France passes Canada as NBA opens with 125 international players

France leads with 17 players; the league’s 43 represented countries match a record, while the player total is below last season’s high.

By Beat Chuck NBA Desk / 1 source / Published October 21, 2026

France has moved ahead of Canada as the NBA's largest source of international players, with 17 on the league's opening-night rosters for the 2026-27 season.
Canada has 16, according to the NBA's roster census released October 20. It is the first time in 13 seasons that a country other than Canada has led that count.
Victor Wembanyama headlines the French group, but the list extends well beyond San Antonio's star. Minnesota center Rudy Gobert, Washington teammates Bilal Coulibaly and Alex Sarr, and Dallas forward Zaccharie Risacher are among the French players on this season's rosters.
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The league counted 125 international players from 43 countries across six continents. Those figures describe two different benchmarks: 43 countries matches the record first set for the 2017-18 season, while the player total is 10 below the record 135 at the start of 2025-26.
Europe accounts for 70 players, reaching that level for the second consecutive season. Australia has nine players, Germany seven, and Nigeria and Serbia six apiece. The Associated Press and Eurohoops also reported the opening-roster totals.
The distribution reaches every NBA team. All 30 have at least one international player, with Miami, Dallas and Washington sharing the lead at seven each. This is the sixth consecutive season with at least 120 international players and the 13th straight with at least 100.
The group also includes a record 19 players who have been NBA All-Stars. Four international players — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo — have combined to win the past eight MVP awards.
The NBA separately counted more than 60 players who were born in Africa or have at least one parent born there. That measure includes American players, so it is a different way of describing the league's connections abroad and should not be added to the 125-player international total.
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