While the NBA historically has featured some memorable players from outside the United States, the current era boasts the strongest group of international stars.
Nikola Jokić, in fact, just earned his third MVP honor—an award recently won by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid.
Meanwhile, the 2023-24 All-NBA First Team included Jokić, Giannis, Luka Dončić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. For good measure, Rudy Gobert brought home his fourth Defensive Player of the Year, while Victor Wembanyama finished as the runner-up in his rookie year.
Pretty good crowd, don’t you think?
Wembanyama’s time is coming, but everyone else mentioned above is among the NBA’s best international players since 2014-15. Longevity and production are key factors, though the level of talent is considered, too.
A native of Cameroon, Pascal Siakam entered the NBA as a relatively unassuming player. He had a nice two-year career at New Mexico State and went to the Toronto Raptors with the 27th pick in the 2016 NBA draft.
Siakam held a 15-minute role in his rookie campaign and added five minutes the next season.
And then, he exploded.
Siakam commanded a starting job in 2018-19, winning the Most Improved Player award and helped the Kawhi Leonard-led Raptors win an NBA title. Siakam secured his first All-Star and All-NBA nods in 2019-20 and has since recorded a second honor in both categories.
Toronto dealt him to the Indiana Pacers during a 2023-24 season in which he averaged 20-plus points for the fifth straight year.
Between injuries, bad rosters and shaky fits, Kristaps Porziņģis has navigated a fascinating NBA journey.
Less-than-beloved initially as the No. 4 pick of the 2015 draft, the Latvian star began his career on the New York Knicks. Porziņģis finished as the Rookie of the Year runner-up and landed an All-Star nod in his third season.
Unfortunately, a knee injury soon ended that breakout year—and ultimately his time with the Knicks.
New York shipped him to the Dallas Mavericks, where he scored enough but never seemed to totally fit. Dallas moved Porziņģis to the Washington Wizards, and he had a career-best year in 2022-23. Washington then traded him to the Boston Celtics, a move that resulted in Porziņģis shooting a personal-best 51.6 percent from the floor.
Injuries have regularly impacted his career, but Porziņģis has consistently been productive when available.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s rise has been steady and remarkable.
After a quality rookie year, the Los Angeles Clippers sent him to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of the Paul George trade.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who is from Canada, has become a superstar in OKC.
Most notably, SGA has racked up 30-plus points per game in consecutive years. He landed All-NBA First Team recognition in both seasons, along with All-Star appearances and top-five spots in MVP voting.
Oklahoma City ended the 2023-24 campaign atop the Western Conference, and SGA propelled the franchise to its first postseason series win in eight years.
Soon enough, Gilgeous-Alexander will pass Rudy Gobert. For now, though, the latter’s longevity outweighs SGA’s recent rise.
Back in 2013, the Utah Jazz snagged the Frenchman with the 27th pick of the draft. Gobert didn’t play much as a rookie, but he impressed in Year 2—which, conveniently, is the beginning of the period we’re examining.
Gobert swatted 2.3 shots per game and finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting. He’s remained one of the NBA’s most respected defenders, hoisting that trophy four times with First-Team All-Defense recognition in seven seasons and four All-NBA teams.
Through nine seasons with Utah and two on the Minnesota Timberwolves, he’s averaged 12.7 points, 11.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks.
Luka Dončić entered the NBA in the same season as Gilgeous-Alexander but is above Gobert because of sustained excellence.
From the very beginning, the Dallas Mavericks star has thrived.
The crafty guard from Slovenia put up 21.2 points per game to win Rookie of the Year in 2018-19. The following year, Dončić averaged 28.8 points while making his first All-Star appearance, finishing fourth in MVP voting and garnering All-NBA First Team honors.
And those merits have become routine.
Dončić, as of 2023-24, has been an All-Star and All-NBA First Team player with a top-eight MVP voting mark in five straight years. He scored a league-leading 33.9 points per game in 2023-24.
Although he has committed to playing for the United States in the 2024 Paris Olympics, Joel Embiid grew up in Cameroon.
Early in his career, Embiid was a frustrating, potential-filled talent. He missed two full seasons while dealing with a foot injury and only appeared in 31 games because of a knee issue during his third year.
Injuries have remained an annoyance for Embiid—especially in the postseason—but he’s become an incredible force.
To date, Embiid has collected seven All-Star trips, five All-NBA selections and three All-Defense honors. He also paced the NBA in points per game during both the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons.
Best of all, the two-time MVP runner-up finally hoisted the prestigious trophy in 2022-23.
If you’d personally have Nikola Jokić atop the list, I wouldn’t have anything close to a strong objection. The whole “three MVPs” thing is a solid starting point, you know?
The lovable Serbian has morphed into an unforgettable second-round success story. Back in 2014, the Denver Nuggets used the 41st overall pick on Jokić. He’s never fit the physical prototype of an NBA player but is simply a brilliant—and wildly productive—player.
Jokić started to amass his accolades in 2018-19, the fourth year of a flourishing career. That year, he became an All-Star and finished as a First Team All-NBA choice with a fourth-place MVP finish.
Now, the trophy case is getting full.
Jokić has since gathered five All-Star and All-NBA picks, three league MVPs and a Finals MVP when the Nuggets won the championship to cap the 2022-23 season.
No matter where you stand in the debate, Giannis Antetokounmpo has already cemented his status as a legendary player.
This resume is spectacular.
Antetokounmpo, the No. 15 pick of the 2013 NBA draft out of Greece, rose to prominence in his fourth year. After steady improvement before then, he cracked an All-Star roster in 2016-17 on the way to the Most Improved Player award and second-team honors for All-NBA and All-Defense.
Two years later, he secured the league MVP. Antetokounmpo earned both the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the following season, and he propelled the Milwaukee Bucks to an NBA title in 2020-21.
Entering his age-30 campaign in 2024-25, the Greek Freak has already racked up eight All-NBA selections, five All-Defense nods, two MVPs, one DPOY and one Finals MVP.