How many players are in the NBA?: How many players does each team have?

How many players are in the NBA?: How many players does each team have?

Ciku Njuguna
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:19 PM

With a social media following of over 100 million and an average of 12.4 television viewers, there is no doubt that one of the reasons why people enjoy watching the NBA is the players themselves. How many players are in the NBA? Stick around to learn more about one of the world's favorite sports.

How many nationalities play in the NBA?
Isaiah Hartenstein of the Knicks shoots the ball during the game against the Sacramento Kings in December 2022 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE.
Source: Getty Images

How many players are on a basketball team, including substitutes? Over the years, the NBA roster has had an average of between 450 and 500 players. However, this article will summarize a detailed analysis of how many basketballers are drafted each year and how many players each team normally has.

Are there 30 or 32 NBA teams?

There are 30 basketball teams in the NBA. The NBA groups its teams by the Eastern and Western conferences. Each conference plays host to three divisions with five teams each.

The Eastern Conference consists of 15 teams grouped into the Atlantic, Central, and Southeast divisions. On the other hand, the Western Conference has the same number of teams divided equally into Northwest, Southwest and Southwest divisions.

What nationality are most NBA players?
Justin Champagnie of the Raptors dribbles the ball against the Maine Celtics in December 2022 at Portland Expo Center in Portland, Maine. Photo by China Wong/NBAE.
Source: Getty Images

How many players are drafted into the NBA each year? Each year, the Draft Lottery is held to pick an average of 60 basketballers from a pool of eligible basketballers.

We have used the official NBA and individual team websites to bring you the actual numbers of the players in 2022. Here is a summary of how many players are on each NBA team, grouped by their divisions in each conference.

Western Conference

Division

Teams

Northwest Division

Denver Nuggets Minnesota Timberwolves Oklahoma City Thunder Portland Trail Blazers Utah Jazz

Pacific Division

Golden State Warriors Los Angeles Clippers Los Angeles Lakers Phoenix Suns Sacramento Kings

Southwest Division

Dallas Mavericks Houston Rockets Memphis Grizzlies New Orleans Pelicans San Antonio Spurs

Eastern Conference

Division

Teams

Atlantic Division

Boston Celtics Brooklyn Nets New York Knicks Philadelphia 76ers Toronto Raptors

Central Division

Chicago Bulls Cleveland Cavaliers Detroit Pistons Indiana Pacers Milwaukee Bucks

Southeast Division

Atlanta Hawks Charlotte Hornets Miami Heat Orlando Magic Washington Wizards

How many players are in the NBA in 2022?

How many players are on an NBA roster? Prior to 2021, NBA teams carried 13 players, however, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the NBA increased the game night's roster from 13 to 15. In addition, all teams are allowed to have two basketballers under the two-way contract between the NBA and the G league.

What is the racial percentage of the NBA?
New Orleans Pelicans' number 15 Jose Alvarado, shoots the ball during a game against the Phoenix Suns in December 2022 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE.
Source: Getty Images

How many basketball players are allowed on the court for each team?

According to the NBA rulebook, each team is allowed to have five players on the court. The team must also have a substitute ready for action.

How many players are in the NBA from Duke?

Currently, there are about 25 NBA players who went to Duke University. As one of the colleges that produce the most NBA All-Stars, Duke University's popularity has soared, making it a highly sought-after school by prospective students. Here is a list of Duke players in the NBA currently and their teams.

Basketballer

Team

Kyrie Irving

Brooklyn Nets

Grayson Allen

Milwaukee Bucks

Seth Curry

Brooklyn Nets

Gary Trent Jr.

Toronto Raptors

A.J. Griffin Jr.

Atlanta Hawks

Austin Rivers

Minnesota Timberwolves

Brandon Ingram

New Orleans Pelicans

R.J. Barrett

New York Knicks

Jalen Johnson

Atlanta Hawks

Jayson Tatum

Boston Celtics

How many Asian players are in the NBA?

A recent survey by Statista revealed that for the 2021/22 season, Asian basketball players took only 0.2% of all NBA basketballers. Some of the most prominent Asian players in the NBA right now include Jordan Clarkson, Rui Hachimura and Yuta Watanabe.

How many basketball players are in the world?
Yuta Watanabe dunks during the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup game between Syria and Japan at Istora Gelora Bung Karno in July 2022 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo by Robertus Pudyanto.
Source: Getty Images

Who was the first Asian NBA player? In 1947, Wataru Misaka became the first basketballer of Japanese ethnicity in the NBA. He was later joined by the following players from various Asian nations.

Basketballer

Period in the NBA

Teams

Position

Ethnicity

Raymond Townsend

1978 - 1982

Golden State Warriors Indiana Pacers

Shooting guard

Filipino - American

Rex Walters

1993 - 2000

Brooklyn Nets Philadelphia 76ers Miami Heat

Shooting Guard

Japanese - American

Mengke Bateer

2001 - 2004

Denver Nuggets San Antonio Spurs Toronto Raptors

Centre

Chinese Inner Mongolian

Zhizhi

2001 - 2005

Dallas Mavericks Los Angeles Clippers Miami Heat

Centre

Chinese

Yuta Tabuse

2004 - 2005

Mavericks Nuggets Suns

Point guard

Japanese

Ha Seung-Jin

2005 - 2006

Portland Trail Blazers

Centre

South Korean

Jeremy Lin

2010 - to date

New York Knicks Houston Rockets Los Angeles Lakers Charlotte Hornets Brooklyn Nets Atlanta Hawks Toronto Raptors

Point guard

Taiwanese - American

How many Australian players are in the NBA?

There are 10 Australian players in the NBA in the 2022/23 season, this includes the 6'10'' point guard for the Brooklyn Nets, Ben Simmons. Some of the most famous Australian basketballers include Lauren Jackson, Kyrie Irving, David Andersen, Andrew Bogut, and Luc Longley.

How many players are in the NBA draft?
Immanuel Quickley of the Knicks gets fouled by Sacramento's Chimezie Metu during the third quarter of the at Madison Square Garden in December 2022 in New York City. Photo by Dustin Satloff.
Source: Getty Images

How many American players are in the NBA?

An October 2022 statement by the NBA revealed that there are 35 American basketballers with ties to African countries for the 2022/23 season. In 2022, Statista also reported that 71.8% are African American. North American basketballers make up the largest percentage of athletes in the NBA, with 22 from Canada.

How many African players are in the NBA?

The 2022/23 NBA season features a record number of basketballers of African heritage, including five Nigerians, three Cameroonians, and three Congolese. The roster includes players from Angola, Sudan, South Sudan and Senegal.

Basketballer

Country

Team

Bol Bol

Sudan

Orlando Magic

Wenyen Gabriel

South Sudan

Los Angeles Lakers

Gorgui Dieng

Senegal

San Antonio Spurs

Chimezie Metu

Nigeria

Sacramento Kings

Chima Moneke

Nigeria

Sacramento Kings

Udoka Azubuike

Nigeria

Utah Jazz

Josh Okogie

Nigeria

Phoenix Suns

Precious Achiuwa

Nigeria

Toronto Raptors

Mamadi Diakite

Guinea

Cleveland Cavaliers

Serge Ibaka

Congo

Milwaukee Bucks

Bismack Biyombo

Congo

Phoenix Suns

Jonathan Kuminga

Congo

Golden State Warriors

Bruno Fernando

Angola

Houston Rockets

In addition, several international basketballers in 2022/23 share ties with African countries. Here is a summary of international NBA players with ties to Africa.

Basketballer

Team

Nationality

African ties

O.G. Anunoby

Toronto Raptors

UK

Nigerian ties

Clint Capela

Atlanta Hawks

Switzerland

Angolan and Congolese ties

Usman Garuba

Houston Rockets

Spain

Nigerian ties

Rui Hachimura

Washington Wizards

Japan

Benin ties

Kostas Antetokounmpo

Chicago Bulls

Greece

Nigerian ties

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Milwaukee Bucks

Greece

Nigerian ties

Thanasis Antetokounmpo

Milwaukee Bucks

Greece

Nigerian ties

Dennis Schröder

Los Angeles Lakers

Germany

Gambian ties

Olivier Sarr

Portland Trail Blazers

France

Senegalese ties

Ousmane Dieng

Oklahoma City Thunder

France

Senegalese ties

Evan Fournier

New York Knicks

France

Algerian ties

Frank Ntilikina

Dallas Mavericks

France

Rwandan ties

Moussa Diabate

Los Angeles Clippers

France

Guinean and Malian ties

Nicolas Batum

Los Angeles Clippers

France

Cameroonian ties

Eugene Omoruyi

Oklahoma City Thunder

Canada

Nigerian ties

Deandre Ayton

Phoenix Suns

Bahamas

Nigerian ties

Mfiondu Kabengele

Boston Celtics

Canada

Congolese ties

It is exciting to learn more about how many players are in the NBA. However, although there are 140 international players, basketballers from Asian countries did not receive any representation in the 2022/23 season.

READ ALSO: Giannis Antetokounmpo's wife, stats, brothers, contract, shoes, son, net worth 2022

Sportsbrief.com recently published an article about the basketball sensation, Giannis Antetokounmpo. The inspirational arrival of the Greek Freak and the Antetokounmpo brothers in the NBA injected a fresh dose of talent into the sport.

Click on the link above to learn more about the three-time MVP and his journey to the top of the sport.

Authors
Ciku Njuguna photo
Ciku Njuguna
Ciku Njuguna is a journalist with 3 year’s experience in content creation based in Kenya. She currently covers sports personnel as well as team biographies.