When it comes to overseas breeding grounds for NBA players, there’s Spain and there’s everywhere else. At least that’s the way it would appear from the evidence of this summer, when more than twice as many players jumped to the NBA from professional leagues in Spain than from pro ball in any other country. Top-five draft picks Kristaps Porzingis and Mario Hezonja headline a pack of eight NBA newcomers who last played professional basketball with a Spanish team. Their ranks swelled just this week, when Marcelo Huertas and the Lakers struck a deal. Turkey is next on the list, sending three players to the NBA.
We’ve listed each offseason NBA addition who played his last professional game with an overseas team below, categorized by country. That means players who saw time overseas last season but jumped to the NBA or the D-League before season’s end aren’t represented. We’ve also omitted players who sat out last season.
Brazil
China
Estonia
France
Germany
Greece
Israel
- Coty Clarke, Celtics
Italy
Lithuania
Philippines
- Jarrid Famous, Mavericks
- Ronald Roberts Jr., Raptors
Russia
- Sasha Kaun, Cavaliers
- Sonny Weems, Suns
Serbia
Spain
- Mario Hezonja, Magic
- Marcelo Huertas, Lakers
- Marcus Landry, Bucks
- Salah Mejri, Mavericks
- Raul Neto, Jazz
- Tibor Pleiss, Jazz
- Kristaps Porzingis, Knicks
- Edy Tavares, Hawks
Turkey
Which new NBA player from overseas will have the greatest impact this season? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.