Explore an interactive map that showcases the hometowns of all current NBA players, offering a unique window into the global distribution of talent. By organizing teams into geographic regions, this guide reveals which areas of the world are most prolific in producing NBA talent. Dive deeper into this comprehensive exploration to uncover the extensive global influence on the NBA.
*The map above shows where every NBA player is from and highlight's each region with more than 2 players.
Which region produces the best NBA talent? In order to answer that we have split the players into different teams based on where they are from and quantified their team strength using each player's Crafted Wins Above Replacement metric. To create the regions, we started with a map from the Washington Post, that divided the USA into 50 regions based on the main city/cities "gravitational pull". We then split up the foreign players into teams based on their regions. Click on a team's name to see it's players.
*population = the region's population, in millions
*ppc = the number of NBA player per capita (per million residents)
*warp = the combined wins above replacement player of the players from this region
*quality = the team's combined WARP divided by their population
| # | Team | Players | Population | PPC | WARP | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Western Europe | 27 | 170.7 | 0.16 | 31.1 | 0.18 |
| 2 | LA | 25 | 21.4 | 1.17 | 36.9 | 1.72 |
| 3 | NYC | 22 | 21.6 | 1.02 | 33.2 | 1.54 |
| 4 | Dallas/Fort Worth | 21 | 9.3 | 2.26 | 40.4 | 4.34 |
| 5 | Atlanta | 19 | 9.1 | 2.09 | 29.9 | 3.29 |
| 6 | DC/Baltimore | 18 | 10.7 | 1.68 | 26.6 | 2.49 |
| 7 | Chicago | 17 | 10.4 | 1.63 | 11.6 | 1.12 |
| 8 | Toronto | 17 | 11.2 | 1.52 | 28.5 | 2.54 |
| 9 | Philadelphia | 13 | 10.5 | 1.24 | 22.9 | 2.18 |
| 10 | Charlotte | 13 | 6.9 | 1.88 | 6 | 0.87 |
| 11 | Detroit/Toledo | 13 | 9.4 | 1.38 | 13.5 | 1.44 |
| 12 | Indianapolis | 13 | 5.5 | 2.36 | 11.2 | 2.04 |
| 13 | Memphis/Little Rock | 12 | 4.7 | 2.55 | 15.8 | 3.36 |
| 14 | Oceania | 12 | 25.9 | 0.46 | 10.7 | 0.41 |
| 15 | Bay Area | 12 | 13.4 | 0.90 | 15.5 | 1.16 |
| 16 | Central Europe | 11 | 160.4 | 0.07 | 9.1 | 0.06 |
| 17 | Seattle | 11 | 5.6 | 1.96 | 13.3 | 2.38 |
| 18 | Twin Cities | 10 | 6.5 | 1.54 | 11.8 | 1.82 |
| 19 | Central Florida | 10 | 13.3 | 0.75 | 7.6 | 0.57 |
| 20 | Raleigh/Greensboro | 10 | 7.9 | 1.27 | 18.8 | 2.38 |
| 21 | Former Yugoslavia | 10 | 22.1 | 0.45 | 26.3 | 1.19 |
| 22 | Cleveland | 9 | 4 | 2.25 | 6 | 1.50 |
| 23 | San Antonio/Austin | 9 | 6.5 | 1.38 | 10.5 | 1.62 |
| 24 | West Africa | 8 | 446.1 | 0.02 | 11.3 | 0.03 |
| 25 | Milwaukee/Madison | 8 | 4.9 | 1.63 | 18.7 | 3.82 |
| 26 | Phoenix | 8 | 7.3 | 1.10 | 5 | 0.68 |
| 27 | Charleston/Savannah | 8 | 3.9 | 2.05 | 7.5 | 1.92 |
| 28 | St. Louis | 8 | 4.7 | 1.70 | 11.5 | 2.45 |
| 29 | Miami | 8 | 7.5 | 1.07 | 10.7 | 1.43 |
| 30 | Kansas City | 7 | 4.2 | 1.67 | 7 | 1.67 |
| 31 | Cincy/Columbus | 7 | 7.9 | 0.89 | 3.7 | 0.47 |
| 32 | Houston | 7 | 8.5 | 0.82 | 11.3 | 1.33 |
| 33 | Baltics/Scandinavia | 7 | 0 | 7.00 | 8.4 | Infinity |
| 34 | New England | 6 | 9.5 | 0.63 | 4.9 | 0.52 |
| 35 | Corn Belt | 6 | 4.1 | 1.46 | 6.5 | 1.59 |
| 36 | Deep South | 6 | 6.2 | 0.97 | 3.2 | 0.52 |
| 37 | NOLA/Delta | 6 | 8.2 | 0.73 | 5.4 | 0.66 |
| 38 | The Islands | 5 | 35.5 | 0.14 | 5 | 0.14 |
| 39 | Richmond/Tidewater | 5 | 4.1 | 1.22 | 5.4 | 1.32 |
| 40 | Upstate NY | 5 | 6.2 | 0.81 | 3.6 | 0.58 |
| 41 | Nashville | 4 | 3.2 | 1.25 | 4.3 | 1.34 |
| 42 | Turkey/Caucasus | 4 | 94.4 | 0.04 | 8.4 | 0.09 |
| 43 | Portland | 4 | 4.7 | 0.85 | 7.6 | 1.62 |
| 44 | Southern Europe | 4 | 73.1 | 0.05 | 6 | 0.08 |
| 45 | Montreal | 4 | 9 | 0.44 | 2.2 | 0.24 |
| 46 | Central Africa | 4 | 135.7 | 0.03 | 0.6 | 0.00 |
| 47 | Denver/Front Range | 4 | 5.8 | 0.69 | 8.4 | 1.45 |
| 48 | Pittsburgh | 3 | 4.7 | 0.64 | 3 | 0.64 |
| 49 | Connecticut Valley | 3 | 4.1 | 0.73 | 8.2 | 2.00 |
| 50 | Louisville | 3 | 4.3 | 0.70 | 4.4 | 1.02 |
| 51 | San Diego | 3 | 3.8 | 0.79 | 8 | 2.11 |
| 52 | Las Vegas | 3 | 3.3 | 0.91 | 0.2 | 0.06 |
| 53 | OKC/Tulsa | 3 | 5.9 | 0.51 | 0.6 | 0.10 |
| 54 | Iberian Peninsula | 3 | 66.2 | 0.05 | 6.6 | 0.10 |
| 55 | Levant | 2 | 44.3 | 0.05 | 3.5 | 0.08 |
| 56 | Japan | 2 | 125.8 | 0.02 | 1 | 0.01 |
| 57 | Utah | 2 | 2.7 | 0.74 | 2.4 | 0.89 |
| 58 | Eastern Europe | 2 | 157.4 | 0.01 | 0.5 | 0.00 |
| 59 | Brazil | 1 | 212.6 | 0.00 | 1.8 | 0.01 |
| 60 | China | 1 | 0 | 1.00 | -0.1 | -Infinity |
| 61 | Russia | 1 | 0 | 1.00 | 1.1 | Infinity |