Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks have made history in the 2019 NBA Awards.
On Monday, Antetokounmpo and Doncic were named league MVP and Rookie of the Year, respectively. Per ESPN Stats & Info, this is the second time that the MVP and ROY were both born outside the US.
The first time that his occurred was in 2002, when Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs was named MVP and Pau Gasol, then of the Memphis Grizzlies, was named ROY.
The Rookie of the Year (@luka7doncic), Defensive Player of the Year (@rudygobert27), Most Improved Player (@pskills43) and MVP (@Giannis_An34) were all born outside of the USA.
2nd time the MVP & ROY were both born outside the 50 U.S. states (Tim Duncan and Pau Gasol in 2001-02)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 25, 2019
The milestone proves that the NBA continues to stretch its borders all over the world. Prior to the start of the 2018-2019 season, the NBA announced that its teams had a total of 108 players from 42 countries and territories. The record for most international players is at 113, which was set at the beginning of the 2016-2017 season.
In addition, the opening night rosters featured a total of 65 European players, an NBA record. In terms of countries, the most-represented nations were Canada (11 players), Australia (a record nine players), France (nine), Spain (seven), and Germany (a record six players), followed by Croatia, Serbia, and Turkey who had five players each.
Indeed, the best basketball league in the world is in search of talents all over the globe. Who will be next in line behind Antetokounmpo and Doncic?
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