NBA rosters feature record 135 international players from record-tying 43 countries across six continents

NEW YORK, Oct. 21, 2025 –The National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced that a record 135 international players from a record-tying 43 countries across six continents are on opening-night rosters for the 2025-26 season. Among the record 135 international players are a record 71 Europeans, including a record 19 players from France and a record four from the UK, as well as a record-tying 13 from Australia. Opening-night rosters feature at least 120 international players for the fifth consecutive season and at least 100 international players for the 12^th straight season. All 30 NBA teams feature at least one international player.

The previous record for international players (125) and the record for countries and territories represented (43) were set at the start of the 2023-24 and 2017-18 seasons, respectively.

The record 71 European players include 2021 NBA champion and two-time Kia NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks; Greece; ties to Nigeria), 2023 NBA champion and three-time Kia NBA MVP Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets; Serbia), five-time NBA All-Star and Kia All-NBA First Team member Luka Dončić (Los Angeles Lakers; Slovenia) and 2023-24 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year and 2025 NBA All-Star Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs; France; ties to the Democratic Republic of the Congo).

Canada (23 players), headlined by 2025 NBA champion and 2024-25 Kia NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder), is the most-represented country outside the U.S. for the 12^th consecutive season, followed by France, Australia, Germany (7) and Serbia (6).

The Atlanta Hawks feature a record-tying 10 international players, followed by the Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors with seven apiece.

There are more than 55 players who were either born in Africa or have at least one parent from Africa, including Antetokounmpo, 2022-23 Kia NBA MVP and seven-time NBA All-Star Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers; Cameroon), 2019 NBA champion and three-time NBA All-Star Pascal Siakam (Indiana Pacers; Cameroon) and Wembanyama.

Below are additional international player milestones and storylines for the upcoming season:

• Four international players have won the last seven Kia NBA MVP Awards: Gilgeous-Alexander (2024-25), Jokić (2023-24, 2021-22 and 2020-21), Embiid (2022-23) and Antetokounmpo (2019-20 and 2018-19). Last season also marked the fourth consecutive season that three international players finished top three in MVP voting: Gilgeous-Alexander (No. 1), Jokić (No. 2) and Antetokounmpo (No. 3).
• There are a record 16 international players on opening-night rosters who have been NBA All-Stars: Antetokounmpo, Dončić, Embiid, Gilgeous-Alexander, Rudy Gobert (Minnesota Timberwolves; France), Al Horford (Golden State Warriors; Dominican Republic), Kyrie Irving (Dallas Mavericks; Australia), Jokić, Lauri Markkanen (Utah Jazz; Finland), Kristaps Porziņģis (Hawks; Latvia), Domantas Sabonis (Sacramento Kings; Lithuania), Alperen Sengun (Houston Rockets; Turkey), Siakam, Nikola Vučević (Chicago Bulls; Montenegro), Wembanyama and Andrew Wiggins (Miami Heat; Canada).
• At least three international players have made the Kia All-NBA Team each season since 2018-19.
• In the 2025-26 NBA GM Survey, Jokić (No. 1), Dončić (No. 2), Gilgeous-Alexander (No. 3) and Wembanyama (No. 4) were voted the players most likely to win the 2025-26 Kia NBA MVP Award (67%, 10%, 8% and 7% of votes, respectively). 
• Three international players were voted as the players GMs would most want to sign if they were starting a franchise today: Wembanyama (83% of votes), Gilgeous-Alexander (13% of votes) and Jokić (3% of votes).
• Opening-night rosters feature a record nine NBA Academy program alumni and more than 50 players who participated in Basketball Without Borders.
• There are also several American players with parents from other countries, including Jalen Green (Phoenix Suns; ties to the Philippines), Karl-Anthony Towns (New York Knicks; ties to the Dominican Republic) and Jaylin Williams (Thunder; ties to Vietnam).

The 80^th NBA regular season tips off tonight with a doubleheader on NBC/Peacock as the defending NBA champion Thunder hosts the Rockets (7:30 p.m. ET) and the Warriors visit the Lakers (10 p.m. ET). The 2025-26 season will reach fans in 214 countries and territories in more than 50 languages through the league’s broadcast partners around the world and NBA League Pass, the league’s premium live game subscription service available via the NBA App.

Below is the full list of international players on 2025-26 opening-night NBA rosters (active and inactive):

* – Two-Way Player