With Nikola Jokic’s NBA MVP victory this week, an international player has now won six consecutive MVP titles.
As a matter of fact, the top four vote-getters for this year’s prize were from various nations. France is the country of Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama.
Michael Jordan and “The Dream Team,” if Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were able to salvage the NBA, undoubtedly turned it into a worldwide sport.
At the time of “The Dream Team,” Tony Parker (France), Pau Gasol (Spain), and Dirk Nowitzki (Germany) were all eleven years old.
Together, these three players would go on to win seven NBA titles and 20 All-Star selections.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inducted all three of them.
Toni Kukoc’s 1993 arrival from Croatia to play for the Chicago Bulls was a major event. However, the NBA began this season with a record 125 foreign players from 40 different countries—30 years after that.
These foreign nations also produced the top three scorers in the NBA this season.
Only one foreign player has ever won NBA MVP before Steve Nash in 2006 (Hakeem Olajuwon, 199
Thinking about the question is not nationalistic. The sports that originated in the United States are among the most well-liked in this nation.
In the meanwhile, foreign stars abound in hockey and soccer, two games that have had difficulty gaining traction in the United States.
4). It has now occurred for six years in a row.
All of these are fantastic for the NBA and its widespread appeal. What about the effect on the US, though?
Thinking about the question is not nationalistic. The sports that originated in the United States are among the most well-liked in this nation.
In the meanwhile, foreign stars abound in hockey and soccer, two games that have had difficulty gaining traction in the United States.
An all-time high of just 29% of NHL players this season were born in the United States. This year’s all-time high in viewership also happens to coincide with that. Is there a relationship there? or causal relationship?
Find out which version of “The Office” your friends like to watch on television. What about the several iterations of the talent competition show, “[insert country] got talent?”
The face of the NBA has always been an American-born player: Julius Erving, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Stephen Curry.
And now, despite the best players not necessarily being from this country, the one getting the most attention might be Anthony Edwards.
Since the start of the NBA playoffs, the two NBA players with the most media views online? James and Edwards. Edwards has also gained the most Instagram followers of any NBA player this postseason.
All of this despite the three other remaining Western Conference teams being led by international stars.
It’s also Edwards who is being compared to Jordan, who many still consider to be the greatest basketball player of all time.
American-born athletes such as Julius Erving, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Stephen Curry have long been the NBA’s public face.
And now, Anthony Edwards could be the one receiving the most attention even if the top players aren’t always from this nation.
Which two NBA players have received the most online media views since the NBA playoffs began? Edwards and James. This postseason, Edwards has acquired the greatest number of Instagram followers out of all NBA players.
Not to mention that the three other Western Conference clubs still in the hunt are all coached by foreign players.
Edwards is also being compared to Michael Jordan, who is still regarded by many as the best basketball player of all time.
Despite the NBA having so much star power right now, the previous few seasons have had some of the lowest ratings—on par with that uncomfortable period between Jordan and James in the early 2000s.
Though the talent in the NBA is stronger than ever and the league has never been more open and worldwide, will the level of interest remain the same?
