In Which State Are the Most NBA Players Born? (2024)
By Kasey Noguchi | March 30, 2021
NBA players come from all over the United States and even different countries. Since being established in 1949 The NBA has grown from 17 teams to 30 teams and is still continuing to grow. With so many teams, the amount of players has also grown, creating a diverse spread in hometowns throughout the 50 states.
Although many fans can list all their favorite player’s stats, most people don’t know where or how these NBA players grew up. The majority of players don’t play for the team in the state that they were born or grew up in. The strongest producing cities include New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, etc. It is expected to see many players come from these cities as they have some of the highest population densities across the country.
The state of California has been the most popular birthplace of 416 players, while Vermont hasn’t had a single player debut in the NBA. During the 2016 - 2017 NBA season 46 out of 428, or 10.75%, of active players were born in California. The most populated city in the US, New York with a population of 18.8 million falls short compared to Los Angeles, population 12.4 million, when it comes to producing NBA talent today. Los Angeles is the birthplace of 114 NBA players while New York City Trails with 106 Players.
Outside of the United States, Canada has had 42 people play in the NBA with 14 of them being born in Toronto. France and Germany come behind Canada with 28 and 25 players respectively.
Here are the 5 most common states with notable players. (These numbers include both retired and current players):
Taking the top spot is California, with 442 NBA and ABA players who were born in this state. It is home to some of the most prominent players in basketball, including two-time NBA champion Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Which state has the most NBA teams? California has the most NBA teams with four teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, and Sacramento Kings.
California took the top spot, with 442 NBA and ABA players who were born in the state. California is home to some of the “most prominent players” in basketball, including two-time NBA champion Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers, the study noted.
The Boston Celtics and the Phoenix Suns each have six. The NBA today announced that a record 125 international players from 40 countries and territories across six continents are on opening-night rosters for the 2023-24 season, including a record number of players from Canada (26) and France (14).
Texas follows closely behind with three teams (Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, and Houston Rockets); Florida (Miami Heat and Orlando Magic) and New York (New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets) both have two teams.
How many states have only one major sports team? Oregon has only the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers. Utah has only the NBA's Utah Jazz. Oklahoma has only the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder.
Introduction: My name is Allyn Kozey, I am a outstanding, colorful, adventurous, encouraging, zealous, tender, helpful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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