born on the continent.

Opening-night rosters feature 70 European players, marking the second consecutive season and second time ever with at least that many.

France has a league-high 17 international players, marking the first time in 13 seasons that a country other than Canada has led the NBA in international players.

The group is headlined by two-time NBA All-Star and 2025-26 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs).  Canada ranks second with 16, headlined by 2025 NBA champion and reigning back-to-back Kia NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder), followed by Australia (nine), Germany (seven), Nigeria (a record six) and Serbia (six).

This is the sixth consecutive season that opening-night rosters feature at least 120 international players and the 13th straight season with at least 100 international players.  All 30 NBA teams feature at least one international player.  The Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat and Washington Wizards feature a league-high seven each.

The record for international players (135) and the record for countries and territories represented (43) were set at the start of the 2025-26 and 2017-18 seasons, respectively.

The 70 European players include 2021 NBA champion and two-time Kia NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo (Heat; Greece; ties to Nigeria), 2023 NBA champion and three-time Kia NBA MVP Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets; Serbia), six-time NBA All-Star and Kia All-NBA First Team member Luka Dončić (Los Angeles Lakers; Slovenia), and Wembanyama.

The more than 60 players who were either born in Africa or have at least one parent born on the continent include three-time NBA All-Star Bam Adebayo (Heat; ties to Nigeria), Antetokounmpo, two-time NBA champion OG Anunoby (New York Knicks; UK; ties to Nigeria), 2026 No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa (Wizards; ties to the Congo), 2022-23 Kia NBA MVP and seven-time NBA All-Star Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers; Cameroon), and 2019 NBA champion and four-time NBA All-Star Pascal Siakam (Indiana Pacers; Cameroon).

International players continue to dominate the NBA, winning the last eight Kia NBA MVP Awards, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo sharing the honours. Last season marked the fifth consecutive year that three international players finished in the top three of MVP voting. The league also features a record 19 international former All-Stars on opening-night rosters, while at least three international players have earned All-NBA honours every season since 2018-19. In the 2026-27 NBA GM Survey, Victor Wembanyama and Jokić were voted the leading MVP contenders, while Wembanyama was the top choice to build a franchise around. Additionally, more than 45 players on opening-night rosters have participated in the Basketball Without Borders programme, reflecting the league’s global reach, alongside American players with international family ties to countries including the Philippines, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Vietnam.