The NBA’s on-court makeup is increasingly reflecting its expanding global footprint.

As the 2023-24 season tips off on Tuesday, the league said that opening-night rosters feature a record 125 international players spanning 40 countries and territories on six continents. At least 100 international players have filled opening-night rosters each of the last 10 seasons. 

All 30 NBA teams have at least one foreign-born player, and the current player total tops the prior record of 121 seen in both the 2017-18 and 2021-22 seasons.

But not only is the NBA’s international talent pool growing in size, it also reflects much of the league’s top talent. Three international players — Philadelphia Joel Embiid, Denver’s Nikola Jokić, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo — have won the last five MVP awards and two of the last three NBA Finals MVP awards, while 15 current international players have been All-Stars.

Canada is the most represented non-U.S. country with 26 players, followed by France’s 14 — including San Antonio rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama — and Australia’s nine.

Games Outside The U.S.

That expanding player base dovetails with expanding business activity for the league around the world, including broadcasting of its games in 214 countries and territories, recent preseason games staged in the United Arab Emirates, and planned regular-season games this season in Mexico and France.

FC Barcelona’s financial troubles continue to pile up, despite its continued status as one of the most popular and winningest teams in European soccer.

At the club’s annual general meeting, the reigning La Liga champions announced a debt of $1.3 billion, not including financing costs for the ongoing renovation of the Spotify Camp Nou stadium. Those latter costs haven’t been disclosed, but are likely to add another $1.6 billion in debt. Barca also sustained an operating loss of $212 million for the 2022-23 season. 

But Barcelona president Joan Laporta said the club was in an even worse state three years ago, and that the financial outlook has since improved with asset sales, including 25% of its television rights for the next 25 years to U.S.-based investor Sixth Street. Those sales allowed Barcelona to post a net profit of $322 million for last season.

“In any private company, they would have started with bankruptcy proceedings,” Laporta said. “We made brave decisions, and we saved the club from tragedy.”

Still, Laporta was grilled at the recent annual meeting about the nearly $3 billion in club debt, while an approved budget for the 2023-24 season calling for less than $12 million in after-tax profit leaves little room for error.

Legal Concerns

Laporta also denied recent bribery and corruption charges that he and other club officials will face in Spanish court amid a scandal involving referee Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira. 

“They will find nothing because there is nothing,” he said.

NBA superstar Kevin Durant is one of the most prolific and successful investors of any pro athlete, building a portfolio through his Thirty Five Ventures that includes stakes in MLS team Philadelphia Union, the Premier Lacrosse League, Athletes Unlimited, Major League Pickleball, the Boardroom media network, and dozens of other entities.

But even he isn’t immune to the downturn in special-purpose acquisition companies. 

Infinite Acquisition Corp. — the SPAC Durant and his business manager Rich Kleiman formed in late 2021 — initially raised $276 million amid the initial fervor for blank-check companies. But unable to find an acquisition target within the standard, two-year window for SPACs, Durant and Kleiman will now liquidate the operation and return the raised money to investors at a roughly 7.8% return. 

The Durant-led SPAC had been seeking “technology-enabled platforms disrupting the traditional worlds of sports, health, wellness, food, commerce, and culture through their unique relationship with the consumer.”

In 2021, nearly 200 SPACs either sought a sports-related business or were led by an athlete, team owner, or other notable sports industry figure. Most of those have since shuttered, as less than 20% managed to find successful deals.

Another recent setback was digital entertainment and esports brand FaZe Clan, which is being purchased by the Jerry Jones-backed GameSquare in a deal valuing the company at just $16 million — a mere fraction of the $725 million valuation at the time of the original SPAC pact.

Still, the SPAC market has generated some notable sports-related successes, with DraftKings, Vivid Seats, and Genius Sports each becoming public companies.