BY ALEJANDRO LOPEZ
Basketball has become a global sport, now more than it has ever been before, and it has reflected in the NBA’s opening night roster’s for the 2026-27 season.
The roster’s will feature 125 international players from a record-tying 43 countries across six continents, the NBA announced on Tuesday.
France leads the league with 17 international players, the first time a country other than Canada has led the NBA in international players in 13 seasons. The French players are headlined by the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, Victor Wembanyama.
The 2026-27 NBA season is the sixth consecutive season that the NBA has had at least 100 international players. All 30 teams feature at least one international player.
International players have dominated most of the NBA’s awards in recent history, the last American-born player to win the NBA MVP award was James Harden in the 2017-18 season. Last season, three of the five major end of year awards were awarded to International Players.
While the NBA is still a league largely comprised of American-born talent, the gap especially at the top of the league has decreased exponentially over the years.
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