The NBA is the best basketball league in the world and the hardest to hold a place in. In 2025-26 a record 71 European players were on opening-night rosters, from 23 different countries — France alone had a record 19. This is where the very best of them stood at the end of that season.
Last reviewed 3 September 2026. All statistics are final 2025-26 regular-season per-game averages. The list is reviewed each October, once opening-night rosters for the new season are confirmed.
The 10 best European-born NBA players
Every player in this top ten was born and raised in Europe. Players who represent a European nation but grew up elsewhere are listed further down, as are players from countries that compete in FIBA Europe without being geographically European.
1. Nikola Jokić — Serbia
Denver Nuggets · 27.7 pts · 12.9 reb · 10.7 ast · 65 games (2025-26)
Led the entire NBA in both rebounding and assists in the same season while scoring 27.7 a night, and finished MVP runner-up. No other centre in the league passes like this.
2. Luka Dončić — Slovenia
Los Angeles Lakers · 33.5 pts · 7.7 reb · 8.3 ast · 64 games (2025-26)
The NBA’s leading scorer in 2025-26 and third in assists. A first full season in Los Angeles that ended with him carrying one of the heaviest offensive loads in the league.
3. Victor Wembanyama — France
San Antonio Spurs · 25.0 pts · 11.5 reb · 3.1 ast · 64 games (2025-26)
Defensive Player of the Year and third in MVP voting. Fourth in the league in rebounding at 22, and already the most disruptive defender in basketball.
4. Giannis Antetokounmpo — Greece
Miami Heat · 27.6 pts · 9.8 reb · 5.4 ast · 36 games (2025-26)
Posted career-best shooting efficiency but played only 36 games, and Milwaukee’s nine-year playoff run ended. Traded to Miami in June 2026 in the biggest deal of the summer.
5. Lauri Markkanen — Finland
Utah Jazz · 26.7 pts · 6.9 reb · 2.1 ast · 42 games (2025-26)
The third-best scoring average of any European in the league. Availability was the only thing missing — 42 games, and Utah were a different team without him.
6. Alperen Şengün — Turkey
Houston Rockets · 20.4 pts · 8.9 reb · 6.2 ast · 72 games (2025-26)
Twenty points, nine rebounds and six assists a game across 72 appearances — the best availability of any high-usage European. A genuine offensive hub at centre.
7. Franz Wagner — Germany
Orlando Magic · 20.6 pts · 5.2 reb · 3.3 ast · 34 games (2025-26)
Scored more per game than Şengün, but managed only 34 appearances. On a full season he belongs several places higher.
8. Kristaps Porziņģis — Latvia
Golden State Warriors · 16.7 pts · 5.2 reb · 2.5 ast · 32 games (2025-26)
Split the season between Atlanta and Golden State and produced almost identically for both. Thirty-two games is the story of his career in one number.
9. Nikola Vučević — Montenegro
Orlando Magic · 15.1 pts · 8.4 reb · 3.3 ast · 64 games (2025-26)
Traded from Chicago to Boston mid-season, then returned to Orlando on a one-year deal in July 2026 — the club where he became an All-Star.
10. Ivica Zubac — Croatia
Indiana Pacers · 14.1 pts · 10.6 reb · 2.2 ast · 48 games (2025-26)
The only player outside the top three here to average a double-double. Moved from the Clippers to Indiana mid-season.
11 to 20
11. Rudy Gobert — France
Minnesota Timberwolves · 10.9 pts · 11.5 reb · 1.7 ast · 76 games (2025-26)
Fifth in the NBA in rebounding and the most durable big man on this list at 76 games. The scoring has never been the point.
12. Alexandre Sarr — France
Washington Wizards · 16.3 pts · 7.4 reb · 2.7 ast · 48 games (2025-26)
A real second-year jump before injury ended his season early. The most promising young European big outside San Antonio.
13. Kyshawn George — Switzerland
Washington Wizards · 14.8 pts · 5.1 reb · 4.5 ast · 48 games (2025-26)
Switzerland’s best NBA player, and the most complete stat line of any young European wing last season.
14. Santi Aldama — Spain
Memphis Grizzlies · 14.0 pts · 6.7 reb · 2.9 ast · 43 games (2025-26)
Spain’s leading NBA scorer. Forty-three games is the caveat, but the per-game production was top-15 among Europeans.
15. Ajay Mitchell — Belgium
Oklahoma City Thunder · 13.6 pts · 3.3 reb · 3.6 ast · 57 games (2025-26)
A rotation guard on a title-calibre Oklahoma City team, and the best Belgian in the league.
16. Toumani Camara — Belgium
Portland Trail Blazers · 13.4 pts · 5.1 reb · 2.5 ast · 82 games (2025-26)
Played all 82 games — the only European in the NBA who did not miss one. Portland’s defensive identity runs through him.
17. Maxime Raynaud — France
Sacramento Kings · 12.5 pts · 7.5 reb · 1.4 ast · 74 games (2025-26)
The only European named to either 2025-26 All-Rookie team, and comfortably the best rookie of the French wave.
18. Jusuf Nurkić — Bosnia and Herzegovina
Utah Jazz · 10.9 pts · 10.4 reb · 4.8 ast · 41 games (2025-26)
A double-double average and nearly five assists a game from centre. Forty-one appearances kept him this low.
19. Jakob Pöltl — Austria
Toronto Raptors · 10.7 pts · 7.0 reb · 2.0 ast · 46 games (2025-26)
Austria’s only NBA player, and a starting centre on a playoff roster for most of a decade.
20. Neemias Quetá — Portugal
Boston Celtics · 10.2 pts · 8.4 reb · 1.7 ast · 76 games (2025-26)
Portugal’s first meaningful NBA contributor, and a quietly excellent 76-game season in Boston’s rotation.
Special cases: European by nationality, not by upbringing
These five all appear on lists of European NBA players, and each has a genuine claim — but none of them was both born and raised in Europe, so none is in the top ten above.
Deni Avdija — Israel
Portland Trail Blazers · 24.2 pts · 6.9 reb · 6.7 ast · 66 games (2025-26)
Born and raised in Israel and developed at Maccabi Tel Aviv, playing EuroLeague basketball before the draft. His 24.2 points a game ranked 14th in the entire NBA — statistically the best season of anyone in this article outside the top three. Israel competes in FIBA Europe, but it is not a European country, so he sits here rather than in the main list.
Matas Buzelis — Lithuania
Chicago Bulls · 16.3 pts · 5.8 reb · 2.1 ast · 77 games (2025-26)
Born in Hinsdale, Illinois to Lithuanian parents and plays for the Lithuanian national team. On production alone he would be inside the top 12.
Isaiah Hartenstein — Germany
Oklahoma City Thunder · 9.2 pts · 9.4 reb · 3.5 ast · 47 games (2025-26)
Born in Eugene, Oregon and represents Germany. Rebounds at a higher rate than most starting centres.
Jeremy Sochan — Poland
Portland Trail Blazers · 3.6 pts · 2.4 reb · 0.9 ast · 44 games (2025-26)
Born in Guymon, Oklahoma, moved to England aged three and grew up there, and has played for Poland since he was 17. A difficult season — released by San Antonio, a short spell with the Knicks, and a one-year deal in Portland.
OG Anunoby — United Kingdom
New York Knicks · 16.7 pts · 5.2 reb · 2.2 ast · 67 games (2025-26)
Born in London — one of the four British players the NBA counted in 2025-26 — but raised in Jefferson City, Missouri and a college player at Indiana, with no European national-team career. Named to the 2025-26 All-Defensive Second Team.
Who dropped off, and why
Four players from the previous version of this list are no longer in the NBA at all. Bojan Bogdanović retired in June 2025 after a lingering foot injury. Danilo Gallinari retired in December 2025. Evan Fournier left for Olympiacos in 2024 and has since extended there. Jonas Valančiūnas signed a two-year deal with Žalgiris Kaunas in July 2026 after 14 NBA seasons.
Three more are still in the league but no longer had top-20 seasons: Domantas Sabonis (19 games, meniscus surgery), Dennis Schröder (10.8 points a game) and Clint Capela (3.8 points a game).
What it takes to get there
Almost every player above came through a European club system before the NBA ever called. That is the route: play men’s basketball in Europe, against professionals, and let the level do the developing.
EuroProBasket runs that pathway in Valencia, Spain, inside L’Alqueria del Basket — the largest basketball facility in Europe and the home of Valencia Basket. Players train and compete in front of European coaches, agents and clubs.
- Euro Professional Program — for players targeting a professional contract in Europe
- Women’s Professional Program
- European Summer League — exposure to clubs and agents across the summer
- Players signed — where EuroProBasket players have gone on to play
Photographs are used under Creative Commons licences from Wikimedia Commons; each credit line names the photographer and licence. Where a player is pictured in a former club’s kit, the caption says so.
