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When the NBA Playoffs tip off on April 22, team rosters will feature a record 44 international players from 25 countries and territories. Almost every team competing in the Playoffs will feature at least one international player. This year’s number of international players nearly doubles last year’s, when 24 players from 18 countries and territories participated in the Playoffs.

The Playoffs feature 17 international players in the Eastern Conference and 27 in the Western Conference. The San Antonio Spurs have the most international players on a Playoff roster with a record seven. At the end of the 2005-06 regular season, the NBA featured 82 international players from 38 countries and territories on team rosters (both active and inactive).

International players in the NBA Playoffs 2006:

EASTERN CONFERENCE (17)

Chicago Bulls (3): Luol Deng (Sudan), Andres Nocioni (Argentina) and Luke Schenscher (Australia)
Cleveland Cavaliers (3): Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Lithuania), Aleksandar Pavlovic (Serbia and Montenegro) and Anderson Varaejo (Brazil)
Detroit Pistons (1): Carlos Delfino (Argentina)
Indiana Pacers (2): Sarunas Jasikevicius (Lithuania) and Peja Stojakovic (Serbia and Montenegro)
Milwaukee Bucks (5): Andrew Bogut (Australia), Dan Gadzuric (Netherlands), Toni Kukoc (Croatia), Jamaal Magloire (Canada) and Jiri Welsch (Czech Republic)
New Jersey Nets (3): Nenad Krstic (Serbia and Montenegro), Bostjan Nachbar (Slovenia) and Zoran Planinic (Croatia)

WESTERN CONFERENCE (27)

Dallas Mavericks (3): DeSagana Diop (Senegal), Didier Ilunga-Mbenga (Congo) and Dirk Nowitzki (Germany)
Denver Nuggets (3): Francisco Elson (Netherlands), Linas Kleiza (Lithuania) and Eduardo Najera (Mexico)
Los Angeles Clippers (2): Vladimir Radmanovic (Serbia and Montenegro) and Zeljko Rebraca (Serbia and Montenegro)
Los Angeles Lakers (2): Ronny Turiaf (Martinique) and Sasha Vujacic (Slovenia)
Memphis Grizzlies (2): Pau Gasol (Spain) and Jake Tsakalidis (Greece)
Phoenix Suns (6): Leandro Barbosa (Brazil), Raja Bell (U.S. Virgin Islands), Pat Burke (Ireland), Boris Diaw (France), Steve Nash (Canada) and Nikoloz Tskitishvili (Georgia)
Sacramento Kings (2): Francisco Garcia (Dominican Republic), and Vitaly Potapenko (Ukraine)
San Antonio Spurs (7): Tim Duncan (U.S. Virgin Islands), Manu Ginobili (Argentina), Sean Marks (New Zealand), Rasho Nesterovic (Slovenia), Fabricio Oberto (Argentina), Tony Parker (France) and Beno Udrih (Slovenia)