The following is a list of foreign players in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The list includes players both past and present. This list does not include players from the United States. Note that the "United States" is defined as solely the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The NBA considers all players from outside that area "international," even if they are from U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- For all NBA players, see List of National Basketball Association players.
- For currently active NBA players, see List of current NBA players.
none
Bahamas
- Rick Fox (dual citizen of The Bahamas and Canada; represented Canada internationally)
- Mychal Thompson
- Ian Lockhart
- Dexter Cambridge
Belize
- Milt Palacio (born in the US, represents Belize internationally)
Brazil
- Rafael Araújo
- Leandro Barbosa
- Rolando Ferreira
- Alex Garcia
- Nenê
- Anderson Varejão
- João Vianna
- Marcus Vinicius
Bulgaria
Cameroon
Canada
- Joel Anthony
- Norm Baker
- Hank Biasatti (born in Italy, but a Canadian citizen)
- Ron Crevier
- Bobby Croft
- Samuel Dalembert (born in Haiti, naturalized in Canada, represents Canada internationally)
- Rick Fox (dual citizen of The Bahamas and Canada; represented Canada internationally)
- Stewart Granger
- Lars Hansen (born in Denmark, naturalized in Canada, represented Canada internationally)
- Bob Houbregs
- Todd MacCulloch
- Jamaal Magloire
- Steve Nash (born in South Africa, naturalized in Canada, represents Canada internationally)
- Leo Rautins
- Mike Smrek
- Gino Sovran
- Ernie Vandeweghe
- Bill Wennington
- Jim Zoet
China
- Mengke Bateer
- Sun Yue
- Tom Meschery (born in then Manchuria, ethnic Russian, eventually a naturalized U.S. citizen)
- Wang Zhizhi
- Yao Ming
- Yi Jianlian
Republic of China
- Joe Alexander (born in Taiwan)
Croatia
- Dalibor Bagaric
- Gordan Giricek
- Mario Kasun
- Toni Kukoc
- Damir Markota (born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, naturalized in both Croatia and Sweden, represents Croatia internationally)
- Drazen Petrovic
- Zoran Planinic
- Dino Radja
- Bruno Sundov
- Zan Tabak
- Stojko Vrankovic
- Roko Ukic
Czech Republic
Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Didier Ilunga Mbenga (naturalized Belgian)
- Dikembe Mutombo
- Christian Eyenga
Cuba
- Lazaro Borrell
- Al Cueto
Andres Guibert
Dominica
Dominican Republic
- Luis Flores
- Francisco García
- Al Horford
- Tito Horford
- Felipe López
- Charlie Villanueva (born in the US, represents Dominican Republic internationally)
Egypt
- Alaa Abdelnaby (naturalized U.S. citizen)
Estonia
Finland
France
Main article: List of French NBA players
- Alexis Ajinça
- Nicolas Batum
- Boris Diaw
- Yakhouba Diawara
- Mickaël Gelabale
- Ian Mahinmi
- Tony Parker (born in Belgium)
- Johan Petro
- Mickaël Piétrus
- Ronny Turiaf
- Tariq Abdul-Wahad
- Cozell McQueen
- Jérôme Moïso
- Antoine Rigaudeau
- Michael Stewart
- Dominique Wilkins (born in France while his father was stationed there with the U.S. Air Force)
Even though Joakim Noah has a French passport, he is not considered an "international" player by the NBA because he was born in New York City (he also attended high school and college in the USA). Under FIBA rules, Noah can qualify for any of four national teams—the USA by birth, France through his father, Sweden through his mother, and Cameroon through his paternal grandfather. He has recently elected to join the French national basketball team.
Gabon
Georgia
- Zaza Pachulia (dual citizen of Georgia and Turkey; represents Georgia internationally)
- Vladimir Stepania
- Iakovos "Jake" Tsakalidis (born in Georgia and raised in Greece; dual citizen of both countries, but represents Greece internationally)
- Nikoloz Tskitishvili
- Shammond Williams (born in US, represented Georgia internationally)
Germany
- Carlos Boozer
- Uwe Blab
- Shawn Bradley (born with dual Germany-U.S. citizenship; represented Germany internationally)
- Frido Frey
- Chris Kaman (born in the US, represents Germany internationally)
- Dirk Nowitzki
- Detlef Schrempf
- Kiki Vandeweghe (born with dual Germany-U.S. citizenship)
- Christian Welp
- John Brown
- Kent Edelin
- Jo Jo English
- Duane Washington
- Donte Greene
none
Guyana
Haiti
- Samuel Dalembert (raised in Canada and naturalized in that country)
- Olden Polynice (raised in the United States)
- Yvon Joseph
Hungary
Iceland
Iran
Ireland
- Pat Burke
- Marty Conlon (born and raised in the U.S., represented Ireland internationally)
Israel
Omri Casspi
Italy
- Andrea Bargnani
- Marco Belinelli
- Mike D'Antoni (born and raised in the U.S., represented Italy internationally)
- Vinny Del Negro (born and raised in the U.S., naturalized in Italy)
- Vincenzo Esposito
- Danilo Gallinari
- Stefano Rusconi
Jamaica
- Patrick Ewing (naturalized US citizen; represented the U.S. internationally)
- Rumeal Robinson
- Wayne Sappleton
- Gary Voce
Japan
- J. R. Henderson (American who naturalized in Japan, changing his name to J. R. Sakuragi)
- Yuta Tabuse
Latvia
Lebanon
- Rony Seikaly (born with dual Lebanon-U.S. citizenship; represented the U.S. internationally)
- Steve Kerr (born with dual Lebanon-U.S. citizenship; represented the U.S. internationally)
- Matt Freije (represents Lebanon internationally)
- Jackson Vroman (represents Lebanon internationally)
Lithuania
- Martynas Andriuskevicius
- Zydrunas Ilgauskas
- Sarunas Jasikevicius
- Linas Kleiza
- Arvydas Macijauskas
- Sarunas Marciulionis
- Arvydas Sabonis
- Darius Songaila
Luxembourg
Macedonia
- Darius Washington (U.S. citizen naturalized in Macedonia; represents Macedonia internationally)
Mali
Mexico
Montenegro
Main article: List of Montenegrin NBA players
- Žarko Čabarkapa (also a Serbian citizen, represented Montenegro internationally)
- Predrag Drobnjak
- Predrag Savović
- Slavko Vraneš
- Aleksandar Radojević
Morocco
- Mike Flynn (U.S. citizen, grew up in Jeffersonville, Indiana)
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
- Peter Aluma
- Kelenna Azubuike (born in UK, raised in U.S.)
- Yinka Dare
- Obinna Ekezie
- Julius Nwosu
- Hakeem Olajuwon (naturalized U.S. citizen; represented the U.S. internationally)
- Michael Olowokandi (raised in England)
- Olumide Oyedeji
- Ime Udoka (born in the US)
- Emeka Okafor (born in the US)
Norway
Panama
- Rolando Blackman (naturalized U.S. citizen; represented the U.S. internationally)
- Ruben Garces
- Stuart Gray
- Lorenzo Charles (born in the U.S., represented Panama internationally)
Poland
Puerto Rico
- Carlos Arroyo
- Jose Juan Barea
- Guillermo Diaz
- Butch Lee
- Jose "Piculin" Ortiz
- Peter John Ramos
- Ramon Rivas
- Daniel Santiago
Republic of the Congo
Romania
- Ernie Grunfeld (raised in Queens, naturalized in the U.S., and represented the U.S. internationally)
- Gheorghe Mureşan
Russia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Adonal Foyle (naturalized U.S. citizen)
Senegal
- DeSagana Diop
- Pape Sow
- Mamadou N'Diaye
- Boniface N'Dong
- Cheikh Samb
- Mouhamed Sene
- Makhtar N'Diaye
Serbia
Main article: List of Serbian NBA players
- Miloš Babić
- Radisav Čurčić
- Predrag "Sasha" Danilović
- Vlade Divac
- Žarko Paspalj
- Aleksandar "Sasha" Djordjević
- Mile Ilić
- Marko Jarić (also a Greek citizen, represented Serbia internationally)
- Nenad Krstić
- Darko Miličić
- Aleksandar Pavlović (born in Montenegro)
- Kosta Perović
- Vladimir Radmanović
- Žarko Čabarkapa (also a Montenergin citizen, represented Montenegro internationally)
- Igor Rakočević
- Željko Rebrača
- Predrag "Peja" Stojaković (also a Greek citizen, represented Serbia internationally)
- Dragan Tarlać (also a Greek citizen, represented Serbia internationally)
- Ratko Varda
- Rastko Cvetković
Slovakia
Slovenia
- Primoz Brezec
- Goran Dragic
- Marko Milic
- Bostjan Nachbar
- Rasho Nesterovic (also a Greek and Serbian citizen, represented Slovenia internationally)
- Beno Udrih
- Uros Slokar
- Sasha Vujacic
South Africa
- Steve Nash (born in South Africa, but raised in and naturalized in Canada, and represented Canada internationally)
South Korea
Spain
- José Calderón
- Rudy Fernández
- Jorge Garbajosa
- Marc Gasol
- Pau Gasol
- Raúl López
- Fernando Martín
- Juan Carlos Navarro
- Sergio Rodríguez
- Wally Szczerbiak (born in Spain, U.S. citizen)
Sudan
- Manute Bol
- Luol Deng (born in Sudan, naturalized in the United Kingdom; represents the UK in FIBA competitions and England in the Commonwealth Games)
- Deng Gai
Sweden
- Damir Markota (born in what is now Bosnia and Herzegovina, naturalized in both Croatia and Sweden, represents Croatia internationally)
- Miles Simon (born in Sweden with dual U.S.-Swedish citizenship)
- Jonas Jerebko
Switzerland
Tanzania
Trinidad and Tobago
- Ken Charles
- Carl Herrera (born in Trinidad and Tobago, represented Venezuela internationally)
Turkey
Ukraine
United Kingdom
- John Amaechi (born in USA, raised in England)
- Robert Archibald (Scotland)
- Kelenna Azubuike (born in England, raised in USA)
- Steve Bucknall (England)
- Luol Deng (born in Sudan, raised in England)
- James Donaldson
- Ndudi Ebi (England)
- Ben Gordon (born in England, raised in USA)
- Chris Harris
- Pops Mensah-Bonsu (England)
- Michael Olowokandi (born in Nigeria, raised in England)
Uruguay
United States Virgin Islands
- Raja Bell
- Tim Duncan (represents the U.S. internationally)
- Charles Claxton
Venezuela
- Carl Herrera (born in Trinidad and Tobago, represented Venezuela internationally)
- Óscar Torres
Statistics
Recently, the National Basketball Association has been trying to promote its game internationally. As more and more international players are making the NBA rosters, the league is getting more attention outside of the U.S. The amount of European players has doubled in the league, just in the past 5 years.
| 2000-2001 Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent | Country | Number of Players | |
| 89.9 |  |
USA | 391 |
| 1.0 |  |
Serbia and Montenegro | 4 |
| 1.0 | |
Croatia | 4 |
| 1.0 | |
Nigeria | 4 |
| Percent | Region | Number of Players | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.0 | Europe | 26 | |
| 1.6 | Africa | 7 | |
| 2005-2006 Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent | Country | Number of Players | |
| 81.1 | |
USA | 344 |
| 1.9 | |
Serbia and Montenegro | 8 |
| 1.4 | |
Slovenia | 6 |
| 1.4 | |
Lithuania | 6 |
| 1.2 | |
France | 5 |
| Percent | Region | Number of Players | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12.3 | Europe | 52 | |
| 2.1 | South America | 9 | |
| 1.6 | Africa | 7 | |
| 1.2 | Caribbean | 5 | |
The team that had the most non-American players for the season are the San Antonio Spurs (7) 2000-2001 Roster
The team that had the most overseas born players for the season are the Toronto Raptors.
External links
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