Top 10 European Basketball Players in NBA History

(last updated on October 8, 2025)

The game of basketball is becoming increasingly international, as reflected by the best professional league in the world … the NBA. Some of the best European players today are some of the best players in the league, and the top picks from some recent drafts were French phenom Victor Wembanyama (2023) and Spaniard Zaccharie Risacher (2024). As the game spreads across the Atlantic and around the world, let’s look at the greatest European players to play in the NBA.  

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Without question, the greatest basketball player ever from Germany, Dirk Nowitzki, is easily one of the greatest European basketball players of all time. Spending his entire 21-year career with the Dallas Mavericks, the 2006-07 MVP averaged 20.7 points per game on a .471 field-goal percentage for his career. His 1,982 career threes place him 20th all time and first among seven-footers. Moreover, Dirk’s 31,560 points place him sixth all time, just ahead of Wilt Chamberlain. The 14-time All-Star won his first and only NBA championship in 2011 (Finals MVP). He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023.

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Fresh off another top-2 or better MVP finish in the 2024-25 season, Denver Nuggets center and Serbian national Nikola Jokic has already cemented his place as one of the top European NBA players ever. The 2023 Finals MVP, three-time MVP and seven-time All-NBA center slipped to the second round of the 2014 NBA draft, where Denver selected him 41st overall.

A triple-double machine, his 164 triple-doubles currently place him third all time. In 2024-25, Jokic averaged a triple-double for the season … 29.6 points, 10.2 assists and 12.7 boards per game. Not bad for a man who admits he prefers spending time with his horses than playing basketball. 

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Known as much for his on-court size, speed, strength and skill as his off-court smile and joyful demeanor, The Greek Freak is one of the biggest superstars in the NBA today and one of the best European basketball players ever. Born in Athens to Nigerian immigrant parents, few players embody the international spirit of the modern game. Over his 12 seasons in the league, Giannis has won two MVPs, nine All-NBA honors, a Finals MVP and is the only player in league history to average per game at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, one block and one steal in multiple seasons, a feat he has accomplished five times.

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One third of the San Antonio Spurs’ Big Three during their dynastic run in the early part of this century, Tony Parker is one of the greatest European basketball players and like Dirk Nowitzki, one of the best European NBA players of the aughts. Born in Brussels to an American father and Dutch mother, Parker was raised in France. Drafted by the Spurs 28th overall in 2001, Parker would play 17 of his 18 NBA seasons with the organization where he saw enormous success. Parker won four championships with San Antonio and was named the 2007 Finals MVP. He made six All-Star teams and four All-NBA honors. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023. It’s safe to say fellow Frenchman and Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama has big shoes to fill as another aspiring top European NBA player for the Spurs. 

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A 6’7” point guard out of Slovenia, Luka Doncic has already established himself as one of the greatest European basketball players ever in just seven seasons. Before wowing NBA audiences nightly with “Luka Magic,” Doncic was a teenage star with Spanish and European power Real Madrid, leading the club to a EuroLeague championship in 2017-18. With the Dallas Mavericks he was named Rookie of the Year for the 2018-19 campaign and made five All-Star teams so far, with many more surely to come. In 2024-25, he got the Mavs to the Finals for the first time since 2011. His 82 career triple-doubles place him seventh all time and second among European players. After a shocking trade to the Lakers in February 2025, this star has a shot to bring glory back to LA.

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Yet another player on this list of the best European basketball players who was a member of the Springfield class of 2023, Pau Gasol is easily one of the top European NBA players to play in the league. The Barcelona-born big man spent 18 years total in the league playing for five teams, most notably the Memphis Grizzlies and the Los Angeles Lakers. He was the first non-American to win Rookie of the Year in 2001-02 and won back-to-back championships with the Lakers in 2009 and 2010. In his career he averaged 17.2 points per game, 9.2 rebounds per game, 1.6 blocks per game and shot .507 from the field. 

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Shooting .401 from three over the course of his 13-year career, Peja Stojakovic can rightly be considered one of the best European NBA players in league history. Stojakovic was a three-time All-Star and made All-NBA in the 2003-04 season with the Sacramento Kings. His 1,760 career threes are 32nd in league history and second among European players only behind Dirk Nowitzki. 

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The younger brother of Spanish legend Pau Gasol was one of the best European NBA players in his own right. He spent 13 seasons in the NBA, 11 with the same franchise his brother started his career, the Memphis Grizzlies. While his time with Memphis saw limited playoff success, he was traded to the Toronto Raptors in February 2019 and won an NBA title with the team later that year. Gasol was a three-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA player. He won Defensive Player of the Year for the 2012-13 season after averaging 5.5 defensive rebounds, one steal and 1.7 blocks per game. Gasol is no longer in the NBA but still playing professional basketball in his home country of Spain.

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Before there was Dirk, there was Detlef. The West German-born forward was one of the first European stars and was the first European player selected to the All-Star Game. One of the top European NBA players of the 80s and 90s, Schrempf spent 16 years in the association, most notably with the Indiana Pacers and Seattle SuperSonics. He won All-NBA honors in the 1994-95 season after averaging 19.2 points per game shooting .523 from the floor.

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7”1’ center Vlade Divac is considered one of the greatest players from eastern Europe and one of the best European NBA players in general. Like fellow Serb Nikola Jokic, Divac was known for his passing skills and ability to stretch the floor with perimeter shooting at a time when traditional big men were still dominant. Divac was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019. 

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 29th, 2023 at 3:40 pm and is filed under Top 10 Lists. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.