Oct 20 (Reuters) – Opening-night rosters will feature 125 international players, the NBA said on Tuesday, with France becoming the first country outside Canada in 13 seasons to lead the league in international representatives.
The 2026-27 season tips off on Tuesday, marking the 13th consecutive year where at least 100 international players are on opening-night rosters, with 43 countries represented across six continents.
France is the most-represented outside the US with 17 players, a group headlined by San Antonio Spurs’ twice All-Star and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama.
Canada, which for the past 12 seasons had led the league in international players, is next with 16 players, followed by Australia (9), Germany (7), Nigeria (6) and Serbia (6).
The Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat and Washington Wizards feature a league-high seven international players each.
The NBA said there were 70 European players on opening-night rosters, including the Heat’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic (Serbia) and Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Doncic (Slovenia).
The league is staging three games outside of the US and Canada this season as part of its efforts to grow the game globally.
Denver and Indiana will meet in Mexico City on November 7 before January games between New Orleans and San Antonio in Paris and Manchester.
(Reporting by Nicole Fernandes in Toronto; Editing by Ken Ferris)
