National Basketball Association (NBA)
Like other professional sports, the National Basketball Association (NBA) is also a global sport. Since 1947, foreign-born NBA players have comprised 10 percent of all players and most recently from 2010 to the present, more than twenty percent of NBA players who debuted in the league were foreign-born. Over time, foreign-born NBA players have come from nearly every continent representing 80 countries, as well as U.S. Territories and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
During the 2024-2025 NBA season, 23 percent of NBA players were foreign-born. More than three-fourths (78%) of foreign-born NBA players who played during the 2024-2025 NBA season were born in Europe, Canada, or Africa.
During the 2024-2025 NBA season, the top teams with the largest percentage of foreign-born players include the Portland Trail Blazers (42%), Orlando Magic (35.3%), Houston Rockets (33%), Oklahoma City Thunder (33%), Toronto Raptors (32%), and the Dallas Mavericks (30%).
During the 2025 NBA finals, between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers, 26 percent of NBA players were foreign-born. Foreign-born NBA players in the finals were born in six different countries (Australia, Belgium, Cameroon, Canada, France, and the Netherlands). Additionally, for the past seven seasons, foreign-born players in the NBA were awarded the season MVP: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2025), Nikola Jokić (2020-2021; 2021-2022; and 2023-2024), Joel Embiid (2022-2023), and Giannis Antetokounmpo (2018-2019; 2019-2020).
For a fact sheet on NBA players during the 2024-2025 season, click on the below link:
For a fact sheet on prior NBA seasons and other reports, click on the below links:
Foreign-Born NBA Players and Their Impact