While NFL fans might argue this point, there’s a pretty strong argument that basketball is America’s greatest sporting export. Sure, people might tune in to the Super Bowl in their millions, but the bulk of this audience stems from the US.
However, basketball has flourished in other parts of the globe. This is exemplified by the incredible European talent currently flourishing in the league – with the likes of Victor “Wemby” Wembanyama set to become basketball’s next megastar.
Early days
In the late 19th century, Professor James Naismith devised basketball in its most primitive form. However, the game has come a long way since he first came up with the idea of putting up nets, with players having to throw the ball into the net to score points. His initial, rudimentary game soon picked up pace, and more schools and colleges were keen to bring it to their campuses.
Within a decade, the game was spreading across the US. Naismith designed college basketball leagues, which proved to be a huge hit, and high schools all over the US implemented the game as part of their physical education programs.
By the early 1930s, the popularity of basketball around the globe was spreading like wildfire. Other countries were keen to get on board with this intriguing new game. FIBA was formed in 1932, with several European countries joining its ranks, including Latvia, Italy and Portugal. South American teams like Argentina also threw their hats into the mix.
FIBA did not allow players from the NBA to compete for decades, meaning that the countries that formed FIBA and those that joined later, including Brazil and Australia, were competitive against the US. However, once this rule was abolished, the US teams took over and displayed the dominance we see every four years at the Olympics.
The development of the NBA
America’s premier basketball league has been integral to the sport’s growth internationally. Although many countries had established professional basketball teams, the players simply did not get the recognition or money offered by the NBA. However, this was not the case in the early days of the NBA.
By the 1960s, the NBA had grown in popularity, to the extent that some of the top athletes in the sport were earning upwards of $100,000 per season. You may be thinking that doesn’t sound like much in comparison to the wages of some of the top players today, but when adjusted for inflation, these were multimillion-dollar salaries.
As superstars like Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan smashed through these records, both earning seven-figure salaries in the 1990s, it highlighted just how extensive the NBA was and how much money it generated. Basketball fans worldwide viewed America as the number one destination, which is still the case today, with players from all over the globe aspiring to join the NBA.
Although the NBA has struggled recently on a domestic level, internationally it has never been more popular. Its ability to continue using modern technology, including its season pass, which is available for overseas viewers, has helped the NBA stay relevant and revered throughout the sporting world.
A truly global league
It’s not just that the NBA has been able to maintain itself as the top basketball league on the planet and adapt to modern technology; there has also been an obvious upswing in the number of overseas players who have taken the league by storm.
In the early 21st century, players such as Yao Ming were an anomaly. The league was still dominated by American talent. While this was ideal for an American sporting audience, some elements of the league felt distant from a global audience at this time.
In 2025, however, it’s an entirely different story. A cluster of the league’s best players has emerged from other continents, including Luka Dončić and Giannis Antetokounmpo, and as we mentioned in our introduction, Wembanyama.
While basketball has maintained steady popularity worldwide since the middle of the last century, it wasn’t until very recently that the top players in the NBA reflected a truly global league. This has helped propel the league in the eyes of an overseas audience and influence new generations from the countries that have produced these top stars.
Final thoughts
As you can see from what we have covered today, although the US was the pioneer behind the game and continues to be the home of world-class basketball, it has adapted and molded itself into a truly global brand.
While the NFL and MLB host some international talent, no other league within the US has been inundated with such overseas skill.
In the modern era, there has been a considerable increase in the number of world-class basketball players throughout Eastern Europe, Greece and South American countries like Argentina. Although basketball might not have found an audience of billions like cricket or soccer, that doesn’t mean its history is any less decorated or fascinating.
