By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
For the 2024-25 season, the NBA announced a record-tying 125 international players, hailing from 43 countries across six continents.
This season marks several firsts, with the most-ever players from Australia (13), Germany (8), and Cameroon (5). Additionally, France matched its previous record of 14 players, while Africa is represented by a record-tying 17 players.
This is the fourth straight season with at least 120 international players on opening-night rosters and the 11th consecutive year with over 100. Every NBA team features at least one international player, maintaining the league’s growing global diversity.
The benchmarks for international representation were originally set during the 2023-24 and 2017-18 seasons. For the 11th year in a row, Canada leads all non-U.S. countries with 21 players, followed by France, Australia, Germany, and Serbia (6). Europe boasts a total of 61 players, including four members of last season’s All-NBA Team: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks; Greece; Nigerian descent), Luka Dončić (Dallas Mavericks; Slovenia), reigning NBA champion Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets; Serbia), and Domantas Sabonis (Sacramento Kings; Lithuania).
The Oklahoma City Thunder and Portland Trail Blazers each have a league-high seven international players, while the Atlanta Hawks, Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic, and Toronto Raptors each carry six.