76ers star and Cameroon native Joel Embiid taking home The Sporting News' 2023 NBA MVP award only further solidifies a notion that has been emerging in recent years — the rest of the world has caught up to the United States in basketball.
At the start of the 2022-23 season, the NBA announced that there were 120 international players ranging from 41 different countries on opening night rosters.
Fast forward to the end of the season and for a record-extending fifth consecutive year, the NBA MVP is not from the United States. In fact, for the second consecutive season, all three MVP finalists were of international descent.
Embiid's crowning brings an end to Serbian center Nikola Jokic's reign as back-to-back MVP. Before Jokic, it was Greek-Nigerian forward Giannis Antetokounmpo who had earned back-to-back MVP honors.
And while this has become the norm as of late, this is new territory for the league.
There had never been an international NBA MVP until Rockets Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon hoisted the award in 1994. Over a decade passed before the next one was honored, when Canadian guard Steve Nash won back-to-back MVPs in 2004-05 and 2005-06. That sparked a streak of three-straight international MVPs — the longest in NBA history at the time — with German forward Dirk Nowitzki earning MVP in 2006-07.
That was seen as a monumental moment for the global growth of the sport but even then, no one could have predicted the game would explode across the world the way it has in recent years.
The NBA's first season was in 1946 but there hadn't been two international players on the All-NBA First Team until nearly 60 years later when Nash and Nowitzki earned three straight First Team nods from 2005 to 2007. It didn't happen again until 2018-19 with Antetokounmpo and Jokic, but there hasn't been a season without at least two international players represented on the All-NBA First Team since.
In 2020-21, history was made when Slovenian guard Luka Doncic joined Antetokounmpo and Jokic, marking the first time three international players cracked the All-NBA First Team. It happened again with the same trio in 2021-22, too.
When The Sporting News surveyed 67 media members from 19 different countries to assemble our end-of-season awards, it became evidently clear that international players have made their mark on the NBA.
Embiid beat out Jokic and Antetokounmpo for MVP. Doncic beat out Ja Morant and Anthony Edwards for the "Best Young Player" award (for players 23 and under). Our All-International NBA First Team could supplant the actual All-NBA First Team and I don't think anyone would bat an eye.
| First Team | Second Team |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks | Domantas Sabonis, Kings |
| Joel Embiid, 76ers | Lauri Markkanen, Jazz |
| Nikola Jokic, Nuggets | Pascal Siakam, Raptors |
| Luka Doncic, Mavericks | Josh Giddey, Thunder |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder | O.G. Anunoby, Raptors |
As the game continues to grow across the world, the talent level of international players has begun to rival that of homegrown products from the United States.
In recent NBA MVP discussions, you've likely come across the question, "Who will be the next American-born MVP?"
Players like Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker or Ja Morant often come up, and rightfully so. But Embiid, Antetokounmpo and Jokic are all still in their prime. Doncic, historically speaking, hasn't even entered his prime.
I'd also be remiss not to mention the 7'5 French phenom and projected No. 1 overall pick in 2023, Victor Wembanyama, who, given a clean bill of health, could enter those conversations sooner than we may even realize.
The NBA's global outreach has not only expanded basketball's talent pool — it has allowed international players to share the spotlight alongside the best players in the league.
