Nearly one year ago, we revealed our all-time NBA starting lineups made up of players from each continent around the world. With 125 international players from 40 different countries on NBA rosters this season, it was time to introduce the best lineups from each continent using only players who were rostered for the 2023-24 season.
Using players from every country represented in the NBA this year, we will use only players who were born on a specific continent or participate in international competition for a country from a certain continent in these starting fives. For example, Kyrie Irving was born in Australia but plays for Team USA in international competitions. Therefore, he is only eligible for the North American team in today’s format. We will analyze and critique each lineup, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses as well as how each continent’s lineup would perform against the others.
These are the best starting fives from every continent, the 2023-24 edition.
2023-24 North American Starting Five
Lineup: Stephen Curry, Devin Booker, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid
Well, we kick things off with the early favorite as the best lineup created today and the All-North American team. This lineup is full of superstar veterans who have already committed to Team USA for the 2024 Olympics next summer, gearing up for one last run at world domination.
The backcourt of Stephen Curry and Devin Booker gives the All-North American team explosive offensive firepower right out of the gates. Curry is currently proving why he is the greatest shooter in the world and one of the greatest point guards to ever play the game, averaging 30.7 points per game on 48/44/93 shooting splits. Meanwhile, Devin Booker has been sidelined due to injury to start the 2023-24 season but is still the best shooting guard in basketball, a three-level scoring threat, and an underrated playmaker who makes any offense he is a part of a serious problem.
The onslaught of elite play doesn’t stop there for the All-North American team. Even at age 38, LeBron James is among the 10 best players in the game today, averaging 24.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists on 56.7% shooting. James’ leadership and IQ have carried the Lakers through significant injuries and deprivation of their roster. Alongside one of the greatest scorers ever, Kevin Durant, James can take a step back and pick apart opponents as a playmaker and passer.
Durant gives the All-North American squad yet another scoring option who is as efficient as any player ever has been. Whether attacking the mid-range or finding his groove from three, Durant and Curry together again with James’ playmaking is a deadly offense. Then, Team USA received a gift this past summer when Joel Embiid stated he would also like to play for Team USA next summer, making him eligible to be a part of this All-North American lineup.
Embiid is the perfect conclusion to this lineup as a scorer, rebounder, and interior defender. Embiid is going to dominate the interior against the bigs around the world with his versatile offensive style and instinctive defensive play. The reigning MVP is currently averaging 33.1 points, 11.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 1.9 blocks per game on 50.5% shooting through nine games this season. The All-North American starting five is officially the team to beat for now.
2023-24 South American Starting Five
Lineup: N/A
One of the biggest surprises of today’s lineups is the absence of any players from South America on an NBA roster right now. As recently as 2022-23, there were a few players from South American countries on rosters but that number has dwindled to none to start the 2023-24 season.
Players such as Raul Neto of Brazil as well as Facundo Campazzo and Leandro Bolmaro from Argentina are examples of South American players who held roster spots last season but remain free agents to begin the 2023-24 campaign. Unfortunately, due to this detail, there will be no lineup to represent the continent of South America.
2023-24 All-African Starting Five
Lineup: Josh Okogie, Jonathan Kuminga, Pascal Siakam, Precious Achiuwa, Bismack Biyombo
The next continent we travel to on this list of the best 2023-24 starting fives from around the world is Africa. With a much bigger representation in the NBA over the years, the All-African team has presented a solid lineup that may not win but will compete at an elite level in every matchup they have.
We start with the backcourt of Phoenix Suns guard Josh Okogie of Nigeria and Golden State’s Jonathan Kuminga of The Democratic Republic Of Congo. Kuminga is in his third year with the Warriors and has gotten off to his best start yet with 11 appearances and six starts averaging 11.5 points per game on 39.6% shooting. Okogie has been getting his fair share of play in Phoenix also with 10 games played and six starts. Okogie has stepped up big for the Suns at times and is averaging 7.6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
The main attraction for the All-African lineup is going to be forward Pascal Siakam. The former All-Star and All-NBA Team selection is one of the premier African basketball players in the NBA and among the elite at the forward spot. Siakam gives this lineup the shot creator and scorer they need as well as another well-rounded playmaker to run the offense through.
This leaves the All-African lineup with a frontcourt of Precious Achiuwa and Bismack Biyombo. Both of these players’ athleticism and length will be their greatest attributes. Achiuwa is averaging 6.8 points and 6.6 rebounds through five games for the Raptors while Biyombo is averaging 7.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks through six games with the Grizzlies in 2023-24. This frontcourt is formidable enough to go toe-to-toe with any lineup before us today.
2023-24 All-European Starting Five
Lineup: Luka Doncic, Franz Wagner, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokic
The presentation of the All-European lineup will easily be the North American team’s biggest threat. Three members of this lineup are consensus top-10 players in the NBA in 2023-24 and may even all be in the top five. We also add in the early favorite for the 2024 Rookie of the Year award and one of the best up-and-coming stars in the NBA today for the Orlando Magic.
We start in the backcourt with early-season MVP candidate, Luka Doncic. Through 11 games, Doncic has led the Mavericks to an 8-3 record while showcasing his all-around talent for the world to see. He is currently averaging 31.1 points per game, which leads the NBA as well as 7.8 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game. Joining Doncic in the backcourt is rising star Franz Wagner, leader of the youth movement in Orlando for the Magic. Wager gives the All-Europe lineup another perimeter scorer with 18.8 points per game on 41.8% shooting this season.
The front line of the All-European lineup is where they take the serious upper hand against any opponent before them. We start with one of the best two-way players in the game today, Giannis Antetokounmpo, getting the nod at small forward. Antetokounmpo will be the anchor of this lineup’s defense as well as a dominant inside scorer next to Victor Wembanyama, who can spread the floor.
Wembanyama and reigning Finals MVP Nikola Jokic make up this team’s frontcourt. The mix of Wembanyama’s scoring/finishing ability and Jokic’s elite playmaking make this All-European lineup almost impossible to defend. When you add in Wembanyama and Antetokounmpo’s defensive ability with Jokic and Doncic’s control of the game, this lineup could produce 145 points while only relinquishing 100.
2023-24 All-Asian Starting Five
Lineup: Cam Thomas, Jordan Clarkson, Yuta Watanabe, Rui Hachimura
The next continent on our list is the continent of Asia which has just four players on NBA rosters for the 2023-24 season. With these four players, the All-Asian lineup falls short of the other starting fives of course but has its share of bucket-getters that deserve recognition.
Cam Thomas of the Brooklyn Nets was born in 2001 and is one of three Japanese-born players representing the Land of the Rising Sun on the All-Asia squad. Thomas has shown signs of being an offensive juggernaut for Brooklyn over the last two seasons but has broken out in a way that he needed to be unleashed early this season. In eight games in 2023-24, Thomas is averaging 26.9 points per game on 47.9% overall from the field and 32.1% from three.
Joining Thomas, and the lone players from outside Japan on Team Asia, is Jordan Clarkson representing the Philippines. After playing for the country in this past summer’s FIBA World Cup, Clarkson gets the spot on the All-Asian starting lineup. The 2021 Sixth Man of the Year gives Asia yet another scorer from three levels who can create on his own. Through 10 starts in 2023-24, Clarkson is averaging 17.7 points and 4.7 assists per game on 42.1% shooting.
Rounding out the All-Asia starting five is Yuta Watanabe and Rui Hachimura both hailing from Japan. Watanabe is a solid three-point shooter who can eat up minutes for this lineup in any role that is asked of him. In 10 games off the bench in 2023-24 for the Suns, he is averaging 5.8 points per game while knocking down 37.8% of his three-point attempts. Rui Hachimura is Asia’s best two-way threat and will be the anchor of their defensive attack. Just as he has been for the Lakers since 2022-23, Hachimura will be tasked with taking on difficult defensive matchups and trying to keep an already short-handed lineup afloat.
2023-24 All-Oceanian Starting Five
Lineup: Josh Giddey, Ben Simmons, Josh Green, Joe Ingles, Jock Landale
The sixth and final lineup we will present here today is the team that will make up the All-Oceanian starting five. This lineup made up of players all hailing from Australia is sneaky and athletic in its own right, and will certainly compete at a high level against every other lineup constructed here today.
In the backcourt, we get this lineup started with Josh Giddey and Ben Simmons. Giddey has become a Swiss Army knife of sorts on the court for the Oklahoma City Thunder, doing whatever it takes to win and at any cost. Giddey is currently helping the Thunder start their 2023-24 season 6-4 through 11 games, averaging 12.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. Ben Simmons joins him in the backcourt as another playmaker and perimeter defender, versatile enough to take on multiple challenges defensively while leading an offense as a passer and creator.
Joining these two in the All-Oceanian starting five will be Josh Green, Joe Ingles, and Jock Landale. Despite their low production thus far in 2023-24 for their respective team, a joint effort from these three makes the All-Oceania lineup one of the top lineups on our list. Josh Green is a young fourth-year guard/forward who can be a scorer from nearly all three levels on the court. Ingles shoots well from the outside but is a liability on defense which will be a team weakness for this lineup.
Finally, Jock Landale fresh off a nice contract signing with the Houston Rockets completes this lineup as the only true big man they have. Landale has barely seen the court in his third season with his third different team but provides athleticism and physicality from the center position they will need to be able to compete.
