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 | LA | 28 | 21.4 | 1.31 | 47.8 | 2.23 |
| 2 | NYC | 22 | 21.6 | 1.02 | 40.7 | 1.88 |
| 3 | Toronto | 18 | 11.2 | 1.61 | 34 | 3.04 |
| 4 | DC/Baltimore | 18 | 10.7 | 1.68 | 19.8 | 1.85 |
| 5 | Atlanta | 17 | 9.1 | 1.87 | 33.6 | 3.69 |
| 6 | Chicago | 15 | 10.4 | 1.44 | 22.8 | 2.19 |
| 7 | Detroit/Toledo | 15 | 9.4 | 1.60 | 16.2 | 1.72 |
| 8 | Raleigh/Greensboro | 14 | 7.9 | 1.77 | 22.2 | 2.81 |
| 9 | Former Yugoslavia | 14 | 22.1 | 0.63 | 35.7 | 1.62 |
| 10 | Dallas/Fort Worth | 14 | 9.3 | 1.51 | 27.4 | 2.95 |
| 11 | Western Europe | 14 | 170.7 | 0.08 | 25 | 0.15 |
| 12 | Indianapolis | 14 | 5.5 | 2.55 | 21.1 | 3.84 |
| 13 | Philadelphia | 13 | 10.5 | 1.24 | 18.8 | 1.79 |
| 14 | Charlotte | 11 | 6.9 | 1.59 | 11.9 | 1.72 |
| 15 | Seattle | 11 | 5.6 | 1.96 | 17.4 | 3.11 |
| 16 | Memphis/Little Rock | 10 | 4.7 | 2.13 | 19 | 4.04 |
| 17 | Oceania | 10 | 25.9 | 0.39 | 12.1 | 0.47 |
| 18 | Kansas City | 9 | 4.2 | 2.14 | 9.6 | 2.29 |
| 19 | Twin Cities | 9 | 6.5 | 1.38 | 8.3 | 1.28 |
| 20 | Milwaukee/Madison | 9 | 4.9 | 1.84 | 26.3 | 5.37 |
| 21 | Central Florida | 8 | 13.3 | 0.60 | 11.4 | 0.86 |
| 22 | Central Europe | 8 | 160.4 | 0.05 | 14.2 | 0.09 |
| 23 | Houston | 8 | 8.5 | 0.94 | 12.8 | 1.51 |
| 24 | Charleston/Savannah | 7 | 3.9 | 1.79 | 9.2 | 2.36 |
| 25 | Upstate NY | 7 | 6.2 | 1.13 | 5.3 | 0.85 |
| 26 | West Africa | 7 | 446.1 | 0.02 | 10.1 | 0.02 |
| 27 | Deep South | 7 | 6.2 | 1.13 | 2.1 | 0.34 |
| 28 | Bay Area | 6 | 13.4 | 0.45 | 21.6 | 1.61 |
| 29 | San Antonio/Austin | 6 | 6.5 | 0.92 | 15.9 | 2.45 |
| 30 | Turkey/Caucasus | 6 | 94.4 | 0.06 | 10.6 | 0.11 |
| 31 | St. Louis | 6 | 4.7 | 1.28 | 21.7 | 4.62 |
| 32 | Phoenix | 6 | 7.3 | 0.82 | 9.3 | 1.27 |
| 33 | Richmond/Tidewater | 6 | 4.1 | 1.46 | 5.4 | 1.32 |
| 34 | Cincy/Columbus | 6 | 7.9 | 0.76 | 8.1 | 1.03 |
| 35 | NOLA/Delta | 6 | 8.2 | 0.73 | 2.5 | 0.30 |
| 36 | The Islands | 5 | 35.5 | 0.14 | 6.3 | 0.18 |
| 37 | Nashville | 5 | 3.2 | 1.56 | 6.6 | 2.06 |
| 38 | New England | 5 | 9.5 | 0.53 | 2 | 0.21 |
| 39 | Baltics/Scandinavia | 5 | 0 | 5.00 | 13.7 | Infinity |
| 40 | Corn Belt | 5 | 4.1 | 1.22 | 6 | 1.46 |
| 41 | Miami | 5 | 7.5 | 0.67 | 7 | 0.93 |
| 42 | Las Vegas | 5 | 3.3 | 1.52 | 0.8 | 0.24 |
| 43 | Montreal | 4 | 9 | 0.44 | 5.7 | 0.63 |
| 44 | Cleveland | 4 | 4 | 1.00 | 9.7 | 2.42 |
| 45 | Portland | 4 | 4.7 | 0.85 | 10.7 | 2.28 |
| 46 | Southern Europe | 4 | 73.1 | 0.05 | 11.2 | 0.15 |
| 47 | Iberian Peninsula | 4 | 66.2 | 0.06 | 3.6 | 0.05 |
| 48 | Central Africa | 3 | 135.7 | 0.02 | 1.5 | 0.01 |
| 49 | San Diego | 3 | 3.8 | 0.79 | 10.9 | 2.87 |
| 50 | OKC/Tulsa | 3 | 5.9 | 0.51 | 4.8 | 0.81 |
| 51 | Eastern Europe | 2 | 157.4 | 0.01 | 0.6 | 0.00 |
| 52 | Connecticut Valley | 2 | 4.1 | 0.49 | 4.5 | 1.10 |
| 53 | Pittsburgh | 2 | 4.7 | 0.43 | 5.2 | 1.11 |
| 54 | Louisville | 2 | 4.3 | 0.47 | 2.5 | 0.58 |
| 55 | Denver/Front Range | 2 | 5.8 | 0.34 | 7.8 | 1.34 |
| 56 | Japan | 2 | 125.8 | 0.02 | 2.2 | 0.02 |
| 57 | Levant | 1 | 44.3 | 0.02 | 4.3 | 0.10 |
| 58 | Columbia Plateau | 1 | 2.7 | 0.37 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 59 | Alaska | 1 | 0.7 | 1.43 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 60 | Utah | 1 | 2.7 | 0.37 | 2.5 | 0.93 |