ESPN's latest NBA rankings exemplify international players' dominance

Americans invented basketball, but the rest of the world successfully caught on.

ESPN did not include any Americans in the top five of its NBA Rank 2025, which ranked the best 100 players in the league entering the 2025-26 season. The list was topped by Nikola Jokic (Serbia), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada), Luka Doncic (Slovenia), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) and Victor Wembanyama (France), with Anthony Edwards the top-ranked American at No. 6.

Last year, Celtics star Jayson Tatum was the lone American in the top five, but he was omitted from this year's list because of his Achilles injury that could keep him out most of the season.

No American has won NBA MVP since 2018

ESPN's rankings aren't exactly surprising, given that no American has captured the Michael Jordan Trophy since James Harden in 2018. Since then, Antetokounmpo and Jokic have combined for five MVP honors, while Joel Embiid (Cameroon) and Gilgeous-Alexander have captured one apiece.

That trend is expected to continue this season, with Jokic, SGA and Doncic receiving the shortest odds to win the MVP, per BetMGM.

While it has become a norm for non-Americans to win the NBA's most coveted individual award, it was a rarity in past decades. Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria) became the first international player to win the MVP in 1994, blazing the trail for others like Steve Nash (Canada) and Dirk Nowitzki (Germany) to follow suit in the 21st century.

Could Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards snap the streak?

Many believe Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards could be the one to snap the eight-year streak of Americans not winning the MVP award. Last season, he finished tied for seventh in MVP voting for averaging a career-high 27.6 points and guiding the Timberwolves to 49 wins.

Others in the running include blossoming Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham, New York Knicks captain Jalen Brunson and Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero. It's hard to foresee veterans LeBron James (40 years old), Stephen Curry (37) or Kevin Durant (35) winning the hardware ever again, and the same goes for the likes of Anthony Davis (32), Devin Booker (28) and Donovan Mitchell (29) who have likely already hit their ceilings. 

As the careers of James, Curry and Durant wind down, it shouldn't surprise anyone if only a handful of Americans remain in the conversation for top-10 players in the world in a few years. That's because Alperen Sengun (Turkey), Franz Wagner (Germany), Deni Avdija (Israel) and countless others are ascending very quickly.