National Basketball Association (NBA) Rosters Feature A Record Of More Than 60 Players From Or With At Least One Parent From Africa

(MENAFN- African Press Organization)

– Opening-Night Rosters Feature 125 International Players from Record-Tying 43 Countries Across Six Continents –

– Sixth Consecutive Season with at Least 120 International Players and 13^th Straight Season with at Least 100 International Players –

– Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat and Washington Wizards Have League-High Seven Each –

The National Basketball Association (NBA) ( ) today announced that a record of more than 60 players who were either born in Africa or have at least one parent born on the continent are on opening-night rosters for the 2026-27 season. Overall, opening-night rosters feature 125 international players from a record-tying 43 countries across six continents, including 70 European players, marking the second consecutive season and second time ever with at least that many.

The more than 60 players who were either born in Africa or have at least one parent born on the continent include more than 25 from or with at least one parent from Nigeria. Among the more than 60 players are 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 Republic of 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).

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 13^th 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.

Below are additional international player milestones and storylines for the upcoming season:

• Four international players have won the last eight Kia NBA MVP Awards: Gilgeous-Alexander (2025-26 and 2024-25), Jokić (2023-24, 2021-22 and 2020-21), Embiid (2022-23) and Antetokounmpo (2019-20 and 2018-19). Last season also marked the fifth consecutive season that three international players finished top three in MVP voting: Gilgeous-Alexander (No. 1), Jokić (No. 2) and Wembanyama (No. 3).
• There are a record 19 international players on opening-night rosters who have been NBA All-Stars: Antetokounmpo, Deni Avdija (Portland Trail Blazers; Israel), Dončić, Embiid, Gilgeous-Alexander, Rudy Gobert (Minnesota Timberwolves; France), Al Horford (Golden State Warriors; Dominican Republic), Kyrie Irving (Mavericks; Australia), Jokić, Lauri Markkanen (Utah Jazz; Finland), Jamal Murray (Nuggets; Canada), Kristaps Porziņģis (Warriors; Latvia), Domantas Sabonis (Sacramento Kings; Lithuania), Alperen Sengun (Houston Rockets; Türkiye), Siakam, Ben Simmons (Kings; Australia), Nikola Vučević (Orlando Magic; Montenegro), Wembanyama and Andrew Wiggins (Heat; Canada).
• At least three international players have made the Kia All-NBA Team each season since 2018-19.
• In the 2026-27 NBA GM Survey ( ), Wembanyama (No. 1) and Jokić (No. 2) were voted the players most likely to win the 2026-27 Kia NBA MVP Award (77% and 10% of votes, respectively). Wembanyama was also voted as the player GMs would most want to sign if they were starting a franchise today (93% of votes).
• Opening-night rosters feature more than 45 players who participated in Basketball Without Borders, the NBA and FIBA's global basketball development and community outreach program.
• There are also several American players with parents from other countries, including Jalen Green (Phoenix Suns; ties to the Philippines), Norman Powell (Chicago Bulls; ties to Jamaica), Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks; ties to the Dominican Republic) and Jaylin Williams (Thunder; ties to Vietnam).

The 81^stNBA regular season tips off today with a tripleheader on beIN Sports, Canal+ and SuperSport as the Boston Celtics visit the Detroit Pistons (9 p.m. CAT), the defending NBA champion Knicks host the 76ers (1 a.m. CAT) and the Spurs meet the Thunder in San Antonio (3:30 a.m. CAT). The 2026-27 season will reach fans in 214 countries and territories in more than 50 languages through the league's broadcast partners around the world and NBA League Pass, the league's premium live game subscription service available via the NBA App.

Below is the full list of international players on 2026-27 opening-night NBA rosters (active and inactive):

Country	Name	Team	Ties
Australia	Dyson Daniels	Atlanta Hawks
Australia	Jock Landale	Atlanta Hawks
Australia	Josh Giddey	Chicago Bulls
Australia	Tyrese Proctor	Cleveland Cavaliers
Australia	Kyrie Irving	Dallas Mavericks
Australia	Johnny Furphy	Indiana Pacers	Ties to Papua New Guinea
Australia	Rocco Zikarsky*	Minnesota Timberwolves
Australia	Ben Simmons	Sacramento Kings
Australia	Josh Green	Utah Jazz
Austria	Jakob Poeltl	Toronto Raptors
Bahamas	Buddy Hield	Chicago Bulls
Bahamas	VJ Edgecombe	Philadelphia 76ers
Bahamas	Deandre Ayton	Washington Wizards	Ties to Nigeria
Belgium	Ajay Mitchell	Oklahoma City Thunder
Belgium	Toumani Camara	Portland Trail Blazers	Ties to Mali
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Jusuf Nurkić	Utah Jazz
Brazil	Gui Santos	Golden State Warriors
Cameroon	Pascal Siakam	Indiana Pacers
Cameroon	Yves Missi	New Orleans Pelicans
Cameroon	Joel Embiid	Philadelphia 76ers
Canada	Nickeil Alexander-Walker	Atlanta Hawks
Canada	Luguentz Dort	Atlanta Hawks
Canada	Leonard Miller	Chicago Bulls
Canada	Jamal Murray	Denver Nuggets
Canada	Ryan Nembhard*	Denver Nuggets
Canada	Andrew Nembhard	Indiana Pacers
Canada	Zach Edey	Memphis Grizzlies
Canada	Olivier-Maxence Prosper	Memphis Grizzlies	Ties to Haiti
Canada	Andrew Wiggins	Miami Heat
Canada	Trey Lyles	Minnesota Timberwolves
Canada	Bennedict Mathurin	New Orleans Pelicans	Ties to Haiti
Canada	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	Oklahoma City Thunder
Canada	Dillon Brooks	Phoenix Suns
Canada	Shaedon Sharpe	Portland Trail Blazers
Canada	RJ Barrett	Toronto Raptors
Canada	Will Riley	Washington Wizards
China	Yang Hansen	Portland Trail Blazers
Croatia	Mario Hezonja	Cleveland Cavaliers
Croatia	Ivica Zubac	Indiana Pacers
Croatia	Karlo Matković	New Orleans Pelicans
Czech Republic	Vít Krejčí	Portland Trail Blazers
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Oscar Tshiebwe*	Houston Rockets
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Jonathan Kuminga	Minnesota Timberwolves
Dominican Republic	Al Horford	Golden State Warriors
Dominican Republic	David Jones Garcia*	San Antonio Spurs
Estonia	Henri Veesaar	Atlanta Hawks
Finland	Lauri Markkanen	Utah Jazz
France	Nolan Traoré	Brooklyn Nets
France	Moussa Diabaté	Charlotte Hornets	Ties to Guinea and Mali
France	Tidjane Salaün	Charlotte Hornets
France	Noa Essengue	Chicago Bulls	Ties to Cameroon
France	Zaccharie Risacher	Dallas Mavericks
France	Ousmane Dieng	Milwaukee Bucks	Ties to Senegal
France	Joan Beringer	Minnesota Timberwolves	Ties to Benin
France	Rudy Gobert	Minnesota Timberwolves
France	Pacôme Dadiet	New York Knicks	Ties to Ivory Coast
France	Mohamed Diawara	New York Knicks	Ties to Mali
France	Noah Penda	Orlando Magic	Ties to Cameroon and Martinique
France	Rayan Rupert*	Philadelphia 76ers	Ties to Morocco
France	Sidy Cissoko	Portland Trail Blazers	Ties to Senegal
France	Maxime Raynaud	Sacramento Kings
France	Victor Wembanyama	San Antonio Spurs
France	Bilal Coulibaly	Washington Wizards	Ties to Mali
France	Alex Sarr	Washington Wizards	Ties to Senegal
Georgia	Sandro Mamukelashvili	Los Angeles Lakers
Georgia	Goga Bitadze	Orlando Magic
Germany	Moritz Wagner	Brooklyn Nets
Germany	Dennis Schröder	Charlotte Hornets	Ties to The Gambia
Germany	Hannes Steinbach	Charlotte Hornets
Germany	Isaiah Hartenstein	Oklahoma City Thunder
Germany	Tristan da Silva	Orlando Magic	Ties to Brazil
Germany	Franz Wagner	Orlando Magic
Germany	Ariel Hukporti	Philadelphia 76ers	Ties to Togo
Greece	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Miami Heat	Ties to Nigeria
Guinea	Moussa Cissé	Dallas Mavericks
Israel	Ben Saraf	Brooklyn Nets
Israel	Deni Avdija	Portland Trail Blazers
Italy	Simone Fontecchio	Miami Heat
Jamaica	Nick Richards	Miami Heat
Japan	Rui Hachimura	LA Clippers	Ties to Benin
Latvia	Kristaps Porziņģis	Golden State Warriors
Lithuania	Kasparas Jakučionis	Milwaukee Bucks
Lithuania	Domantas Sabonis	Sacramento Kings
Mexico	Karim López	Memphis Grizzlies	Ties to Spain
Montenegro	Nikola Vučević	Orlando Magic
Netherlands	Tristan Enaruna*	Cleveland Cavaliers	Ties to Nigeria
Netherlands	Malevy Leons*	Golden State Warriors
Netherlands	Quinten Post	Memphis Grizzlies
New Zealand	Steven Adams	Houston Rockets
Nigeria	Ugonna Onyenso*	Detroit Pistons
Nigeria	Charles Bassey	Golden State Warriors
Nigeria	Adem Bona	Philadelphia 76ers	Ties to Türkiye
Nigeria	Precious Achiuwa	Sacramento Kings
Nigeria	Josh Okogie	Utah Jazz
Nigeria	Felix Okpara*	Washington Wizards
Portugal	Neemias Queta	Boston Celtics	Ties to Guinea-Bissau
Russia	Egor Dёmin	Brooklyn Nets
Russia	Vladislav Goldin*	Miami Heat
Senegal	Mouhamed Gueye	Atlanta Hawks
Senegal	Khalifa Diop	Cleveland Cavaliers
Senegal	Tacko Fall*	Philadelphia 76ers
Serbia	Nikola Jokić	Denver Nuggets
Serbia	Bogdan Bogdanović	Houston Rockets
Serbia	Nikola Jović	Miami Heat
Serbia	Bogoljub Marković	Milwaukee Bucks
Serbia	Nikola Topić	Oklahoma City Thunder
Serbia	Tristan Vukčević	Washington Wizards	Ties to Sweden
Slovenia	Luka Dončić	Los Angeles Lakers
South Sudan	Khaman Maluach	Phoenix Suns	Ties to Uganda
South Sudan	Duop Reath*	Phoenix Suns	Ties to Australia
Spain	Hugo González	Boston Celtics
Spain	Santi Aldama	Dallas Mavericks
Spain	Sergio De Larrea	Dallas Mavericks
Spain	Baba Miller	LA Clippers
Spain	Aday Mara	Oklahoma City Thunder
Sweden	Pelle Larsson	Miami Heat
Switzerland	Clint Capela	Houston Rockets	Ties to Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Switzerland	Yanic Konan Niederhäuser	LA Clippers	Ties to Ivory Coast
Switzerland	Kyshawn George	Washington Wizards	Ties to Canada and France
Türkiye	Tarik Biberović	Dallas Mavericks	Ties to Bosnia and Herzegovina
Türkiye	Alperen Sengun	Houston Rockets
Ukraine	Svi Mykhailiuk	Utah Jazz
United Kingdom	Amari Williams*	Boston Celtics
United Kingdom	Tobi Lawal*	Dallas Mavericks	Ties to Nigeria
United Kingdom	OG Anunoby	New York Knicks	Ties to Nigeria

*Two-Way Player

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of National Basketball Association (NBA).

Contact:
Kevin Alonzo
NBA
...
(212) 407-8158

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