The NBA has been greatly influenced by foreign players, particularly in the last decade. In a basketball scoreboards feature, I have listed the players who have made the greatest impact on the game past and present.

Yao Ming – China
Yao Ming was first drafted by the Houston Rockets in 2002. He was the rookie of the year in 2003. In the first three years of his career this iconic giant lived up to the expectations and hype that his presence in the league created. He also increased interest in the league in Asia massively. However, currently he is stuck in the realm of injuries and he might even have to retire. He has missed large parts of the last few seasons and has played only five matches so far this season. He remains very popular among NBA fans all over the world, and we all hope that he can still recover from his endless injuries and put in a good run of games.

Steve Nash – Canada
Not many people know that Steve Nash is a foreigner. He was born in Canada and was first drafted in 1996 by the Phoenix Suns. He plays as a point guard for this team and has won and huge number of awards. He has been named the NBA MVP twice and has been part of the All-NBA First team seven times. The basketball scoreboards show that his incredible career stats are thus: 15,509 points, 3180 rebounds, 8868 assists and 803 steals.

Patrick Ewing – Jamaica
Patrick Ewing is a retired Jamaican NBA player. The New York Knicks drafted Ewing in 1985. He was one of the greatest players of his generation, and at the turn of the century, was named as one of the 50 best players in NBA history. After his retirement in 2003, the Knicks retired his number 33 jersey in a huge ceremony. He was one of only 10 players who have achieved 22,000 points and 10,000 rebounds in their career.

Dirk Nowitzki – Germany
Dirk was first drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in 1999. There is no doubt that he is an absolutely brilliant player. He is one of the more versatile players the NBA has ever seen. Many people argue that Dirk is the best foreign player ever to have played in the NBA and to an extent they are right. He is 32 now and still is playing a superb game. In his last few seasons in the league he will be desperate to win his first NBA championship.

Hakeem Olajuwon – Nigeria
He played for the Houston Rockets throughout his career except for the last couple of years where he played for the Toronto Raptors. He joined Patrick Ewing on the list of the 50 best players in NBA history. He holds the record for most blocks and ranks 3rd in blocks per game. In 2002 he announced retirement from the game and his jersey number 34 was retired by the Rockets after his retirement.

For more information, go to: nba.com