The NBA’s Most Famous (And Infamous) Foreign Born Players

Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria)

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Well, we might as well start at the top of the list. This list is not in any particularly order, but if it was, Hakeem would certainly rank right at the top. Olajuwon technically played for Team USA at the Olympics, but he is widely recognized as one of the greatest international basketball players in history, so this list would not be complete without him.

The Dream won back to back NBA championships during Michael Jordan’s first retirement and was Finals MVP in both of them. He added a regular season MVP and made 12 All NBA teams and 9 All Defense, winning Defensive Player of the Year twice. Olajuwon had the Dream Shake and was unstoppable in the post, and he was even better in the playoffs when the games mattered most.