Wemby banners cast of international NBA stars

A total of 125 players from record-tying 43 countries across six continents made it to the opening-night roster of the 2026-27 season of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Including both international and American players, there is a record of more than 60 players who were either born in Africa or have at least one parent born on the continent. Opening-night rosters also feature 70 European players, marking the second consecutive season and second time ever with at least that many.

France has a league-high 17 international players, marking the first time in 13 seasons that a country other than Canada has led the NBA in international players.

The group is headlined by two-time NBA All-Star and 2025-26 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs.

Canada ranks second with 16, headlined by 2025 NBA champion and reigning back-to-back Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, followed by Australia with nine, Germany with seven, Nigeria with a record of six, and Serbia with six.

This is the sixth consecutive season that opening-night rosters feature at least 120 international players and the 13th straight season with at least 100 international players.

All 30 NBA teams feature at least one international player. The Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat and Washington Wizards feature a league-high seven each.

The record for international players (135) and the record for countries and territories represented (43) were set at the start of the 2025-26 and 2017-18 seasons, respectively.