Basketball used to be an American game, and no one else in the world has the privilege to play. Surprisingly, individuals have begun to embrace the sport all over the world, resulting in the NBA being full of outstanding athletes from different regions of the world. Although most of these talents come from Europe, there are also several outstanding talents from Africa and Asia. The NBA has also begun to expand, one of which is NBA Africa. This move is to expand the influence of the NBA to every part of the world.
Dirk Nowitzki, Dikembe Mutombo and Hakim Olajuwon are some well-known international players who dominated the league in their own time and made themselves into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame . Although Nowitzki is not yet a member of the Hall of Fame, because players must retire for at least four years before they can be considered, he has been locked in and will qualify in 2023.
Jamal Murray is an excellent athlete and can easily make it to this list. However, the Canadian tore his cruciate ligament in April 2021 and will not be able to play for the Denver Nuggets until January 2022 at the earliest.
Honorable Mention-Pascal Siakam
Statistics for the 2020-21 season: 21.4 points, 4.5 assists, 7.2 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 0.7 blocks, 45.5% field goal percentage, 82.7% free throw percentage. The Toronto Raptors hope to build around Pascal Siakam, which shows how valuable the Cameroonian is. He was selected by the Raptors with the 27th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft and has been playing hard for Canadian teams ever since. Siakam was a blockbuster in the 2018-19 season. In a team with Kyle Lowry, he consolidated his position as the second scoring point after Cavai-Leonard.
Although his performance in the 2020-21 season is not disappointing, but in the 2019-20 season, after Siakam won the 2019 All-Star award for the first time, his performance did not reach the level that many people expected.
10.Say Gilgios-Alexander
Statistics for the 2020-21 season: 23.7 PPG, 5.9 APG, 4.7 RPG, 0.8 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 50.8 FG%, 80.8 FT% Say Kyrgyz-Alexander is a Canadian who was selected by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2018 draft and was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers that night. Although he entered the All-Star Second Team, he was included in the deal to acquire Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder. After the 23-year-old suffered a plantar fascia tear since March 24, his 2020-21 season was disrupted. However, he had a breakthrough season, averaging 23.7 points in only 35 games. His out-of-the-arc shooting percentage also reached a staggering 41.8%.
9.Andrew Wiggins
Statistics for the 2020-21 season: 18.6 PPG, 2.4 APG, 4.9 RPG, 0.9 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 47.7 FG%, 71.4 FT% Andrew Wiggins is another Canadian, a top talent in the NBA. Considering all his achievements at the age of 26, he will be recorded in history as one of the best NBA players from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Compared with his 2019-20 season, Wiggins' average score has dropped, but this is a case where the average score does not explain all the problems. Although his score has dropped, he is a more effective shooter because his average points per game, three-pointers and effective average per game have all improved significantly. Until Klay Thompson returns, he will continue to hold his ground for the Golden State Warriors; the Canadian fills a large vacancy on both ends of the court.
8.Domantas Sabonis
Statistics for the 2020-21 season: 20.3 PPG, 6.7 APG, 12.0 RPG, 1.2 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 53.5 FG%, 73.2 FT%
Questions have been raised about how Domantas Sabonis and Miles Turner will play in the frontcourt, and the Lithuanians have silenced all doubters. He won a double-double for the second consecutive season, setting a career high in points (20.3) and assists (6.7).
In view of Sabonis' progress over the years and two appearances in the All-Star Game, I dare say that the Indiana Pacers will appear in the playoffs for the first time after losing the first round of the 2020 playoffs.
7.Kristaps Porzingis
Statistics for the 2020-21 season: 20.1 PPG, 1.6 APG, 8.9 RPG, 0.5 SPG, 1.3 BPG, 47.6 FG%, 85.5 FT%
Despite his mediocre performance in the playoffs, Kristaps Porzingis is still an elite talent who can influence the game as long as he is on the court. The Latvian international player's style of play is very similar to the Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki, and it can even be said that he copied his famous fictitious jumper.
One worrying reason is that he failed to stay healthy. Since his sophomore season, Porzingis has not played as many as 60 games every season due to injuries. After tearing the cruciate ligament in February 2018, he missed all the games of the 2018-19 season. If the Mavericks big man succeeds in staying healthy, he can cause serious problems for opponent defenders in the paint.
6.Ben Simmons
Statistics for the 2020-21 season: 14.3 PPG, 6.9 APG, 7.2 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 55.7 FG%, 61.3 FT%
Ben Simmons was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the first overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. This is an absolute seed draft because the Australian is arguably the best defender at the back position. Sadly, he is one of the worst shooters in the league. He gave up an open dunk in the 2021 NBA playoffs semifinals. If he does not make adjustments quickly, his offensive performance will be summarized in a few years.
Judging from the current situation, it is unclear where Simmons will play in the 2021-22 season. He has a strained relationship with the 76ers management, and the defender has asked for a trade. But the front office of the franchise was reluctant to see it pass. In any case, Simmons is still the top talent in the league.
5.Rudy Gobert
Statistics for the 2020-21 season: 14.3 PPG, 1.3 APG, 13.5 RPG, 0.6 SPG, 2.7 BPG, 67.5 FG%, 62.3 FT%
Rudy-"Hard Tower"-Gobert is a Frenchman who became famous in the NBA for his defensive acumen. The three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year joined the NBA in 2013. He was selected by the Denver Nuggets before being traded to the Utah Jazz. Although Gobert is not a great two-way player, his defensive efforts completely make up for his average offensive performance.
In the past five years, Gobert has averaged double figures during the season and has been selected to the All-American Defensive First Team five times. The Jazz will continue their pursuit of the NBA championship in the 2021-22 season. Having an elite rebound protector is guaranteed. On offense, he is a rebounding swingman because he currently holds the record for most dunks in a single season (306 times).
4.Joel Embiid
Statistics for the 2020-21 season: 28.5 PPG, 2.8 APG, 10.6 RPG, 1.0 SPG, 1.4 BPG, 51.3 FG%, 85.9 FT%
Despite missing two seasons after battling a foot injury, Joel Embiid averaged 20.2 points and 7.8 games in his unofficial rookie season. The Cameroonian is undoubtedly the most dominant center on both ends of the court since the Shaquille O’Neal era.
Embiid has only played in the league for 5 years, but he played with the demeanor and cunningness of an experienced athlete. Staying healthy has always been a challenge for this big man, because he has never played all the games in a season. In any case, in the 2021-22 NBA game, he is expected to be selected to the All-Star for the fifth time as he tries to lead the Philadelphia 76ers into the abyss of the playoffs.
3.Luca Doncic
Statistics for the 2020-21 season: 27.7 PPG, 8.6 APG, 8.0 RPG, 1.0 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 47.9 FG%, 73.0 FT%
For a player who has just entered the fourth year of the NBA, Luka Doncic has shown that he is the next person to be on the throne after King James retires. The Slovenian is the third overall draft pick in the 2018 NBA draft class, which has fascinating talents such as DeAndre Ayton, Trey Young, Say Kyrgyz Alexander. Although only, Dončić has been selected to the All-Star twice and led the Slovenian national team to participate in the Olympic Games for the first time. Had it not been for the injury, he could have given his national team a medal.
Doncic is not the most efficient scorer, but he knows how to get the job done. He is the only player in NBA history to have won more than 20 triple-doubles at the age of 21 or younger, which has been recorded in the record book. In the new season, this young man is definitely a person to watch, because he is expected to win the MVP award and may win the scoring champion.
2.Nikola Jokic
Statistics for the 2020-21 season: 26.4 PPG, 8.3 APG, 10.8 RPG, 1.3 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 56.6 FG%, 86.8 FT%
Nikola Jokic played professional basketball in his home country (Serbia) for three years and then announced his participation in the NBA draft. He was selected by the Denver Nuggets with the 41st overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. Through these years of hard work, Jokic has gradually continued to grow and has developed into one of the big men with extremely high basketball IQ. His understanding of the game is amazing, especially how he operates the offense.
In the 2020-21 season, the Serbian produced a performance that can be called an MVP, and thus got the reward he deserved. Unfortunately, after he was expelled in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Phoenix Suns, his season ended in a rather abnormal way. In any case, the 2021 MVP will hope to lead the team to the playoffs again without the team's second-best scorer Jamal Murray.
1.Giannis Antetokounmpo
Statistics for the 2020-21 season: 28.1 PPG, 5.9 APG, 11.0 RPG, 1.2 SPG, 1.2 BPG, 56.9 FG%, 68.5 FT%
Giannis Antetokounmpo is a Greek national whose parents are Nigerians. Before announcing his participation in the 2013 NBA Draft, he played for two years in Greece and Spain. Although he has been playing for the Milwaukee Bucks since 2013, his career took off after winning the 2017 NBA's Most Improved Player Award.
Since then, he has entered four full defensive lineups, DPOY, 2 MVP, and 2021 NBA Finals MVP. He won the championship with 50 points in the sixth game, helping the Bucks win their first championship in fifty years. Giannis can be said to be the best player in the NBA right now. The Greek Beast is a force on both ends of the court and is the third player in NBA history to win MVP and DPOY awards in the same season.
Post time: Oct-14-2021