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

Hasheem Thabeet (Tanzania)

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Stephen Curry, James Harden, Blake Griffin, and DeMar DeRozan all went in the top nine of the 2009 NBA draft. But Hasheem Thabeet was drafted ahead of all but Griffin. The University of Connecticut big man went second overall.

He was supposed to be the next Dikembe Mutombo, swatting shots to kingdom come. He was not.

It is hard to believe a player with Thabeet’s profile could be selected so high just one decade ago with the way the big man role has changed. Thabeet did not even last two years with the Memphis Grizzlies before being traded to the Rockets. He played for played for four teams in five seasons and retired with a Skip Bayless-esque 2.2 points per game.