The Nba Playoffs Will, Once Again, Be An International Showcase Of Stars

They'll be watching in Canada, not just because of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, though the NBA's scoring champion and MVP favorite who plays for Oklahoma City surely helps lure in fans who are north of the border.

They'll be watching from Serbia and Greece, the homelands of Denver star Nikola Jokic and Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo. Alperen Sengun will have them watching Houston games in the middle of the night in Turkey, too. Fans in Cameroon will be tuned in to see Pascal Siakam and the Indiana Pacers. Defending champion Boston features, among others, Kristaps Porzingis of Latvia and Al Horford of the Dominican Republic.

Once again, the NBA playoffs are setting up to be a showcase for international stars.

In a season where the five statistical champions were from five different countries, an NBA first - Gilgeous-Alexander is Canadian, rebounding champion Domantas Sabonis of Sacramento is from Lithuania, blocked shots champion Victor Wembanyama of San Antonio is from France, steals champion Dyson Daniels of Atlanta is from Australia, and assists champion Trae Young of the Hawks is from the U.S. - the postseason will have plenty of international feel as well. Gilgeous-Alexander is in, while Sabonis and Daniels along with Young, obviously could join him if their teams get through the play-in tournament.

"We have a tremendous number of international players in this league," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said earlier this season. "It's roughly 30 of our players representing, at least on opening day, 43 different countries, so there's much more of a global sense around our teams."