In the spirit of the NBA's ever-increasing international flavour, for the second year in a row we take a look at 20 of the most interesting talents from around the world in the league for this year.
Not the 20 best, necessarily, but rather 20 who are simply most worth getting a look at. Somewhat in the same vein as the New York Times’ annual list of places in the world to visit, these are 20 players, not particularly in order, basketball fans should make the effort to get a glimpse of this season.
Rudy Gobert, France, Utah Jazz: Gobert is one of three players who return from last year's list – we tried to limit doing that, but it would have been impossible to leave out the "Stifle Tower". The 23-year-old is, without hyperbole, the most electrifying defensive talent to come along to the NBA in quite a few years. At 7ft 1in (2.16m), with a 7ft 8.5in wingspan, he has unparalleled length and blocked over three shots per 36 minutes through the last two years. He's quick on his feet and his instincts, anticipating opponent movements and rotations, are developing from an already very high baseline. Gobert is an explosive leaper, feeling his way along as a scoring talent and just might be the impetus behind a Utah play-offs run. He was an intriguing wild-card addition to this list year – this season he's the headliner.
Ricky Rubio, Spain, Minnesota Timberwolves: This might finally be a now-or-never moment for the creative 25-year-old point guard. Rather than consolidating the considerable gains from his 2013/14 season, last year, like his stuttering first two seasons in the league, was injury-hit. The talent is there – he's always been a terrific court visionary, and in limited time last year he had a career high 43.5 per cent assist rate. In 13/14 he started showing more of an ability to get to the hoop for points and his three-pointer improved. He's grown into a heady defender with the quickness and size, at 6ft 4in (1.93m), to be very good. A real star can emerge out of this package, but, as he told The National in Dubai in August, it's time "to start showing it now".
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Greece, Milwaukee Bucks: In a way, his great step forward last year could almost be considered enough of a breakout that he doesn't really need to be on this list again. But, plainly, there's just still so much more to potentially see out of the "Greek Freak". Born to Nigerian immigrants and just 20 years old, Antetokounmpo blossomed into a nightmarish wing defender last year, a Gobert-ian problem who can challenge outside and in. Offensively he practically gave up on the three, taking just 44 attempts total last year. If he can find a way to incorporate that into his explosive attacking skillset (he increased his field goal percentage from 41.4 to 49.1 last season) he can be one of the five or so most valuable superstars in basketball.
Jordan Clarkson, Philippines*, LA Lakers: Clarkson was born and grew up in the US, but he's going to play his senior international ball for the "Gilas Pilipinas" on account of his holding a Filipino passport through his half-Filipino mother. So we're cheating a little and counting him, in part for the interest in what he might do internationally, attempting to lead the basketball-mad Philippines to the 2016 Olympics at next July's qualifying tournament. Clarkson is a confident an improvisational playmaker, and the scoring outbursts he brought last year to the Lakers were one of the team's few bright spots. He's slithery getting to the hoop, his shot isn't terrible and man, he can jump – now he just needs to learn how to use his size (6ft 5in, 1.96m) to defend a bit.
Nikola Mirotic, Spain/Montenegro, Chicago Bulls: The last of our returning names from last year's list, Mirotic hasn't yet flashed the quality from range he was reputed to be coming over with from Real Madrid last year, but he was an oddly effective offensive contributor for Chicago, getting to the line, playing efficiently inside and hitting just enough of his many threes for it to all work. Will get a chance to grow a lot this year in a heavier role.
Kelly Olynyk, Canada, Boston Celtics: The gangly 7ft 0in (2.13m) 24-year-old looks awkward out there, but he can actually play quite a bit. He's shot 35 per cent from three, where he's growing more and more comfortable airing it out, the past two seasons. He's a good shot-blocker, moves the ball well in coach Brad Stevens's offence and more or less does just about everything pretty well and proves surprisingly fun to watch.
Mario Hezonja, Croatia, Orlando Magic: Maybe the most purely athletic player to come out of Europe yet, the fifth pick in this year's draft, standing 6ft 8in (2.03m), is strong, fast and jumps in a way that he can actually be fairly described as playing above the rim. He looks like he can shoot and defend, and as relevant as anything is his wildly entertaining self-confidence – the former Barcelona player once said he hadn't been to watch Lionel Messi play, but that Messi should come check him out.
Greivis Vasquez, Venezuela, Milwaukee Bucks: The veteran point guard has a sophisticated game, and will be worth observing as he plays a significant role in making sure the young and exciting Bucks maintain a functioning offence. He can drop a three and his playmaking, if grown a little conservative the past few years, is steady.
Timofey Mozgov, Russia, Cleveland Cavaliers: Kind of acts as LeBron's bodyguard in Cleveland, cleaning things up inside as an excellent rebounder and able defender. He'll be found for plenty of open dunks by James when the Cavaliers offence is in need of easy points and play an important role on one of the league's most important teams.
Marc Gasol, Spain, Memphis Grizzlies: Gasol is a silky smooth 7ft 1in centre, maybe the best passing big man in the game. He's got a soft touch around the basket, and defensively he's as solid as just about any of his peers at the position. He's a treat to watch because men built of that size simply aren't supposed to be able to play like that.
Thabo Sefolosha, Switzerland, Atlanta Hawks: Sefolosha – born to an artist and musician, speaker of three languages – is a solid defender and capable scorer who would have been a valuable part of the Hawks in the play-offs last year had he not suffered a fractured tibia in an altercation with police in New York City. Whether he can bring that dimension back to Atlanta will be important to the team.
Andrew Bogut, Australia, Golden State Warriors: Think of Bogut as a less graceful, more gregarious version of Gasol. His passing and footwork, along with the occasional finish, are critical to how the champions play, and his defensive anchoring inside is maybe without comparison around the league in terms of its singular importance to Golden State.
Emmanuel Mudiay, DR Congo, Denver Nuggets: Mudiay fascinatingly bypassed university to play in the Chinese Basketball Association last season, where he mostly held his own against seasoned professionals (though perhaps less talented players than he might find among some college opponents). His imposing size, 6ft 5in (1.96m), 200lb (90.72kg) make him tough to stop from driving to the hoop, and he showed good vision at times last year in China. Has star potential.
Andrew Wiggins, Canada, Minnesota Timberwolves: With an ability to streamline to the basket and hang above the air, he looks a lot like Michael Jordan did. That's not to say he might go on to be the best basketball player ever, but he looks at least like he'll be a really great scorer. His three-point shot needs to be developed and he's not yet an effective defender but fans are not without reason for being hyper-excited about this talent.
Walter Tavares, Cape Verde, Atlanta Hawks: The 7ft 3in (2.21m) 23-year-old, who comes from Spanish team Gran Canaria, will undoubtedly have some awkward moments figuring out how to deploy his frame against NBA-level opponents, but he can also use all that size to great effect in rebounding and defence, and he runs the floor well. Tavares is raw, but he makes for a heck of a blank canvass.
Pablo Prigioni, Argentina, LA Clippers: His old-man trickery should be seen and appreciated while it still can. Prigioni, 38, loves little fake-outs and misdirections, and while he won't see a ton of minutes for the Clippers, he will bring them some wily passing and playmaking smarts off the bench for a team looking for every little edge.
Alex Len, Ukraine, Phoenix Suns: A 22-year-old 7ft 1in centre, Len already plays pretty well defensively down low. From two seasons ago, he's managed to go from hopeless offensively to merely not-very-good. He'll get to learn from one of the game's great inside influencers and finishers, Tyson Chandler, this year on the Suns, and his growth in that department, if it reflects the major leaps forward from 2013/14 to last year, could be exciting.
Steven Adams, New Zealand, Oklahoma City Thunder: Adams will play a hidden and likely underappreciated role for the Thunder this year, with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and even Serge Ibaka understandably commanding attention. Adams, though, at 7ft 0in, 255lb (115.67kg) fills up a lot of space inside defensively next to a more traditional airspace deterrent like Ibaka, and the 22-year-old rebounds quite well. The Kiwi would probably hate to admit it, but his all-action, do-the-little-things game is reminiscent of Aussie Bogut's.
Kristaps Porzingis, Latvia, New York Knicks: The Latvian just turned 20, is 7ft 3in, supposedly can shoot from distance and is rail-thin. He's either the Knicks' next great hope or a future scapegoat. The strangeness of his skillset, the uncertainty surrounding it, his outsize importance after getting selected fourth in the draft, and the fact that it's New York all make him a fascinating character right from the get-go.
Al-Farouq Aminu, Nigeria*, Portland Trail Blazers: It feels like Aminu has been around forever, but the eighth pick of the 2010 draft, even after arriving at his fourth team this summer, is only 25. The small forward has grown into a pretty good defender, and thrived in a support role last year in Dallas. He's an active rebounder and has figured out how to pick and choose his opportunities inside – in Portland we'll see if he can do all that in a larger role again. He, like Clarkson, was born and raised in the US, but he's already played for Nigeria both at the Olympics and AfroBasket.
