The globalization of basketball has made the NBA a more diverse and competitive league. Back in 1992 the “Dream Team” which consisted of the 14 best players in the world, who were all from America, Dominated the Olympics in basketball. Today this is not the case.
For the last twenty years there has been a rise of foreign born players in the NBA. In 1990 only three NBA all stars were foreign born, and in 2000 only one all star player was foreign born. In 2023 seven all star players are either foreign or of foreign nationality, and the last five MVP winners have been from countries other than the U.S. For example Luka Doncic, Joel Embid, Nikola Jokis, and Giannis Antetokumpo, and Shai Gilgeous Alexander. These players are considered by many to be the top five players in the NBA and none of them are from America. Three of these players have won an MVP, two have led their team to a championship, and all of them average more than twenty five points a game.This is great for the future generations of NBA players. It shows them that no matter the circumstances you can achieve your dreams. From now on many young players that don’t have much opportunity will be able to showcase their talents and make it to the next level.
Take a look at this graph.
But why is this? It’s not like the rest of the world has seen a rise in talented players, the talent has always been there but the resources have not. Players from other countries didn’t have the best coaching, equipment, gyms, and circuits to play in.
Furthermore, due to efforts from the commissioner of the NBA to make basketball a world wide sport that has changed. He’s advertised in the NBA and it’s superstars perfectly. According to forbes.com 640 million people in China watch some kind of professional basketball and that’s just China. Imagine if we totaled all the people who watch the NBA from Europe, Africa, and the rest of Asia, the number would be huge! Now that basketball has become more popular, countries are starting to invest more resources in programs and players. For example, Yao Ming, a 7 ‘6 chinese basketball player was literally bred by China to be as tall as possible. They also trained him to exhaustion so he could make the NBA. Commissioner Adam Silver also started the NBA academy which takes young talented players from many countries and develops their skills until they are ready to go to the next level of basketball.
In conclusion, The NBA’s globalization efforts have led to a more competitive international playing field, as evidenced by the performance of international teams in recent competitions. As basketball continues to thrive the NBA and its players will continue to inspire the next generation of foreign players.