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 more than 55 players who were either born in Africa or have at least one parent from Africa, including 2021 NBA champion and two-time Kia NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks; Greece; ties to Nigeria), 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 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).
Opening-night rosters feature at least 120 international players for the fifth consecutive season and at least 100 international players for the 12th 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.
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 12th 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.
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), 2023-24 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year and 2025 NBA All-Star Nikola 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, five-time NBA All-Star and Kia All-NBA First Team member Luka Dončić (Los Angeles Lakers; Slovenia), 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 80th NBA regular season tips off tonight with a doubleheader on NBA League Pass as the defending NBA champion Thunder hosts the Rockets (1:30 a.m. CAT) and the Warriors visit the Lakers (4 a.m. CAT). 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, including ESPN, Amazon Prime Video, ZAP TV and NTV in sub-Saharan Africa, 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):
| Country | Name | Team | Ties |
| Australia | Dyson Daniels | Atlanta Hawks | |
| Australia | Josh Green | Charlotte Hornets | |
| Australia | Josh Giddey | Chicago Bulls | |
| Australia | Lachlan Olbrich* | Chicago Bulls | |
| Australia | Luke Travers* | Cleveland Cavaliers | |
| Australia | Tyrese Proctor | Cleveland Cavaliers | |
| Australia | Danté Exum | Dallas Mavericks | |
| Australia | Kyrie Irving | Dallas Mavericks | |
| Australia | Alex Toohey* | Golden State Warriors | |
| Australia | Johnny Furphy | Indiana Pacers | Ties to Papua New Guinea |
| Australia | Jock Landale | Memphis Grizzlies | |
| Australia | Joe Ingles | Minnesota Timberwolves | |
| Australia | Rocco Zikarsky* | Minnesota Timberwolves | |
| Austria | Jakob Poeltl | Toronto Raptors | |
| Bahamas | Buddy Hield | Golden State Warriors | |
| Bahamas | Deandre Ayton | Los Angeles Lakers | Ties to Nigeria |
| Bahamas | VJ Edgecombe | Philadelphia 76ers | |
| Belgium | Ajay Mitchell | Oklahoma City Thunder | |
| Belgium | Toumani Camara | Portland Trail Blazers | Ties to Mali |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Karlo Matković | New Orleans Pelicans | Ties to Croatia |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Jusuf Nurkić | Utah Jazz | |
| Brazil | Gui Santos | Golden State Warriors | |
| Cameroon | Pascal Siakam | Indiana Pacers | |
| Cameroon | Christian Koloko* | Los Angeles Lakers | |
| Cameroon | Yves Missi | New Orleans Pelicans | |
| Cameroon | Joel Embiid | Philadelphia 76ers | |
| Canada | Caleb Houstan* | Atlanta Hawks | |
| Canada | Nickeil Alexander-Walker | Atlanta Hawks | |
| Canada | Emanuel Miller* | Chicago Bulls | |
| Canada | Dwight Powell | Dallas Mavericks | |
| Canada | Ryan Nembhard* | Dallas Mavericks | |
| Canada | Jamal Murray | Denver Nuggets | |
| Canada | Jackson Rowe* | Golden State Warriors | |
| Canada | Andrew Nembhard | Indiana Pacers | |
| Canada | Bennedict Mathurin | Indiana Pacers | Ties to Haiti |
| Canada | Brandon Clarke | Memphis Grizzlies | |
| Canada | Olivier-Maxence Prosper* | Memphis Grizzlies | Ties to Haiti |
| Canada | Zach Edey | Memphis Grizzlies | |
| Canada | Andrew Wiggins | Miami Heat | |
| Canada | Leonard Miller | Minnesota Timberwolves | |
| Canada | Luguentz Dort | Oklahoma City Thunder | |
| Canada | Dillon Brooks | Phoenix Suns | |
| Canada | Shaedon Sharpe | Portland Trail Blazers | |
| Canada | Kelly Olynyk | San Antonio Spurs | |
| Canada | RJ Barrett | Toronto Raptors | |
| Canada | AJ Lawson* | Toronto Raptors | |
| Canada | Will Riley | Washington Wizards | |
| Canada | Jahmyl Telfort* | LA Clippers | Ties to Haiti |
| Canada | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | Oklahoma City Thunder | |
| China | Yang Hansen | Portland Trail Blazers | |
| Croatia | Ivica Zubac | LA Clippers | |
| Croatia | Dario Šarić | Sacramento Kings | |
| Czech Republic | Vít Krejčí | Atlanta Hawks | |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Jonathan Kuminga | Golden State Warriors | |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Bismack Biyombo | San Antonio Spurs | |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Oscar Tshiebwe* | Utah Jazz | |
| Dominican Republic | Al Horford | Golden State Warriors | |
| Dominican Republic | David Jones Garcia* | San Antonio Spurs | |
| Finland | Lauri Markkanen | Utah Jazz | |
| France | Zaccharie Risacher | Atlanta Hawks | |
| France | Nolan Traoré | Brooklyn Nets | |
| France | Tidjane Salaün | Charlotte Hornets | |
| France | Moussa Diabaté | Charlotte Hornets | Ties to Guinea and Mali |
| France | Noa Essengue | Chicago Bulls | Ties to Cameroon |
| France | Nicolas Batum | LA Clippers | Ties to Cameroon |
| France | Joan Beringer | Minnesota Timberwolves | Ties to Benin |
| France | Rudy Gobert | Minnesota Timberwolves | |
| France | Guerschon Yabusele | New York Knicks | Ties to the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| France | Mohamed Diawara | New York Knicks | Ties to Mali |
| France | Pacôme Dadiet | New York Knicks | Ties to Ivory Coast |
| France | Ousmane Dieng | Oklahoma City Thunder | Ties to Senegal |
| France | Rayan Rupert | Portland Trail Blazers | Ties to Morocco |
| France | Sidy Cissoko* | Portland Trail Blazers | Ties to Senegal |
| France | Maxime Raynaud | Sacramento Kings | |
| France | Victor Wembanyama | San Antonio Spurs | Ties to the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| France | Alex Sarr | Washington Wizards | Ties to Senegal |
| France | Bilal Coulibaly | Washington Wizards | Ties to Mali |
| France | Noah Penda | Orlando Magic | Ties to Cameroon and Martinique |
| Georgia | Goga Bitadze | Orlando Magic | |
| Georgia | Sandro Mamukelashvili | Toronto Raptors | |
| Germany | Maxi Kleber | Los Angeles Lakers | |
| Germany | Ariel Hukporti | New York Knicks | Ties to Togo |
| Germany | Isaiah Hartenstein | Oklahoma City Thunder | |
| Germany | Tristan da Silva | Orlando Magic | Ties to Brazil |
| Germany | Dennis Schröder | Sacramento Kings | Ties to The Gambia |
| Germany | Franz Wagner | Orlando Magic | |
| Germany | Moritz Wagner | Orlando Magic | |
| Greece | Alex Antetokounmpo* | Milwaukee Bucks | Ties to Nigeria |
| Greece | Giannis Antetokounmpo | Milwaukee Bucks | Ties to Nigeria |
| Greece | Thanasis Antetokounmpo | Milwaukee Bucks | Ties to Nigeria |
| Guinea | Moussa Cissé* | Dallas Mavericks | |
| Israel | Ben Saraf | Brooklyn Nets | |
| Israel | Deni Avdija | Portland Trail Blazers | |
| Italy | Simone Fontecchio | Miami Heat | |
| Jamaica | Nick Richards | Phoenix Suns | |
| Japan | Rui Hachimura | Los Angeles Lakers | Ties to Benin |
| Latvia | Kristaps Porziņģis | Atlanta Hawks | |
| Lithuania | Jonas Valančiūnas | Denver Nuggets | |
| Lithuania | Kasparas Jakučionis | Miami Heat | |
| Lithuania | Domantas Sabonis | Sacramento Kings | |
| Mali | N’Faly Dante | Atlanta Hawks | |
| Montenegro | Nikola Vučević | Chicago Bulls | |
| Netherlands | Quinten Post | Golden State Warriors | |
| New Zealand | Steven Adams | Houston Rockets | |
| Nigeria | Adem Bona | Philadelphia 76ers | Ties to Turkey |
| Nigeria | Josh Okogie | Houston Rockets | |
| Portugal | Neemias Queta | Boston Celtics | Ties to Guinea-Bissau |
| Russia | Egor Dёmin | Brooklyn Nets | |
| Russia | Vladislav Goldin* | Miami Heat | |
| Senegal | Eli Ndiaye* | Atlanta Hawks | |
| Senegal | Mouhamed Gueye | Atlanta Hawks | |
| Serbia | Nikola Jokić | Denver Nuggets | |
| Serbia | Bogdan Bogdanović | LA Clippers | |
| Serbia | Nikola Jović | Miami Heat | |
| Serbia | Nikola Topić | Oklahoma City Thunder | |
| Serbia | Tristan Vukčević* | Washington Wizards | Ties to Sweden |
| Serbia | Nikola Đurišić | Atlanta Hawks | |
| Slovenia | Luka Dončić | Los Angeles Lakers | |
| South Sudan | Khaman Maluach | Phoenix Suns | Ties to Uganda |
| South Sudan | Duop Reath | Portland Trail Blazers | Ties to Australia |
| Spain | Hugo González | Boston Celtics | |
| Spain | Santi Aldama | Memphis Grizzlies | |
| St. Lucia | Chris Boucher | Boston Celtics | Ties to Canada |
| Sweden | Bobi Klintman | Detroit Pistons | |
| Sweden | Pelle Larsson | Miami Heat | |
| Switzerland | Clint Capela | Houston Rockets | Ties to Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Switzerland | Yanic Konan Niederhauser | LA Clippers | Ties to Ivory Coast |
| Switzerland | Kyshawn George | Washington Wizards | Ties to Canada and France |
| Turkey | Alperen Sengun | Houston Rockets | |
| Ukraine | Svi Mykhailiuk | Utah Jazz | |
| Ukraine | Max Shulga* | Boston Celtics | |
| United Kingdom | Amari Williams* | Boston Celtics | |
| United Kingdom | OG Anunoby | New York Knicks | Ties to Nigeria |
| United Kingdom | Tosan Evbuomwan* | New York Knicks | Ties to Nigeria |
| United Kingdom | Jeremy Sochan | San Antonio Spurs | Ties to Poland |
* – Two-Way Player
