With players from outside the U.S. continuing to make a huge impact the NBA, we used ESPN.com's #NBArank list to produce a ranking of the league's 25 best international players. With so many of the greatest NBA players of all time being from outside the US, it's time to recognize the best international NBA players currently in the league. 1. He can switch positions on defense. The NBA houses the best basketball players from around the world. The NBA … They’ve been waiting for him ever since. Image via … The facilities and dedication available in the league that matters the most promotes their furtherance as athletes, something that endures and improves with time.The absence of he aforementioned doesn’t mean talented ballers can’t come from any corner of the globe, as evidenced by these ten stalwarts: Raga became the first international player to be chosen in the NBA Draft, when he was picked by the Atlanta Hawks in 1970. By Aaron Mansfield, Rafael Canton, Angel Diaz. With so many of the greatest NBA players of all time being from outside the US, it's time to recognize the best international NBA players currently in the league. He can shoot, pass and handle the ball on offense. Some difficult decisions had to be made, but, for now, these are the 10 International players for this year’s Draft Class. While not the only metric used to qualify a player’s greatness, the number of rings a player has is often used as a trump card in basketball debates. Top 5 / Top 10. Given, the States loves its sports and focuses a lot more attention and resources on them, resulting in a virtual monopoly in certain sports, basketball in particular.This fact doesn‘t preclude foreign players with the ability to raise fans to their feet. In 2008, he was named one of the 50 Greatest Euroleague Contributors. "The Flying Mexican" would never play in the NBA, but ply his trade in his motherland, representing his team in the 1964, 1968 and 1976 Olympics. Share This Story. The NBA may only have teams representing cities from the USA and Canada, but the list of international players who play in the league could not have been more diverse. That was in 2009. Think again. The Houston Rockets were ahead of their time when they identified the potential of a Spanish basketball player named Sergio Llull. However, there were some who just didn’t make it to the world’s most prestigious basketball league for some reason. Thought the best basketball players in the world made their mark in the NBA? “He’s sort of perfect for the modern NBA,” said Rockets general manager Daryl Morey. In fact, no small number of top stars in the NBA originated in other countries. Raga became the first international player to be chosen in the NBA Draft, when he was picked by the Atlanta Hawks in 1970. Raga became the first international player to be chosen in the NBA Draft, when he was picked by the Atlanta Hawks in 1970. Feb 15, 2018. Not only is he the greatest winner in all of American sports, Russell is also both the smartest and best defensive player to ever pick up a basketball. NBA The Last Best Player Not in the NBA The basketball world is now flat. Honorable mention – Croatian legend Krešimir osiMention basketball and the mind makes an instant association to the United States of America. ANALYST Modified 26 Oct 2020, 11:15 IST. There are at least 15 international players who have a real chance to get picked in 2020 NBA Draft, which made it difficult to narrow it down to a Top-10. SHARE. The 30 Greatest Basketball Players to Never Play in the NBA. Initially these players made little impact on the game, but over time, some of the best players in the world are from abroad. The most remarkable of his achievements was a silver medal he won in the 1967 Pan-American Games. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-last-best-player-not-in-the-nba-sergio-llull-1540903633. Every great international player eventually comes to the NBA and tries to prove himself. For all those reasons, and because Morey thought it was cool that Llull happens to share a name with a famous 13th-century mathematician, the Rockets invested the most amount of money ever spent on a second-round draft pick to make sure they secured his NBA rights from another team. But the reality is pleasingly different. Top 10 international players in the NBA right now Tonoy Sengupta FOLLOW. Basketball; NBA; Top 5 / Top 10; Advertisement. List Rules Only professional NBA basketball players who were not born in the US Since the late '80s, the NBA has imported the best players from across the globe to play basketball in America.