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2016 NBA Draft Sets Record for Most International Players Selected in 1st Round
June 24, 2016
Fifteen international players were among the first 30 picks in the 2016 NBA draft Thursday, which set a record for the most foreign-born prospects selected in the first round, per NetScouts Basketball's Carl Berman.
The previous record was 12, which was set in 2013, per NBA.com.
Two international players went within the first four picks.
The Philadelphia 76ers drafted Ben Simmons, a native of Melbourne, Australia, with the No. 1 pick, and the Phoenix Suns selected 18-year-old Croatian Dragan Bender at No. 4.
Here's a list of all 15 players born outside the U.S. to go in the first round:
| 2016 NBA Draft: 1st-Round International Players | |||
| Pick | Player | Country | Team |
| 1 | Ben Simmons, LSU | Australia | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 4 | Dragan Bender, Maccabi Tel Aviv | Croatia | Phoenix Suns |
| 6 | Buddy Hield, Oklahoma | Bahamas | New Orleans Pelicans |
| 7 | Jamal Murray, Kentucky | Canada | Denver Nuggets |
| 9 | Jakob Poeltl, Utah | Austria | Toronto Raptors |
| 10 | Thon Maker, Athlete Institute | Sudan | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 11 | Domantas Sabonis, Gonzaga | Lithuania | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| 13 | Georgios Papagiannis, Panathinaikos | Greece | Phoenix Suns |
| 15 | Juan Hernangomez, CB Estudiantes | Spain | Denver Nuggets |
| 16 | Guerschon Yabusele, Rouen | France | Boston Celtics |
| 23 | Ante Zizic, Cibona Zagreb | Croatia | Boston Celtics |
| 24 | Timothe Luwawu, Mega Leks | France | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 26 | Furkan Korkmaz, Anadolu Efes | Turkey | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 27 | Pascal Siakam, New Mexico State | Cameroon | Toronto Raptors |
| 28 | Skal Labissiere, Kentucky | Haiti | Phoenix Suns |
| Source: NBA.com | |||
The 76ers continued loading up on international prospects. In addition to Simmons, they selected Timothe Luwawu (France) at No. 24 and Furkan Korkmaz (Turkey) at No. 26. They will join Cameroon-born Joel Embiid, Canada-born Nik Stauskas and Croatia-born Dario Saric, a 22-year-old who has yet to move to the NBA.
Georgios Papagiannis was one of the more surprising international players to come off the board in the first round. The Suns snapped him up with the No. 13 pick, but Papagiannis will head to California instead, with the Sacramento Bee's Jason Jones confirming the Sacramento Kings acquired the 18-year-old Greek along with Haitian Skal Labissiere, Serbian Bogdan Bogdanovic and a second-round pick in 2020. The Suns received the rights to Marquese Chriss, per Jones.
Kings star DeMarcus Cousins appeared less than thrilled when Sacramento drafted Papagiannis:
With the NBA's profile continuing to grow overseas, the influx of international players is unlikely to subside anytime soon, and teams won't stop looking for the next Dirk Nowitzki, Kristaps Porzingis or Yao Ming.