People in Canada will be watching, not only because of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. However, the NBA's scoring champion and likely MVP, who plays for Oklahoma City, definitely helps attract fans from Canada.

Viewers across Serbia and Greece will be following the performance of Denver's star Nikola Jokic and Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo. Furthermore, Alperen Sengun's participation will ensure Turkish audiences are watching Houston games late into the night. Slovenian supporters will be staying up to watch Luka Doncic and the Lakers commence their playoff campaign at 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, which corresponds to 5:30 p.m. Saturday in Los Angeles. Fans in Cameroon will be eagerly anticipating the appearance of Pascal Siakam and the Indiana Pacers. The current champions, Boston, boast international talent including Kristaps Porzingis from Latvia and Al Horford representing the Dominican Republic.

The upcoming NBA playoffs are poised to once more highlight the exceptional talents of international players.

This season marks an unprecedented occurrence in the NBA, with the five statistical champions hailing from five distinct nations: Gilgeous-Alexander from Canada, rebounding champion Domantas Sabonis of Sacramento from Lithuania, blocked shots champion Victor Wembanyama of San Antonio from France, steals champion Dyson Daniels of Atlanta from Australia, and assists champion Trae Young of the Hawks from the U.S. Consequently, the postseason is poised to retain a significant international flavor. Gilgeous-Alexander has already secured his spot, while Sabonis and Daniels, along with Young, stand to potentially join him should their respective teams successfully navigate the play-in tournament.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver commented earlier this season on the considerable presence of international players in the league, noting that approximately 30% of the players, representing 43 different countries on opening day, contribute to a heightened global atmosphere surrounding the teams.

By season's end, the NBA featured players who had scored, originating from a minimum of 44 distinct nations. Notably, for the first time in the league's history, players from a single nation other than the U.S. collectively amassed over 15,000 points; Canadian players achieved 15,588 points this season, spearheaded by Gilgeous-Alexander, the inaugural scoring champion from that country.

Gilgeous-Alexander is widely tipped to clinch the MVP title this season, with the consensus narrowing down to either him or Jokic. Should this prediction hold true, it would mark the seventh consecutive year an international player has been bestowed with the NBA's most coveted individual award. Giannis Antetokounmpo secured the honor twice, followed by Nikola Jokic's three victories in the subsequent four seasons, while Cameroon-born Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers claimed the award two years prior.

Following a game between the Raptors and Thunder this season, Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic remarked, "Shai is of a calibre that you simply cannot contain him."

To put it another way, he resembles many other prominent international players today, as no one has truly managed to contain talents like Jokic, Antetokounmpo, and Doncic either.

This season also brought a new international achievement: Doncic's jersey was the most popular on NBAStore.com, meaning more of his jerseys were sold than anyone else's. This was partly because Doncic changed teams during the season when he moved from Dallas to the Los Angeles Lakers, which meant new jerseys were sold, but it is still an important achievement.

The Slovenian star is the first international player to be number one on the list of most popular jerseys. He is also the first player other than Stephen Curry or LeBron James to be number one in over ten years. The last time someone else was number one was when Carmelo Anthony, who will soon be in the Basketball Hall of Fame, did it when he played for New York in the 2012-13 season.

"Considering our relatively small population of two million, it is remarkable how exceptional our athletes are," stated fellow Slovene Ajsa Sivka following her WNBA draft by the Chicago Sky on Monday night, when questioned about Doncic and other prominent Slovenian athletes. "Irrespective of the sport, we consistently produce individuals of considerable talent. I feel immense pride in my Slovenian heritage."

This situation coincides with a period when the NBA appears more committed than ever to expanding its international presence.

In a remarkable NBA season where four players surpassed the 2,000-point mark, a significant development was that three of them were international stars: Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokic, and Antetokounmpo. Globally, viewership of NBA League Pass saw a 6% increase compared to the previous season. France recorded its highest-ever NBA game viewership this season, despite Wembanyama's absence for the final two months. This season also witnessed record-breaking NBA-related social media engagement in Canada, while league statistics indicated a surge in fan viewership within the Asia-Pacific region, which is already a prominent basketball market.

FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis stated that the figures, evidently propelled by persistent international expansion, indicate the sport's current robustness.

"Globally, and naturally within North America," Zagklis observed, "the NBA enjoys unparalleled popularity and commercial success."