Foreign Invasion: Zach Edey is Latest All-American From Beyond U.S. Borders
March 27th, 2024 - 9:29
Foreign All-American Zach Edey (Purdue/Ontario, Canada) is much more than bit player in a modern-day immigrant version of "Coming to America." Edey might not be a lottery pick in the NBA draft, but he is expected to be selected unlike recent foreign All-Americans Kofi Cockburn (Illinois), Azuolas Tubelis (Arizona) and Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky). Following is an alphabetical list of more than 40 hoop-prince All-Americans spending most or all of their formative years in a country beyond U.S. borders:
| Foreigner | Pos. | College | Native Country | Year(s) All-American | NBA Draft Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deandre Ayton | C | Arizona | Bahamas | 2018 | 1st pick overall by Phoenix |
| Udoka Azubuike | C | Kansas | Nigeria | 2020 | 27th by Utah Jazz |
| R.J. Barrett | G-F | Duke | Ontario, Ontario | 2019 | 3rd by New York |
| Charles Bassey | C | Western Kentucky | Nigeria | 2021 | 53rd by Philadelphia |
| Andrew Bogut* | C | Utah | Australia | 2005 | 1st by Milwaukee |
| Dillon Brooks | F | Oregon | Ontario, Canada | 2017 | 2nd by Houston |
| Kofi Cockburn | C | Illinois | Jamaica | 2021 and 2022 | undrafted |
| Kresimir Cosic | C | Brigham Young | Yugoslavia | 1972 and 1973 | 66th by L.A. Lakers |
| Chris Duarte | G | Oregon | Dominican Republic | 2021 | 13th by Indiana |
| Tim Duncan* | C | Wake Forest | Virgin Islands | 1995 through 1997 | 1st by San Antonio |
| Zach Edey | C | Purdue | Ontario, Canada | 2023 and 2024 | TBD |
| Melvin Ejim | F | Iowa State | Ontario | 2014 | undrafted |
| Patrick Ewing* | C | Georgetown | Jamaica | 1982 through 1985 | 1st by New York |
| Adonal Foyle | C | Colgate | West Indies | 1997 | 8th by Golden State |
| Rui Hachimura | F | Gonzaga | Japan | 2019 | 9th by Washington |
| Buddy Hield | G | Oklahoma | Bahamas | 2015 and 2016 | 6th by New Orleans |
| Al Horford | F-C | Florida | Dominican Republic | 2007 | 3rd by Atlanta |
| Kris Joseph | F | Syracuse | Quebec | 2012 | 51st by Boston |
| Jock Landale | C | Saint Mary's | Australia | 2018 | undrafted |
| Lauri Markkanen | C | Arizona | Finland | 2017 | 1st by Minnesota |
| Bennedict Mathurin | G | Arizona | Quebec | 2022 | 6th by Indiana |
| Jamal Murray | G | Kentucky | Ontario | 2016 | 7th by Denver |
| Dikembe Mutombo | C | Georgetown | Zaire | 1991 | 4th by Denver |
| Eduardo Najera | F | Oklahoma | Mexico | 2000 | 38th by Houston |
| Jordan Nwora | F | Louisville | Nigeria | 2020 | 45th by Milwaukee Bucks |
| Hakeem Olajuwon | C | Houston | Nigeria | 1983 and 1984 | 1st by Houston |
| Kelly Olynyk | C | Gonzaga | British Columbia | 2013 | 13th by Dallas |
| Kevin Pangos | G | Gonzaga | Ontario | 2015 | undrafted |
| Filip Petrusev | C | Gonzaga | Serbia | 2020 | withdrew and returned to Serbia |
| Jakob Poeltl | C | Utah | Austria | 2016 | 9th by Toronto |
| Juan "Pepe" Sanchez | G | Temple | Argentina | 2000 | undrafted |
| Detlef Schrempf | F | Washington | Germany | 1985 | 8th by Dallas |
| Rony Seikaly | C | Syracuse | Greece | 1988 | 9th by Miami |
| Doron Sheffer | G | Connecticut | Israel | 1996 | 36th by L.A. Clippers |
| Ben Simmons | F | Louisiana State | Australia | 2016 | 1st by Philadelphia |
| Nik Stauskas | G | Michigan | Ontario | 2014 | 8th by Sacramento |
| Hasheem Thabeet | C | Connecticut | Tanzania | 2009 | 2nd by Memphis |
| Mychal Thompson | F-C | Minnesota | Bahamas | 1977 and 1978 | 1st by Portland |
| Oscar Tshiebwe* | C | Kentucky | Congo | 2022 and 2023 | undrafted |
| Azuolas Tubelis | F-C | Arizona | Lithuania | 2023 | undrafted |
| Greivis Vasquez | G | Maryland | Venezuela | 2010 | 28th by Memphis |
| Andrew Wiggins | G-F | Kansas | Ontario | 2014 | 1st by Cleveland |
*Named National Player of the Year.