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oct 20 2026The NBA season that tips off tonight has a Spanish accent across five rosters. The league has released the official list of international players for opening night, featuring Santi Aldama and Sergio de Larrea as teammates on the Dallas Mavericks, Hugo González with the Boston Celtics, Aday Mara with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Baba Miller with the LA Clippers.
It's a mix of veteran experience and debuts. Aldama is beginning his sixth season in the league and does so in Dallas following his trade this summer. Hugo is in his second year with Boston after a preseason in which he was one of the standout players for the Celtics. For the other three, it's their first day in the NBA: Mara joins the Thunder following the controversy with Casademont Zaragoza over his transfer, De Larrea made his preseason debut with Dallas in Macao, and Baba Miller earned a spot with the Clippers as the 36th pick in the Draft.
France Takes Over from Canada
The big headline from the NBA report comes from France. With 17 players, it becomes the country with the most representation in the league and breaks Canada's thirteen-season reign. The French contingent is led by Victor Wembanyama, last season's Defensive Player of the Year and the favorite for MVP in the annual survey of general managers, in which he received 77% of the votes. Canada, with 16 players and two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as its leading figure, is second. They are followed by Australia, Germany, Nigeria, and Serbia.
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An Increasingly Global League
The 125 international players don't break last season's record of 135, but they do match the record for countries represented, 43, which dated back to 2017. All 30 teams have at least one international player, and the Mavericks, Heat, and Wizards have the most with seven each. Europe contributes 70 players, a figure that has only been reached once before. Additionally, there are 19 international players who have been All-Stars, another record.
The weight of international talent is also evident in the awards. Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokić, Embiid, and Antetokounmpo have shared the last eight MVPs, and last season the top three vote-getters (Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokić, and Wembanyama) were international players for the fifth consecutive year.
