# @_sportsball on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DFF3o-ZPjiB
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/29985001-sportsball-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/2870b27bf2.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-01-21T14:54:04.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** SportsBall (@_sportsball) — https://gondola.cc/_sportsball

## Caption

There’s a new sheriff in town, and it’s clear the NBA’s international stars aren’t just visiting—they’re here to stay. Over the past six years, international players have dominated the MVP race, winning the award every single year. 👑 Last year alone international players garnered 90.4% of MVP votes, a record that may soon be broken again…

This shift marks the third major wave of international talent taking over the league:

Wave 1: Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon 🇳🇬 carried the international torch solo in the early 90’s, winning MVP in 1994 with 34% of the vote share.

Wave 2 (early 2000’s): A dynamic duo—Steve Nash 🇨🇦 and Dirk Nowitzki 🇩🇪—led the charge, earning 64% of the MVP vote in 2007 and both finishing top 3 in voting from 05-07.

Wave 3 (2019-Present): The current era is a full-on takeover. Stars like Luka Doncic 🇸🇮, Nikola Jokic 🇷🇸, Joel Embiid 🇨🇲, Giannis Antetokounmpo 🇬🇷, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 🇨🇦 perenially dominate the ballots, with international players earning a staggering 90% of MVP votes last season.

This transformation didn’t happen overnight. Improved global scouting, development camps, and stars inspiring the next generation in their home countries have fueled the rise which is sure to continue for the next few years with Shai finding his groove and Wemby quickly climbing the ranks. Plus Jokic and Giannis aren’t showing signs of slowing down

The globalization of basketball is here, and it’s changing the game. 💪

Data from basketball.reference 

Follow for more sports data visualizations 

 #NBA #MVP #internationalbasketball #sportsball #basketball

## Stats

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## Tags

nba, mvp, basketball, sportsball, internationalbasketball

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