Record-Tying 17 African Players Among 125 Int’l Stars From 43 Countries On Opening-Night NBA Rosters

BY ADEKOLA BOLUWAJI NIFEMI

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has announced that a record-tying 17 players from Africa are among the 125 international players from 43 countries across six continents on opening-night rosters for the 2024-25 season, including a record five players from Cameroon headlined by 2022-23 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) and seven-time NBA All-Star Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers). 

There are also more than 35 players with at least one parent from an African country, including three-time NBA All-Star Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat; ties to Nigeria), two-time Kia NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks; Greece; ties to Nigeria) and 2023-24 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs; France; ties to the Democratic Republic of the Congo).

Opening-night rosters feature at least 120 international players for the fourth consecutive season and at least 100 international players for the 11^th straight season. All 30 NBA teams feature at least one international player.

- Advertisement -

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

For the 11^th consecutive season, Canada is the most-represented country outside of the U.S. with 21 players, followed by France, Australia, Germany and Serbia (6). There are 61 European players on opening-night rosters, including four members of the 2023-24 Kia All-NBA Team: Antetokounmpo, five-time NBA All-Star and All-NBA First Team member Luka Dončić (Dallas Mavericks; Slovenia), 2023 NBA champion and three-time Kia NBA MVP Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets; Serbia), and three-time NBA All-Star Domantas Sabonis (Sacramento Kings; Lithuania). 

The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Portland Trail Blazers feature a league-high seven international players each, followed by the Atlanta Hawks, Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic and Toronto Raptors with six each.

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

• Three international players have won the last six Kia NBA MVP Awards: Antetokounmpo (2019-20 and 2018-19), Embiid (2022-23) and Jokić (2023-24, 2021-22 and 2020-21).  Last season also marked the third consecutive season that three international players finished top three in MVP voting: Jokić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder; Canada) and Dončić.  Antetokounmpo and the Bucks visit Embiid and the 76ers on Thursday, Oct. 24 at 1:30 a.m. CAT on ESPN in the season opener for both teams.  Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder visit Jokić and the Nuggets on Friday, Oct. 25 at 4 a.m. CAT on NBA League Pass in the season opener for both teams.
• There are 15 international players on opening-night rosters who have been NBA All-Stars: Antetokounmpo, Dončić, Embiid, Gilgeous-Alexander, Rudy Gobert (Minnesota Timberwolves; France), Al Horford (Boston Celtics; Dominican Republic), Kyrie Irving (Mavericks; Australia), Jokić, Lauri Markkanen (Utah Jazz; Finland), Kristaps Porziņģis (Celtics; Latvia), Sabonis, Pascal Siakam (Indiana Pacers; Cameroon), Ben Simmons (Brooklyn Nets; Australia), Nikola Vučević (Chicago Bulls; Montenegro) and Andrew Wiggins (Golden State Warriors; Canada).
• At least five international players have made the Kia All-NBA Team each season since 2018-19.
• As part of the 2024-25 NBA GM Survey (http://apo-opa.co/4ePLTYv), Gilgeous-Alexander (No. 1), Dončić (No. 2), and Embiid and Jokić (T- No. 3 with the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum) were voted as the players most likely to win the 2024-25 Kia NBA MVP Award (40%, 30% and 7% of votes, respectively). 
• Four international players were voted as the players GMs would most want to sign if they were starting a franchise today: Wembanyama (77% of votes), Gilgeous-Alexander (10% of votes), Jokić (10% of votes) and Dončić (3% of votes). Wembanyama and the Spurs visit Dončić and the Mavericks on Oct. 25 at 1:30 a.m. CAT on Canal+ in the season opener for both teams.

The 79^th NBA regular season tips off tonight with a doubleheader on Canal+ and will reach fans in 214 countries and territories in 60 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. In the first game, Horford and the defending NBA champion Celtics will receive their championship rings before hosting OG Anunoby (United Kingdom; ties to Nigeria), Towns and the Knicks (1:30 a.m. CAT). In the second game, Gobert and the Timberwolves visit Rui Hachimura (Japan) and the Los Angeles Lakers (4 a.m. CAT).

Below is the full list of international players on 2024-25 opening-night rosters (active and inactive):