The NBA confirmed that the new season that was launched today will mark a record in terms of foreign basketball players, with a total of 135 from 43 countries, of which 71 are European, with 19 French, the majority in that category.
The eightieth season of the American Professional League will begin with the current champions of the Oklahoma City Thunder hosting the Houston Rockets, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers facing the Golden State Warriors.
The vice commissioner of the NBA, Mark Tatum, highlighted the foreign presence in this edition with a record of Europeans and Frenchmen, but also of British basketball players, who will be four, while the 13 Australians equal the historical figure contributed by that country.
For the fifth consecutive year, there will be 120 foreigners present in the first round, which exceeds one hundred for the twelfth season in a row, while the 30 League franchises have at least one international player.
Among the most notable names who will contribute their talent are those of the Greek Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks player and twice chosen as MVP; award won three times by Serbian Nikola Jokic, champion in 2023 and who plays for the Denver Nuggets.
Participant of five editions of the NBA All-Star is the Slovenian Luka Doncic, player of the Los Angeles Lakers, while the French Victor Wembanyama, chosen as the “rookie of the year” for the 2023-23 season and participant of the NBA All Star this year, will defend the jersey of the San Antonio Spurs.
Canada will be represented by 23 players, led by this season’s champion Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with the Oklahoma City Thunder, being the foreign country with the most contributions to the NBA for the twelfth consecutive season, ahead of France (19), Australia and Germany (7) and Serbia (6), while Simone Fontecchio, of the Miami Heat, will be the only Italian present in the tournament.
The Atlanta Hawks, with ten foreigners, will have the most foreigners on their roster, followed by the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors, with seven in each case, while there will be more than 55 Africans or descendants of Africans, among which the aforementioned Antetokounmpo and the Cameroonian Joel Embiid, of the Philadelphia 76ers, stand out. Another Cameroonian, champion in 2019, is Pascal Siakam (Indiana Pacers).
Last season was the fourth in a row with three foreign players occupying the first three points in the MVP election, which consecrated the Canadian Gilgeous-Alexander ahead of Jokic and Antetokounmpo (third), while at least three were part of the ideal team in each of the seasons since 2018-19.
While a new edition is launched, the NBA continues to fuel its project to land in Europe with an affiliated League in the next two years, which also includes Italy, Tatum reported.
“Our goal is to launch, with prior approval from the NBA and FIBA, a tournament in Europe and for that we have hired JP Morgan and Rain as advisors, who are working to perfect the model,” he said, explaining that with that goal “we have started negotiations with different business partners, as well as with investors and owners.”
“Our plan includes Spain, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany and perhaps also Turkey and Greece,” he added, recognizing that teams from Israel and the Middle East could also be part, although for the moment not with a permanent quota.
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