The NBA has changed a lot over the course of its history. Initially, the league’s popularity was restricted only to the United States. But over the years that has changed as the NBA is now known in all corners of the world.
As a result, we have seen more and more amazing players play in the league that aren’t from the United States. Moreover, the said foreign players are now starting to prove their talents as they are constantly in the talks of winning the top accolades in the league.
The likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Luka Doncic and more are fan favorites. In fact, in the 2021-22 NBA season, the race to win the regular-season MVP award features Embiid and Jokic in a head-to-head race.
With the regular season almost over, it will be exciting to see which player will bag the MVP award. Anyway, Philadelphia 76ers Joel Embiid spoke about the rise of the foreign players in the league in a recent interview.
“I’m just happy that whether it’s guys like me, Pascal, or whatever – just taking advantage of this opportunity, and knowing that you guys have always had everything, and we didn’t. So, to me, it’s good to see when guys – you know, foreign guys – coming in here and showing them that basketball is bigger in America but you know it doesn’t have to be an American basketball player who’s the best. So it’s good.”
"Although basketball is bigger in America, it doesn't have to be an American basketball player who is the best."
–@JoelEmbiid pic.twitter.com/14wPHjOJsw
— Lauren Rosen (@LaurenMRosen) March 20, 2022
Embiid made a great point that the best players in the league aren’t all Americans right now. It is even more amazing to see Joel Embiid in the conversation about being the best player in the league. Embiid once revealed that he wasn’t even sure he had the potential to be in the NBA.
Well, as it turns out that he not only has the potential to be in the NBA, he has the potential to be considered one of the best. Maybe he will win an NBA Championship with the 76ers soon and his legacy in the league will become even greater.
