NBA Starts 2026–27 Season With 125 International Players

The NBA will begin the 2026–27 season with 125 international players representing 43 countries across six continents, underlining the league’s global reach. The opening-night figure includes players from every NBA team, with 70 Europeans among those listed. France leads the international representation with 17 players, overtaking Canada for the first time in 13 seasons. Canada follows with 16, while Australia has nine, Germany seven, and Nigeria and Serbia six each.

The Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat and Washington Wizards lead the league with seven international players apiece. The NBA says this is the 13th consecutive season in which opening-night rosters have featured at least 100 international players. Although the new campaign continues that trend, the figure of 125 is below last season’s record of 135.

Among the prominent international stars are France’s Victor Wembanyama, Serbia’s Nikola Jokić, Slovenia’s Luka Dončić and Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo. The league also highlighted the growing representation of players with African roots: more than 60 players were either born in Africa or have at least one parent born on the continent.

The new season also brings a major change for LeBron James, who begins his 24th NBA campaign with the Philadelphia 76ers after leaving the Los Angeles Lakers. At 41, the four-time champion will look to add another title while joining a Philadelphia team aiming to compete at the top of the Eastern Conference.