‘A free ticket to travel’: the Americans forging basketball careers in Europe

How do American players forging careers abroad adapt to life in the European leagues, both on and off the court? The Guardian spoke to several who have played across the continent

On the opening night of the 1990-91 NBA season, there were just 21 international players on rosters across the league. By the time the 2021-22 season tipped-off, that number was 121 players representing 39 different countries.

Of that number, almost half are European, and as basketball has become America's global game in a way that its other traditional sports haven't, European players have steadily gained a foothold in the NBA and overcome long-held stereotypes of foreign born players as soft, slow and unathletic.