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14.0k voters

The Best European NBA Players of All Time

Updated December 3, 2020 106.8k votes 14.0k voters 129.7k views146 items

List RulesVote up the greatest Europe-born players ever to play in the NBA

This list of European NBA players includes some of the games biggest basketball stars. From Tony Parker, Paul Gasol, Marc Gasol, and Dirk Nowitzki to Vlade Divac, Peja Stojakavic, and Hedo Turkoglu it is clear that the path to the NBA runs through Europe and sometimes even the EuroLeague. Some of the NBA greatest scorers and biggest stars are included in this list of the best NBA players born in Europe.

Many of these European NBA players also played in the NBA playoffs and some have even won NBA championships. Now it's your turn to vote for who you think are the greatest European basketball players of all time. If we missed any other foreign basketball players, feel free to add them to the list so that other basketball fans and Rankers can vote on them.

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5,000
1,705
Dražen Petrović
Portland Trail Blazers, Brooklyn Nets
Position: Shooting guard
Birthplace: Šibenik, Croatia
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#1 of 32 The Best NBA Shooting Guards of the 90s#3 of 143 Athletes Whose Careers Ended Too Soon
2
2,221
1,444
Toni Kukoč
Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers
Position: Small forward
Birthplace: Split, Croatia, Yugoslavia
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#45 of 78 The Best Philadelphia 76ers of All Time#13 of 22 The Best Small Forwards of the 90s
3
3,723
2,496
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Milwaukee Bucks
Position: Power forward
Birthplace: Athens, Greece
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#323 of 329 The Most Obnoxious Athletes#69 of 115 The Funniest Professional Athletes
4
2,658
1,769
Pau Gasol
Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Lakers
Position: Power forward, Center
Birthplace: Barcelona, Spain
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#412 of 583 The Greatest Entertainers of All Time#34 of 54 The Most Hated Active NBA Players
5
2,244
1,486
Arvydas Sabonis
Portland Trail Blazers
Position: Center
Birthplace: Kaunas, Lithuania
More Arvydas Sabonis
#10 of 30 The Best NBA Centers of the '90s#37 of 82 The Best Portland Trail Blazers of All Time
6
4,398
2,959
Dirk Nowitzki
Dallas Mavericks
Position: Power forward
Birthplace: Würzburg, Germany
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#2 of 56 People Who Should Be in the Basketball Hall of Fame#42 of 60 Famous Athletes Who Could Have Dominated a Second Sport
7
2,336
1,554
Tony Parker
San Antonio Spurs, Charlotte Hornets
Position: Point guard
Birthplace: Bruges, Belgium
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#1422 of 1,427 The Best Athletes Of All Time#21 of 150 The Greatest Point Guards in NBA History
8
1,590
1,049
Marc Gasol
Los Angeles Lakers
Position: Center
Birthplace: Barcelona, Spain
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#54 of 96 The Best Rebounders in NBA History#35 of 75 The Best Current NBA Defenders
9
1,373
893
Kristaps Porziņģis
Dallas Mavericks
Position: Power forward
Birthplace: Ventspils, Latvia
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#5 of 50 The Best NBA Centers Right Now#2 of 30 The Tallest NBA Players of All Time, Ranked
10
2,299
1,544
Nikola Jokić
Denver Nuggets
Position: Center
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#11 of 199 The All-Around Best Athletes of 2018#42 of 77 The Coolest NBA Players Right Now, Ranked
11
1,956
1,320
Peja Stojaković
Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings
Position: Small forward
Birthplace: Požega, Croatia
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#113 of 227 The Greatest Offensive Players in NBA History#8 of 52 The Best NBA Free-Throw Shooters Ever
12
1,517
1,013
Vlade Divac
Sacramento Kings, Charlotte Hornets
Position: Center
Birthplace: Prijepolje, Serbia
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#36 of 165 The Greatest NBA Centers of All Time#33 of 107 The Greatest Lakers of All Time
13
2,920
1,978
Luka Dončić
Dallas Mavericks
Position: Guard, Small forward
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#94 of 96 The Most Overrated Players In The NBA Today#12 of 76 The Best Point Guards Currently in the NBA

14
975
704
Rudy Gobert
Utah Jazz
Position: Center
Birthplace: Saint-Quentin, France
15
1,180
836
Goran Dragić
Miami Heat
Position: Point guard, Shooting guard, Guard
Birthplace: Ljubljana, Slovenia
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#75 of 102 The Most Likable Players In The NBA Today#32 of 107 The Best Foreign NBA Players of All Time
16
683
516
Detlef Schrempf
Dallas Mavericks, Indiana Pacers
Position: Small forward, Power forward
Birthplace: Leverkusen, Germany
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#181 of 258 The Top NBA Players Of All Time#27 of 232 The Best White Players in NBA History
17
575
420
Nikola Vučević
Orlando Magic
Position: Power forward, Center
Birthplace: Morges, Switzerland
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#5 of 74 The Best Orlando Magic of All Time#2 of 34 The Greatest USC Basketball Players of All Time
18
689
486
Bogdan Bogdanović
Atlanta Hawks
Position: Shooting guard, Small forward, Power forward
Birthplace: Belgrade, Serbia
19
506
380
Danilo Gallinari
Atlanta Hawks
Position: Small forward, Power forward
Birthplace: Sant'Angelo Lodigiano, Italy
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#57 of 90 The Best New York Knicks of All Time#16 of 70 The Best Los Angeles Clippers of All Time
20
833
730
Andrei Kirilenko
Utah Jazz
Position: Small forward, Power forward
Birthplace: Izhevsk, Russia
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#130 of 168 The Greatest Power Forwards in NBA History#89 of 126 The Best NBA Buys for the Money
21
628
512
Bojan Bogdanović
Utah Jazz
Position: Shooting guard, Small forward
Birthplace: Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
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#42 of 53 The Best Current Wing Players in the NBA#13 of 72 The Best Current NBA International Players
22
436
307
Boban Marjanović
Dallas Mavericks
Position: Center
Birthplace: Zaječar, Serbia
23
205
136
Pascal Siakam
Toronto Raptors
Position: Power forward
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#7 of 50 The Greatest African NBA Players of All Time#13 of 294 The Top 100+ NBA Players Today

24
765
690
Ricky Rubio
Phoenix Suns
Position: Point guard
Birthplace: El Masnou, Spain
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#45 of 71 The Best Sleeper Picks For Your Fantasy Basketball Team In 2019-2020#58 of 75 The Biggest Crybabies in Basketball
25
370
268
Jusuf Nurkić
Portland Trail Blazers
Position: Center
Birthplace: Živinice, Bosnia and Herzegovina
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#21 of 25 The Coolest Hairstyles In The NBA Today#35 of 36 Every Player Injured During The 2019-20 NBA Season (So Far)