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28 Current NBA Players Competing In FIBA EuroBasket 2025

August 27th, 2025 at 7:07am CST by Luke Adams

On the heels of the FIBA World Cup in 2023 and the Paris Olympics in 2024, the 2025 NBA offseason doesn’t feature a major international tournament in which the United States’ top stars are competing.

However, several of the league’s biggest names – including three-time Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, and five-time All-NBA first-teamer Luka Doncic – are taking part in FIBA EuroBasket 2025, which tipped off on Wednesday.

The tournament, also known as the European Basketball Championship, takes place every four years and features 24 European countries vying for a gold medal. The 24 teams who qualified for EuroBasket are split up into four groups and will face the other teams in their group across five games from August 27 to September 4.

At the end of group play, the top four teams from each group will advance to the knockout round, which is a single-elimination tournament featuring the remaining 16 countries.

By our count, 28 active NBA players are taking part in EuroBasket 2025, along with 30 former NBA players and several more who were selected in an NBA draft but have yet to play in the league.

Here’s the full list of current and former NBA players set to compete in EuroBasket, sorted by group and country:

Group A

Czechia (Czech Republic)

  • Current NBA players: Vit Krejci (Hawks)
  • Former NBA players: None

Estonia

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: Henri Drell

Latvia

Portugal

  • Current NBA players: Neemias Queta (Celtics)
  • Former NBA players: None

Serbia

Serbia’s roster also includes Nikola Milutinov and Vanja Marinkovic, who are former NBA draft picks but have never played in the league.

Turkey

Group B

Finland

Germany

Great Britain

Lithuania

Lithuania’s roster also includes Rokas Jokubaitis, a former NBA draft pick who has never played in the league, and Azuolas Tubelis, who was on a two-way contract with the Sixers during the 2023 offseason but was waived before the season began.

Montenegro

Sweden

  • Current NBA players: Pelle Larsson (Heat)
  • Former NBA players: None

Group C

Bosnia and Herzegovina

  • Current NBA players: Jusuf Nurkic (Jazz)
  • Former NBA players: None

Cyprus

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: None

Georgia

Greece

Italy

Italy’s roster also includes Matteo Spagnolo, Gabriele Procida, and Saliou Niang, who are former NBA draft picks but have never played in the league.

Spain

Group D

Belgium

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: None

France

France’s roster also includes Isaia Cordinier, a former NBA draft pick who has never played in the league.

Iceland

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: None

Israel

  • Current NBA players: Deni Avdija (Trail Blazers)
  • Former NBA players: None

Israel’s roster also includes Yam Madar, a former NBA draft pick who has never played in the league.

Poland

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: Jordan Loyd

Slovenia

  • Current NBA players: Luka Doncic (Lakers)
  • Former NBA players: None
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Guerschon Yabusele Discusses Signing With Knicks, Hopes For EuroBasket

August 25th, 2025 at 1:41pm CST by Arthur Hill

Guerschon Yabusele got a nice raise when he signed a two-year, $11.7MM contract with the Knicks this summer, but he was also motivated by the chance to play in New York City. Yabusele discussed his free agency decision, France’s EuroBasket prospects, and a few other topics in an interview with Giorgos Kyriakidis of BasketNews.

“First of all, you can tell that they have a special bonding between each other,” he said of his new Knicks teammates. “When they go on the court together, it’s like they try to kill the other team. They know each other pretty well. They made it so far this year in the playoffs, but year after year, you can just see their progress. So, for me, it was just natural, because I wanted to be part of this. It’s one of the toughest crowds, people know it. So, to be able to go there and be part of this is just something special.”

A year ago, NBA personnel were buzzing about Yabusele’s performance in the Summer Olympics, where he helped the host French team reach the gold medal game. He eventually signed a one-year minimum contract with Philadelphia in the hopes of proving that he could still be an NBA player after five years in Europe.

Yabusele wound up being a steady contributor for a Sixers team that was torn apart by injuries. He averaged 11.0 points and 5.6 rebounds in 70 games and became a target for several teams on the free agent market.

Yabusele believes his attitude toward the game was instrumental in making his NBA comeback successful.

“I would say, first of all, the energy,” he said. “People love the energy that I bring on the court – ‘dying’ for the ball, diving for the ball. Just fight through it for 48 minutes. It doesn’t matter who win or lose, just keep the same motivation and make people enjoy the game.”

Returning to the NBA last season was somewhat of a financial gamble, as Yabusele had one year left on his Real Madrid contract with a $2.5MM buyout. The Sixers were only permitted to contribute $850K of that amount, so Yabusele decided to pay the rest himself instead of waiting another year to become a free agent.

“As a young kid, going to the NBA was a dream,” he explained. “So, I wanted to go back and make sure I had a chance to explore and play.”

EuroBasket, which starts Wednesday, will be Yabusele’s first international competition since last year’s Olympics. France is perennially one of the top powers on the world stage, but the team will be shorthanded with Victor Wembanyama, Rudy Gobert, Mathias Lessort and Vincent Poirier all unavailable.

Yabusele, who serves as captain, would love to bring home a gold medal after coming close so many times. During his tenure, the French have captured silver in the past two Olympics and were runners-up at EuroBasket 2022.

“A gold medal with France would be special,” he said. “I’ve been playing with the team for years, and every time we get silver. So I think gold would be the next goal for us. But, of course, winning an NBA championship is also something special. I’ve never been part of something like that. Both would feel great.”

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Atlantic Notes: Mann, McCain, Yabusele, Beasley, Raptors

August 23rd, 2025 at 6:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

After spending the first five-and-a-half seasons of his NBA career with the Clippers, Terance Mann was ready for a change when he was dealt to the Hawks at last season’s trade deadline, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Even though his stay in Atlanta only lasted a few months, Mann believes it was good for his career.

“I was super excited to be traded the first time, I kind of felt like my time in L.A. was up and it was time for me to get out of there,” he said. “I did six seasons there as a second-round pick and a lot of guys don’t get to do that so, I really felt excited to get traded to the East Coast and to an organization like Atlanta. The coaching staff was great and we had a good time.”

Mann was productive during his 30 games with the Hawks, averaging 9.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 22.7 minutes per night while shooting 54.1% from the field and 38.6% from three-point range. However, Atlanta was willing to part with him this summer for the chance to land Kristaps Porzingis, and he was shipped to the Nets in a three-team deal.

“It didn’t come as a surprise to me,” Mann said of the trade. “It’s going to be crazy to play in an environment like that, something new. I’m one of the oldest guys on the team, want to be a leader, show those guys what it takes to win. I’ve been with those guys a ton (this summer) and they’re super hungry, willing to learn basketball. It’s going to be fun. I’m excited for the challenge and I feel like I was built for this. I’m in my prime right now and ready to show the world what I’ve really got outside this role I’ve been playing for the last six seasons.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Sixers guard Jared McCain tells Declan Harris of Sports Illustrated that he lost a close friend and mentor when Guerschon Yabusele signed with the Knicks in free agency. Yabusele helped McCain deal with a difficult rookie season that was cut short by a torn meniscus in December. “Man, I’m gonna miss him, that’s one of the best people I’ve ever been around,” McCain said. “I could go to him for anything; a lot of my teammates are like that, but him, I gravitated to a lot. He was just super nice, just a good person and fun to play with, also another great energy person, so I’m sad to see him go.”
  • A league source confirms to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post that the Knicks have interest in Malik Beasley now that he’s no longer a target of a federal gambling investigation (Twitter link). However, New York can only offer a veteran’s minimum contract, and Beasley may have more lucrative options elsewhere.
  • The Raptors‘ G League affiliate traded its first-round pick in this year’s draft to the College Park Skyhawks in exchange for the returning player rights to Jarkel Joiner, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).
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Atlantic Notes: Andonian, Sixers, Knicks

August 19th, 2025 at 7:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Ariana Andonian will be named the general manager of the Sixers‘ NBA G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.

Andonian is already the Sixers’ VP of player personnel, a position she has held since last September. She was previously the Grizzlies’ director of player personnel and a scouting coordinator for the Rockets. She graduated from USC in 2015 and received her MBA from Duke in 2020.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

  • How can the Sixers regain relevance in the Eastern Conference chase? According to Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes, they must treat oft-injured stars Joel Embiid and Paul George with kid gloves. He suggests plenty of load management, including no back-to-backs for either one and even some road trip “vacations.” Hayes calculates there should be at least 17 games in which neither is available and believes both of them should play sparingly until around the trade deadline.
  • The Knicks won’t begin training camp until Sept. 24 but The Athletic’s James Edwards III offers up his depth chart surprises, rotations and starting lineup changes. Edwards believes Mitchell Robinson should start in the middle with Josh Hart serving as the sixth man. Edwards rounds out the second unit with Jordan Clarkson, Miles McBride, Guerschon Yabusele and Ariel Hukporti.
  • In case you missed it, the Raptors are making general manager Bobby Webster their full-time head of basketball operations. Get all the details here.
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Moussa Diabate Declines To Rejoin French National Team

August 17th, 2025 at 9:28am CST by Rory Maher

Hornets big man Moussa Diabate was cut from the French national team on August 8 ahead of EuroBasket 2025. After a knee issue forced Vincent Poirier to withdraw from the tournament, France’s head coach, Frederic Fauthoux, reached out to Diabate about the possibility of rejoining Les Bleus, according to Arthur Puybertier of BeBasket.

However, after consulting with his camp, Diabate declined the offer in order to “focus on his upcoming NBA season” (hat tip to Eurohoops).

2025/26 is a big season for the 6’11” center, whose minimum-salary contract with Charlotte is non-guaranteed. Diabate emerged as a rotation regular in ’24/25, averaging 5.7 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting 59.6% from the field in 71 appearances (17.5 minutes per game).

While the Hornets could be facing a roster crunch this fall, head coach Charles Lee recently praised Diabate, so it would be somewhat surprising if the 23-year-old ends up being released.

The French national team announced on Sunday (via Twitter) that it has finalized its 12-man group for EuroBasket, with Poirier and Paris Basketball guard Nadir Hifi the final two players cut. According to Eurohoops, France’s roster will likely consist of Theo Maledon, Sylvain Francisco, Elie Okobo, Isaia Cordinier, Matthew Strazel, Zaccharie Risacher, Bilal Coulibaly, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Guerschon Yabusele, Jaylen Hoard, Alex Sarr and Mouhammadou Jaiteh.

Risacher (Hawks), Coulibaly (Wizards), Yabusele (Knicks) and Sarr (Wizards) are current NBA players, while Maledon, Okobo, Luwawu-Cabarrot and Hoard previously spent time in the league. Cordinier is a former second-round pick (44th overall in 2016), but the 28-year-old has only played in Europe to this point in his career.

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Knicks Notes: Yabusele, Brown, Triano, Kolek

July 13th, 2025 at 12:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

In an interview with Arthur Puybertier of BeBasket, a French basketball outlet, Guerschon Yabusele reveals that he strongly considered the Nuggets in free agency before deciding the allure of playing in New York was too strong to pass up. After returning to the NBA with an impressive season in Philadelphia, Yabusele accepted a two-year contract with the Knicks.

“It was super fast! As soon as I received (the offer from New York), I had to give an answer within two hours,” Yabusele said. “On the other side, we also had the one in Denver. You had to be quick not to miss the opportunity that New York represents, in a great living environment!”

Along with the lifestyle that comes with playing in the nation’s largest city, Yabusele is thrilled to be joining a title contender. Coming off a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Knicks have bolstered their roster with the addition of Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson while several other top Eastern teams are dealing with injuries to star players.

“When you look at New York, you can already see that the franchise has risen a lot in recent years,” Yabusele added. “They are conference finalists; the collective project is visible and very interesting for me. They are a very good team that plays very well together and is playing for the title! Having this goal was something important for me, I want to play for something. Apart from that, New York is a historic team. Playing at Madison Square Garden is the dream of every NBA player, including mine! It’s a special place, I’m very happy to be there!”

There’s more on the Knicks:

  • New head coach Mike Brown is emphasizing quick decisions on offense, according to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. That philosophy was on display in Friday’s Summer League opener as players were instructed to drive, shoot or pass within half a second of getting the ball. “It doesn’t just mean playing up and down, like we have to get out in transition,” Summer League coach Jordan Brink said. “The fast part is all of the stuff in our actions. If we get the ball up the floor quick and don’t have anything, we’re to the next action. Fast is really decision-making, playing with a ‘.5’ mentality.”
  • The Mavericks denied the Knicks’ request to interview Jay Triano in their search for an associate head coach, sources tell Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. Triano served as Brown’s top assistant and offensive coordinator in Sacramento, but he just joined the coaching staff in Dallas last month and the Mavs didn’t want to lose him so quickly, Bondy adds. Dallas also turned down New York’s request to interview head coach Jason Kidd before Brown was hired.
  • After appearing in 41 games as a rookie, point guard Tyler Kolek is enjoying a fresh start with a new coaching staff, per Steve Popper of Newsday. “I think every season is a new opportunity,” he said. “Every year is a fresh start, new guys come in. We signed some free agents, so every year there’s fresh opportunity. And it starts right here, proving myself here, proving myself in August workouts, prove myself in camp, and then throughout the season. Just keep on proving myself until you get to where you have to be and then you have to do it all over again. It never really stops.”
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Sixers Notes: Morey, Embiid, Grimes, Yabusele, Edwards

July 12th, 2025 at 12:03pm CST by Rory Maher

After making the playoffs for seven straight years, the Sixers bottomed out in 2024/25 amid injuries to several key players, going just 24-58. With a little luck in the draft lottery, Philadelphia kept its protected first-round pick and moved up to No. 3, selecting former Baylor guard VJ Edgecombe.

As challenging as last season was, president of basketball operations Daryl Morey thinks the 76ers have an opportunity to make a significant move up the Eastern Conference standings in ’25/26 due to major injuries to star players and roster changes to rival teams, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic.

“I do think it’s open in the East,” Morey said in an extensive interview with select media from the Las Vegas Summer League. “I do think that’s a fair characterization. I do, obviously, think that we weren’t the only team that’s unfortunately gone through a lot of tough injuries. That’s opened some things up. But we’re going to have to prove that we’re with those upper-echelon teams in the East. But we do feel like if all things come together, we can be right there, and we’ve given ourselves a lot of flexibility to upgrade the team during the year, if things are going as well as we hope.”

Here’s more on the Sixers:

  • While Morey says star center Joel Embiid is “on track” to be ready for the start of training camp, league sources tell Jones that the 31-year-old big man has not yet resumed on-court basketball activities. Still, Morey and the rest of the front office are optimistic that Embiid will be ready to suit up for the regular season opener.
  • In his same session with reporters, including Jones, Morey seemed to confirm that Philadelphia offered Guerschon Yabusele a contract above the minimum using his Non-Bird rights, as our Luke Adams had previously speculated. Yabusele wound up signing a two-year deal with New York for part of the mid-level exception. Morey suggested the 76ers didn’t want to hard-cap themselves by using any portion of their taxpayer MLE before Quentin Grimes‘ restricted free agency is resolved.
  • “Yeah, that sucked,” Morey said of losing Yabusele. “We offered Guerschon the most that we could that wouldn’t limit us and our ability to retain Quentin. That was above the minimum. I’ve seen reports saying that we only offered the minimum, and that wasn’t true. But it was definitely below what he ended up getting. We knew it would create a challenge for us. So we wanted to retain Quentin. We hope to work that out with his representation, and our focus was on making sure that happens. So, that did impact what we could offer Guerschon.”
  • Philadelphia native Justin Edwards was one of the bright spots for the Sixers last season. After a solid rookie campaign, he re-signed with his hometown team on a new three-year deal. “I definitely think this has been a full-circle moment for me, playing in the place I grew up in,” Edwards told Jones of The Athletic. “What I want to do is continue to grow my game and to keep getting better. I want to be in the Rising Stars game next season.”
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Atlantic Notes: Simons, M. Brown, Knicks, Edgecombe

July 11th, 2025 at 11:27am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics moved forward with their Jrue Holiday/Anfernee Simons swap earlier this week, completing the trade with Portland as a straight-up, one-for-one swap after exploring ways to expand the deal during the July moratorium. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean Boston is committed to having Simons on its roster to open the season.

“I have talked to other teams who have said the Celtics are actively trying to trade Anfernee Simons,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on Wednesday’s episode of The Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link). “Whether they can or not (remains to be seen).”

Swapping out Holiday’s $32.4MM cap hit for Simons’ $27.7MM figure will help the Celtics operate below the second tax apron in 2025/26. However, as Windhorst and his ESPN colleagues Tim MacMahon and Tim Bontemps went on to speculate, the club may be looking to cut costs more significantly in what will essentially be a “gap year.” Getting out of the luxury tax entirely would be a step toward resetting the repeater tax clock.

A team operating above the cap but below the tax aprons would only have to send out about $19.2MM in matching salary to legally acquire Simons and his expiring contract.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

  • During his introductory press conference as the Knicks‘ head coach this week, Mike Brown said he’s not bothered by the fact that the team is essentially in championship-or-bust mode as he takes over the job. “Nobody has any bigger expectations than I do. My expectations are high,” Brown said, per Chris Herring of ESPN. “This is the Knicks and Madison Square Garden. It’s iconic. … I love and embrace the expectations that come along with it.”
  • While a lack of reliable depth was an issue for the Knicks last season, Brown lauded president of basketball operations Leon Rose for continuing to add more talent to the roster after the team signed Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele in free agency, as Zach Braziller of The New York Post relays. “Jordan, the things that he can do, especially offensively,” Brown said. “He’s a veteran guy. I know he’s hungry to win. He can score at all three levels. You’re excited with that coming to the table. He’s also a better play-maker than he’s given credit (for). I’m looking forward to seeing some of that, too, because I’m huge when it comes to touching the paint and looking to spray that basketball out to get your teammates easy shots. And then Guerschon, an unbelievable young man. His size, his versatility, he can play the four, the five, maybe some three, who knows?”
  • No. 3 overall pick VJ Edgecombe missed the Sixers‘ first game of the Las Vegas Summer League on Thursday after being diagnosed with a left thumb sprain. He’s still taking part in on-court workouts and will have the injury reevaluated on Saturday, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
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Atlantic Notes: Lillard, Yabusele, Whitehead, Hetzel

July 6th, 2025 at 8:05pm CST by Eli Cohen

Damian Lillard has a big decision ahead of him after unexpectedly finding himself on the free agent market while recovering from a ruptured Achilles. One of the teams that the soon-to-be 35-year-old is reportedly considering is the Celtics, who, like Lillard, find themselves in a surprisingly uncertain position for next season.

According to Ashish Mathur of Dallas Hoops Journal, Lillard’s time with Team USA could prove an important piece of his search for a new squad. Lillard and Celtics’ star Jayson Tatum, who is also recovering from a torn Achilles, grew close when they played together for the 2020 Olympic team.

Signing with the Celtics would give Tatum a companion in his rehabilitation process, while setting the team up for a deep 2026/27 playoff run once its star wing recovers. Given the team’s efforts to shed salary this summer, Lillard could represent a lower-cost acquisition with major playoff upside, depending on how he recovers from the injury.

We have more notes from around the Atlantic division:

  • The Sixers let reserve Guerschon Yabusele go to the Knicks this summer, reportedly declining to offer a competitive contract to the French forward who played a key bench role last season. According to Keith Pompey of The Inquirer, this isn’t the first time the Sixers have declined to retain players considered to be important bench pieces. He points to Philadelphia allowing Jalen McDaniels and Georges Niang to walk in the summer of 2023, which was viewed as a mistake by fans at the time, but ultimately proved to be the correct move. President Daryl Morey is not known as overly sentimental when it comes to role players, but Pompey questions whether that approach might prove to be a mistake this time, especially with the uncertain health of Joel Embiid.
  • Dariq Whitehead is not suiting up for the Nets at Summer League this year. Brian Lewis of the New York Post expressed surprise (via Twitter) about that decision, considering the difficulty Whitehead has had trying to bounce back from the injuries that have impeded his development over the last few years. Whitehead has only played 22 games with the Nets in his first two seasons, averaging 5.7 points and 1.5 rebounds while shooting 44.6% from three last season.
  • The Nets‘ Summer League team will be coached by assistant coach Steve Hetzel, Lewis reports (via Twitter). This will be Hetzel’s second season as an assistant with the Nets, following a three-year stint as an assistant coach with Portland.
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Free Agency Notes: Yabusele, Knicks, Kings, Beasley, Turner

July 5th, 2025 at 2:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Guerschon Yabusele‘s two-year deal with the Knicks won’t use the full taxpayer mid-level exception, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter link).

Yabusele’s slight discount will give New York the ability to fill out its 13th and 14th roster spots with one veteran-minimum contract and one rookie-minimum contract for one of the team’s (current or past) second-round picks while remaining below the team’s hard cap at the second tax apron.

[RELATED: NBA Minimum Salaries For 2025/26]

If Yabusele had received the full taxpayer mid-level, the Knicks would have been roughly $3.53MM below the second apron, so they could have signed one veteran-minimum player ($2.3MM) or one rookie-minimum player ($1.27MM), but not both until after the regular season began.

According to Bondy (Twitter link), Yabusele’s deal with the Knicks should still comfortably exceed the salary the Sixers offered him. Bondy says that Philadelphia’s offer – which Yabusele referred to as “really low” – as being worth the “$2.6MM minimum,” but the Frenchman’s minimum salary this season would actually be $2.4MM, so it’s possible Philadelphia went a little above that amount using his Non-Bird rights.

The 76ers likely didn’t want to hard-cap themselves by using any portion of their taxpayer mid-level exception before Quentin Grimes‘ restricted free agency is resolved.

Here are a few more notes and rumors related to free agency:

  • Reporting out of Sacramento earlier this week seemed to suggest the Kings were aggressively pursuing Warriors restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga, but subsequent reports have suggested nothing is close on that front. According to Matt George of ABC 10 in Sacramento (Twitter link), while the Kings still have interest in Kuminga, they’d be content to complete their Dennis Schröder acquisition and Jonas Valanciunas and then bring that roster into next season. That roster would include both Malik Monk and Devin Carter, who have both been the subject of trade rumors.
  • While news of the federal investigation into Malik Beasley for gambling allegations didn’t go public until June 29, the NBA reached out to the Pistons “several” days before free agency opened to let the club know about it, per Mike Vorkunov, Jon Krawczynski, and James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. The two sides had been in talks on a three-year, $42MM contract that would’ve included a third-year team option, but it now seems unlikely that any team would move forward on a deal with Beasley until that investigation is resolved (assuming he’s cleared).
  • The Bucks‘ four-year, $107MM agreement with Myles Turner has been the most surprising deal of free agency so far. Eric Nehm of The Athletic takes a closer look at just what it means for Milwaukee, breaking down Turner’s fit with the team at both ends of the court. While Turner has a similar skill set to former starting center Brook Lopez, the former Pacer is younger, more athletic, and more mobile, which should allow him to make a greater impact than Lopez as a screener and defender, Nehm writes.
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