Nikola Jokić Dominates in Season Opener Against Anthony Davis: NBA’s Foreign Player Record

Nikola Jokić, with the ball against Anthony Davis, in the first game of the NBA season, this Tuesday in Denver.David Zalubowski (AP)

The NBA ball got moving this Tuesday with a confrontation between last season’s champions, the Denver Nuggets, and the Los Angeles Lakers. The star and main attraction of the first game of the championship was Nikola Jokić, crowned last year’s best player in the finals, who led the Nuggets to victory (119-107) with 29 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Jokić, a Serbian, is one of the 125 foreign players with whom the most global league in the world starts this year. It is a record number that exceeds the 121 of the 2021-2022 season and the 120 of the last one, but in which there are only three Spaniards: Usman Garuba, Santi Aldama and Ricky Rubio, the latter temporarily removed from the game.

The NBA not only has more foreign players than ever, but several of them also aspire to stand out as the best player in the league or to top the scoring lists. This is the case not only of Jokić, but also of the star of the Dallas Mavericks, the Slovenian Luka Dončić; the leader of the Milwaukee Bucks, the Greek of Nigerian origin Giannis Antetokounmpo, or the one chosen as the best player of last week, the Cameroonian nationalized French (and also American) Joel Embiid, of the Philadelphia 76ers. Also joining them this year is the most brilliant rookie of the last two decades, the Frenchman Victor Wembanyama, number 1 in the draft and a great promise for the present and future of the San Antonio Spurs and the NBA.

It is the third consecutive season in which the squads have at least 120 foreign players and the tenth consecutive season in which they reach one hundred. All 30 NBA teams have at least one international player. The Mavericks and the Oklahoma City Thunder are the most globalized, with eight foreign players each, followed by the Toronto Raptors and the San Antonio Spurs, with seven. The Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns, both among the top title contenders, have six each.

For the tenth consecutive season, Canada is the most represented country outside of the United States, with a record 26 players. France is the second foreign country, with 14, also a record number. They are followed by Australia (nine players), Serbia (seven), Germany (six), Nigeria and Turkey, the latter two with five players from each country. In total, there are 40 countries and territories represented in the different squads, in this case close to the record of 42 that was reached in the 2017-2018 season. More than half of the foreign players, 64, come from European countries, while 15 are African.

Three foreign players have taken the title of best player in the league in the last five seasons. Before Embiid (2022-23), both Jokić (2021-22 and 2020-21) and Antetokounmpo (2019-20 and 2018-19) achieved it in two consecutive seasons. The three have occupied the top three positions on the list for the last two years, relegating American players, among whom the one with the most options for this year is Jayson Tatum, of the Boston Celtics.

In the early season rosters there are 15 foreign players who have played in the NBA All-Star in some season: Antetokounmpo, Dončić, Embiid, Jokić, Rudy Gobert (Minnesota Timberwolves; France), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder; Canada ), Al Horford (Celtics; Dominican Republic), Kyrie Irving (Mavericks; Australia), Lauri Markkanen (Utah Jazz; Finland), Kristaps Porziņģis (Celtics; Latvia), Domantas Sabonis (Sacramento Kings, Lithuania), Pascal Siakam (Raptors; Cameroon), Ben Simmons (Brooklyn Nets; Australia), Nikola Vučević (Chicago Bulls; Montenegro) and Andrew Wiggins (Golden State Warriors; Canada).

The Spanish will have less weight than ever in recent years. Garuba has signed for the Warriors, but with a dual contract that also allows him to play for their affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors. Ricky Rubio is still on the Cleveland Cavaliers roster, but he voluntarily stepped away from the game temporarily to take care of his mental health. Santi Aldama hopes to enjoy more minutes with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Latin American representation has been reduced almost to a minimum. The most notable presence is that of Al Horford, the Dominican of the Boston Celtics. And his compatriot Chris Duarte, of the Sacramento Kings, is the only other Latin American. Argentina and Brazil have lost their last players in the competition.

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2023-10-25 05:11:39
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