National Basketball Association (NBA) Rosters Feature 120 International Players from 40 Countries and Six Continents

Opening-Night-Rosters Feature 16 African Players and More than 35 Players With at Least One Parent from Africa; Back-to-Back Seasons with at Least 120 International Players for First Time in League History; Ninth Consecutive Season League Has at Least 100 International Players; All 30 Teams Feature at Least One International Player; Toronto Raptors Have League-High Eight International Players, Lead League for Second Consecutive Season.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) announced that 120 international players from 40 countries and six continents are on opening-night rosters for the 2022-23 season, including a record number of players from Canada (22) and Australia (10).  A record-tying five players from Nigeria are among the 16 African players on opening-night rosters.  There are also more than 35 players with at least one parent from Africa.

This marks the first time that opening-night rosters have at least 120 international players in consecutive seasons and the ninth straight season that opening-night rosters feature at least 100 international players.  All 30 NBA teams feature at least one international player.

The 2022-23 season tips off tonight with a doubleheader on TNT.  In the first game, the Philadelphia 76ers will visit the reigning Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics (7:30 p.m. ET).  In the second game, the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors will receive their championship rings before hosting the Los Angeles Lakers (10 p.m. ET).

For the ninth consecutive year, Canada is the most-represented country outside of the U.S., followed by Australia, France (nine players) and Germany (six players).  Nigeria, Serbia and Spain each have five players.  There is a total of 58 European players on opening-night rosters, including three members of the 2021-22 Kia All-NBA First Team:  Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks; Greece; ties to Nigeria), Luka Dončić (Dallas Mavericks; Slovenia) and 2021-22 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets; Serbia).

The Toronto Raptors feature eight international players, marking the second consecutive season the Raptors lead the league, followed by the Mavericks, Indiana Pacers and the Sacramento Kings with seven international players each.  The Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz each have six.

Thirty-eight players on opening-night rosters participated in Basketball Without Borders (BWB) prior to their NBA careers, including Deandre Ayton (Suns; Bahamas; BWB Global 2016), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder; Canada; BWB Global 2016), Joel Embiid (76ers; Cameroon; BWB Africa 2011), Rui Hachimura (Washington Wizards; Japan; BWB Global 2016), Jamal Murray (Nuggets; Canada; BWB Global 2015), Pascal Siakam (Raptors; Cameroon; BWB Africa 2012) and Jonas Valančiūnas (New Orleans Pelicans; Lithuania; BWB Europe 2008).  Additionally, there are a record three NBA Academy graduates on opening-night rosters: Dyson Daniels (Pelicans; Australia; NBA Global Academy), Josh Giddey (Thunder; Australia; NBA Global Academy) and Bennedict Mathurin (Pacers; Canada; ties to Haiti; NBA Academy Latin America).  NBA Academies, a year-round elite basketball development program for top high school-age athletes from outside the U.S., have been launched in Canberra, Australia; Greater Noida, India; San Luis Potosí, Mexico; and Saly, Senegal for top prospects from their respective countries and continents.

There are also a number of American players with ties to other countries.  Among the American players with ties to other countries are Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat; ties to Nigeria), Jalen Green (Houston Rockets; ties to the Philippines), Matisse Thybulle (76ers; ties to Australia and Haiti), Juan Toscano-Anderson (Lakers; ties to Mexico), Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves; ties to the Dominican Republic) and Jaylin Williams (Thunder; ties to Vietnam).

Below please find international player milestones and storylines for the upcoming season:

• Two international players have won the last four Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Awards: reigning back-to-back MVP Jokić (2021-22 and 2020-21) and Antetokounmpo (2019-20 and 2018-19).  Jokić and the Nuggets will face Antetokounmpo and the Bucks on Wednesday, Jan. 25 in Milwaukee and on Saturday, March 25 in Denver.
• Last season was the first time the top three finishers in MVP voting were all international players: Jokić, Embiid and Antetokounmpo.
• At least five international players have made the Kia All-NBA Team each season since 2018-19.
• As part of the 2022-23 NBA App GM Survey (https://on.NBA.com/3eIeTYd), Dončić, Antetokounmpo and Embiid were voted the No. 1, 2 and 3 players most likely to win the 2022-23 Kia NBA MVP Award (48%, 34% and 13% of votes, respectively).  Antetokounmpo and Dončić were voted the No. 1 and No. 2 players with whom general managers would most want to start a franchise (55% and 45% of votes, respectively).
• Daniels and Mathurin are poised to become the second and third NBA Academy graduates to play in the NBA after Giddey became the first last season.  Daniels and Giddey, former teammates at NBA Global Academy in Australia, will meet on Monday, Nov. 28 in New Orleans, Friday, Dec. 23 and Monday, Feb. 13 in Oklahoma City, and Saturday, March 11 in New Orleans.
• Matchups between Philadelphia and Toronto will feature three former BWB Africa campers from Cameroon: Embiid, Siakam and Christian Koloko (Raptors; BWB Africa 2017; BWB Global 2018).  The teams will play each other on Wednesday, Oct. 26 and Friday, Oct. 28 in Toronto, and on Monday, Dec. 19 and Friday, March 31 in Philadelphia.
• There are three sets of international brothers in the NBA: Giannis, Thanasis and Kostas Antetokounmpo (Greece; ties to Nigeria; Bucks, Bucks and Chicago Bulls, respectively); Juancho and Willy Hernangómez (Spain; Raptors and Pelicans, respectively); and Franz and Moritz Wagner (Germany; Magic).
• There are 14 international players on opening-night rosters who have been NBA All-Stars: Antetokounmpo, Dončić, Goran Dragić (Bulls; Slovenia), Embiid, Rudy Gobert (Timberwolves; France), Al Horford (Celtics; Dominican Republic), Kyrie Irving (Brooklyn Nets; Australia), Jokić, Kristaps Porzingis (Wizards; Latvia), Domantas Sabonis (Kings; Lithuania), Siakam, Ben Simmons (Nets; Australia), Nikola Vučević (Bulls; Montenegro) and Andrew Wiggins (Warriors; Canada).

Below please find the full list of international players on 2022-23 opening-night rosters (active and inactive):

Country	Name	Team	Ties
Angola	Bruno Fernando	Houston Rockets
Argentina	Facundo Campazzo**	Dallas Mavericks
Argentina	Leandro Bolmaro**	Utah Jazz
Australia	Ben Simmons	Brooklyn Nets
Australia	Kyrie Irving	Brooklyn Nets
Australia	Patty Mills	Brooklyn Nets
Australia	Josh Green**	Dallas Mavericks
Australia	Jack White*	Denver Nuggets
Australia	Joe Ingles	Milwaukee Bucks
Australia	Dyson Daniels^	New Orleans Pelicans
Australia	Josh Giddey^**	Oklahoma City Thunder
Australia	Jock Landale	Phoenix Suns
Australia	Matthew Dellavedova	Sacramento Kings
Austria	Jakob Poeltl	San Antonio Spurs
Bahamas	Kai Jones**	Charlotte Hornets
Bahamas	Buddy Hield	Indiana Pacers
Bahamas	Deandre Ayton**	Phoenix Suns	Ties to Nigeria
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Jusuf Nurkić	Portland Trail Blazers
Brazil	Raul Neto	Cleveland Cavaliers
Cameroon	Joel Embiid**	Philadelphia 76ers
Cameroon	Christian Koloko**	Toronto Raptors
Cameroon	Pascal Siakam**	Toronto Raptors
Canada	Mfiondu Kabengele*	Boston Celtics	Ties to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Canada	Dwight Powell	Dallas Mavericks
Canada	Jamal Murray**	Denver Nuggets
Canada	Cory Joseph	Detroit Pistons	Ties to Trinidad and Tobago
Canada	Andrew Wiggins	Golden State Warriors
Canada	Andrew Nembhard**	Indiana Pacers
Canada	Bennedict Mathurin^**	Indiana Pacers	Ties to Haiti
Canada	Oshae Brissett	Indiana Pacers
Canada	Brandon Clarke	Memphis Grizzlies
Canada	Dillon Brooks	Memphis Grizzlies
Canada	RJ Barrett**	New York Knicks
Canada	Luguentz Dort**	Oklahoma City Thunder
Canada	Caleb Houstan	Orlando Magic
Canada	Shaedon Sharpe	Portland Trail Blazers
Canada	Trey Lyles	Sacramento Kings
Canada	Josh Primo**	San Antonio Spurs
Canada	Dalano Banton	Toronto Raptors
Canada	Khem Birch	Toronto Raptors
Canada	Kelly Olynyk**	Utah Jazz
Canada	Nickeil Alexander-Walker	Utah Jazz
Canada	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander**	Oklahoma City Thunder
Canada	Eugene Omoruyi*	Oklahoma City Thunder	Ties to Nigeria
Croatia	Bojan Bogdanović	Detroit Pistons
Croatia	Ivica Zubac	LA Clippers
Croatia	Dario Šarić**	Phoenix Suns
Czech Republic	Vít Krejčí**	Atlanta Hawks
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Jonathan Kuminga	Golden State Warriors
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Bismack Biyombo	Phoenix Suns
Dominican Republic	Al Horford	Boston Celtics
Dominican Republic	Chris Duarte	Indiana Pacers
Finland	Lauri Markkanen**	Utah Jazz
France	Théo Maledon*	Charlotte Hornets
France	Frank Ntilikina**	Dallas Mavericks	Ties to Belgium and Rwanda
France	Killian Hayes**	Detroit Pistons
France	Moussa Diabate***	LA Clippers	Ties to Guinea and Mali
France	Nicolas Batum**	LA Clippers	Ties to Cameroon
France	Rudy Gobert	Minnesota Timberwolves
France	Evan Fournier	New York Knicks	Ties to Algeria
France	Ousmane Dieng	Oklahoma City Thunder	Ties to Senegal
France	Olivier Sarr*	Portland Trail Blazers	Ties to Senegal
Georgia	Goga Bitadze**	Indiana Pacers
Georgia	Sandro Mamukelashvili***	Milwaukee Bucks
Germany	Maxi Kleber	Dallas Mavericks
Germany	Daniel Theis	Indiana Pacers
Germany	Dennis Schröder	Los Angeles Lakers	Ties to The Gambia
Germany	Isaiah Hartenstein**	New York Knicks
Germany	Franz Wagner	Orlando Magic
Germany	Moritz Wagner	Orlando Magic
Greece	Kostas Antetokounmpo***	Chicago Bulls	Ties to Nigeria
Greece	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Milwaukee Bucks	Ties to Nigeria
Greece	Thanasis Antetokounmpo	Milwaukee Bucks	Ties to Nigeria
Guinea	Mamadi Diakite*	Cleveland Cavaliers
Israel	Deni Avdija**	Washington Wizards
Italy	Danilo Gallinari**	Boston Celtics
Italy	Simone Fontecchio**	Utah Jazz
Jamaica	Nick Richards	Charlotte Hornets
Japan	Yuta Watanabe	Brooklyn Nets
Japan	Rui Hachimura**	Washington Wizards	Ties to Benin
Latvia	Dāvis Bertāns	Dallas Mavericks
Latvia	Kristaps Porziņģis	Washington Wizards
Lithuania	Jonas Valančiūnas**	New Orleans Pelicans
Lithuania	Domantas Sabonis	Sacramento Kings
Montenegro	Marko Simonović	Chicago Bulls
Montenegro	Nikola Vučević	Chicago Bulls
New Zealand	Steven Adams	Memphis Grizzlies
Nigeria	Josh Okogie	Phoenix Suns
Nigeria	Precious Achiuwa	Toronto Raptors
Nigeria	Udoka Azubuike	Utah Jazz
Nigeria	Chima Moneke	Sacramento Kings
Nigeria	Chimezie Metu	Sacramento Kings
Portugal	Neemias Queta*	Sacramento Kings
Republic of the Congo	Serge Ibaka	Milwaukee Bucks	Ties to Spain
Senegal	Gorgui Dieng**	San Antonio Spurs
Serbia	Bogdan Bogdanović	Atlanta Hawks
Serbia	Nikola Jokić	Denver Nuggets
Serbia	Boban Marjanović	Houston Rockets
Serbia	Nikola Jović	Miami Heat
Serbia	Aleksej Pokuševski**	Oklahoma City Thunder
Slovenia	Goran Dragić	Chicago Bulls
Slovenia	Vlatko Čančar	Denver Nuggets
Slovenia	Luka Dončić	Dallas Mavericks
South Sudan	Wenyen Gabriel	Los Angeles Lakers
Spain	Ricky Rubio	Cleveland Cavaliers
Spain	Usman Garuba	Houston Rockets	Ties to Nigeria
Spain	Santi Aldama**	Memphis Grizzlies
Spain	Willy Hernangómez**	New Orleans Pelicans
Spain	Juancho Hernangómez	Toronto Raptors
St. Lucia	Chris Boucher	Toronto Raptors	Ties to Canada
Sudan	Bol Bol	Orlando Magic
Switzerland	Clint Capela	Atlanta Hawks	Ties to Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Turkey	Cedi Osman	Cleveland Cavaliers
Turkey	Alperen Sengun	Houston Rockets
Turkey	Ömer Yurtseven**	Miami Heat
Turkey	Furkan Korkmaz	Philadelphia 76ers
Ukraine	Svi Mykhailiuk	New York Knicks
Ukraine	Alex Len	Sacramento Kings
United Kingdom	Jeremy Sochan	San Antonio Spurs	Ties to Poland
United Kingdom	O.G. Anunoby	Toronto Raptors	Ties to Nigeria

• • Two-Way Player

** - Former Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Camper

*** - Both Two-Way Player and Former BWB Camper

^ - NBA Academy Graduate
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of National Basketball Association (NBA).

2022-23 NBA International Player Graphic (https://bit.ly/3TADsVG)

Contact:
Mark Pozin
NBA
(347) 852-5374
mpozin@nba.com

About the NBA:
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a global sports and media organization with the mission to inspire and connect people everywhere through the power of basketball.  Built around five professional sports leagues:  the NBA, WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League and Basketball Africa League, the NBA has established a major international presence with games and programming available in 214 countries and territories in more than 50 languages, and merchandise for sale in more than 200 countries and territories on all seven continents.  NBA rosters at the start of the 2021-22 season featured a record 121 international players from 40 countries.  NBA Digital’s assets include NBA TV, NBA.com, the NBA App and NBA League Pass.  The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with 2.1 billion likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms.  Through NBA Cares, the league addresses important social issues by working with internationally recognized youth-serving organizations that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes.