NBA-Record 135 international players on NBA opening-night rosters

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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 U.S.-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