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The game of basketball is popular all over the world and has some very competitive leagues around the globe. The NBA is the premier league and has the best talent. Sometimes, those players explore their opportunities in other countries.
Some players went overseas for a brief detour prior to coming back to the NBA like Dominique Wilkins and John Salley. Some then went on to extend their careers to players such as Stephon Marbury and Dennis Rodman. The Ranker website compiled a list of the best players to play overseas. Here is a list of the top five players to do so.
#1: Dominique Wilkins
Dominique Wilkins is one of the most prolific scorers in NBA history. He was nicknamed “The Human Highlight Film” because of the dynamic dunks that he could do. Wilkins was a seven-time All-NBA selection, nine-time All-Star and two-time winner of the Slam Dunk Contest.
Wilkins spent his most memorable years in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks before he was traded to the LA Clippers. In 1995 after a season with the Boston Celtics, Wilkins left the league to play in Greece. He joined Panathinaikos BC and helped the club to their first Euroleague title in 1996.
Wilkins struggled early but eventually adapted to the European game and averaged 20.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. The team won the Euroleague and Greek Cup. Wilkins was named the Final Four MVP of the Euroleague and was the Cup Final MVP in the Greek Cup.
Dominique would return to the NBA and play for the San Antonio Spurs for one season before returning to Europe and playing in Italy. He played for Fortitudo Bologna and averaged 17.8 ppg and 7.3 rpg before coming back stateside. He played the final 27 games of his career in 1998-99 with the Orlando Magic.
#2: Allen Iverson
Allen Iverson came into the NBA in 1996 and was one of its most exciting players. Throughout his NBA career, he was an electric scorer and was one of the pound-for-pound best players in the league. The 2001 MVP ended his career in the association in 2010.
Iverson took his talents to Turkey in 2010 after agreeing to a two-year deal with Besiktas in the Turkish Super League. They compete in the EuroCup, which is a competition level below the Euroleague. Iverson only played 10 games for the club and left in January 2011 due to a calf injury.
#3: Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson is in the conversation for the greatest basketball player of all time. The five-time NBA Champion was forced to retire from the Lakers after the 1991 season after contracting HIV. Johnson was a member of the 1992 Dream Team, which is widely credited with expanding the popularity of basketball worldwide.
After his NBA career ended in 1998, he purchased a team in Boras, Sweden, and named them the Magic M7. At age 40, Johnson played one season for the team after leaving the team and the organization went bankrupt.
#4: Scottie Pippen
Scottie Pippen was the No. 2 man on the 1990s Chicago Bulls' championship teams. Pippen, a seven-time All-Star, was a lockdown defender in his day. He retired from NBA basketball in 2004. In 2008 at the age of 42, Pippen made a brief comeback playing for Torpan Pojat in the Finnish league and Sundsvall in the Swedish league.
#5: Stephon Marbury
Stephon Marbury might be the most successful player to leave the NBA and play overseas. Marbury was a good NBA point guard but left the league after various issues with the last few teams he played for. In 2010 he went to China to play for Shanxi Zhongyu Dragons in the Chinese Basketball Association. He made the All-Star game in his first year and was MVP of the game.
In 2010 he played for the Foshan Dralions before moving on to the Beijing Ducks in 2011, staying until 2017. While with the Ducks, Marbury led the team to the 2011-12 CBA championship. Following the win, a statue of Marbury was made and placed outside the Mastercard Center.
Marbury went on to win multiple championships in the CBA and has been embraced by the fans and the league. He retired from basketball in 2018 as a player and has begun his coaching career in the China. Marbury is the current coach of the Beijing Royal Fighters in the CBA.
