NBA ROSTERS FEATURE RECORD 113 INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS FROM 41 COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES
The National Basketball Association has a record 113 international players from a record 41 countries and territories are on opening night rosters for the 2016-17 season. This marks the third consecutive season that opening night rosters feature at least 100 international players and that all 30 teams have at least one international player.
Opening night rosters feature a record number of European (61), African (14) and Spanish (8) players. Canada has the most of any country for the third straight year with 11 NBA players. France comes in second for the third consecutive year with 10 NBA players. Brazil features a record-tying nine players, Australia features a record-tying eight players, while Croatia has a record-tying five NBA players.
The Utah Jazz leads the league with seven international players, while the Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors each feature six. The Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks field five each.
The NBA’s 71st season begins tonight with a doubleheader as part of the NBA Tip-Off 2016. In the opening game, the NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers will host the New York Knicks at 7:30 p.m. ET. In the second game, the San Antonio Spurs visit the Golden State Warriors at 10:30 p.m. for a matchup of the teams with the league’s best records last season. In addition, the Portland Trail Blazers will host the Utah Jazz at 10 p.m. ET.
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