Kiwi Steven Adams is one of 135 overseas born NBA players. Photo: AFP
A record 135 players born outside the United States were on National Basketball Association opening-night rosters, the NBA said on Tuesday, with 43 countries represented across six continents.
The 2025-26 NBA season tips off on Tuesday, marking the 12th consecutive year that opening-night rosters have had at least 100 international players in the US-based league.
The previous record for international players was 125, a mark reached at the start of the 2023-24 season.
For a 12th consecutive season, Canada is the most-represented country outside the United States with 23 players, a group headlined by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who led the Oklahoma City Thunder to the NBA title in June.
France, Australia and Germany were the joint-second-most represented countries outside the U.S. with seven players each, followed by 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.
The NBA also said there are a record 71 European players on opening-night rosters, a star-studded group that includes Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), Nikola Jokic (Serbia) and Luka Doncic (Slovenia) and Victor Wembanyama (France).
- Reuters
