By Official Release
Posted Dec 9 2009 6:00PM
The start of the 2009-10 NBA season will mark 83 international players from 36 countries and territories on official rosters (active and inactive), matching the record of international players on opening night rosters (2006-07). Twenty-seven of the 30 teams have at least one international player.
The Milwaukee Bucks roster features the most international players with seven. The Charlotte Bobcats, Sacramento Kings and Toronto Raptors each feature five international players. Omri Casspi (Israel) of the Sacramento Kings, Jonas Jerebko (Sweden) of the Detroit Pistons, and Hasheem Thabeet (Tanzania) of the Memphis Grizzlies are representing their countries for the first time on an NBA roster. France has the strongest representation with a record ten players. At the end of the 2008-09 regular season, the NBA featured 77 international players from 33 countries and territories on team rosters (both active and inactive). In comparison, the NBA had 36 international players from 24 countries and territories in 1999-2000.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | Circus And-one Steve Nash feeds Marcin Gortat and he hits the circus shot while being fouled. |
 | Bobcats vs. Celtics Paul Pierce is three points from passing Larry Bird on the Celtics all-time career scoring list and the Celtics lead at the half. |
 | Backdoor Dunk Gordon Hayward cuts backdoor, gets the pass and finishes with the two-handed slam. |
 | Cavaliers vs. Heat: First half The Heat hold a 54-48 halftime lead over the Cavaliers behind Dwyane Wade's 14 points. |
 | From Downtown Milwaukee Ersan Ilyasova misses the first shot, but nails the second shot before the horn sounds to end the first quarter. |
 | Rubio to Williams Ricky Rubio grabs the loose ball, throws it down the court to Derrick Williams for the easy jam. |
 | Return to Sender Christian Eyenga hustles back on defense and sends the Norris Cole shot into the Heat bench. |
 | Hang Time Wesley Johnson hangs in the air just long enough to flush Derrick Williams' miss. |
 | Nash Fadeaway Steve Nash hits the tough fadeaway jumper while falling out of bounds. |
 | Jazz vs. Pacers: First half Darren Collison has 17 points to lead the Pacers to a 57-46 halftime advantage over the Jazz. |
Copyright © NBA Media Ventures, LLC. All rights reserved. No portion of NBA.com may be duplicated, redistributed or manipulated in any form. By accessing any information beyond this page, you agree to abide by the Privacy Policy / Your California Privacy Rights and Terms of Use. | Ad Choices 
NBA.com is part of Turner - SI Digital, part of the Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network.
