Basketball is a global game, and today's NBA rosters prove it: Nearly every team has key players who grew up outside the United States. The San Antonio Spurs, for example, won last season's championship thanks in large part to the production of nine international players.
As a result, we decided to put together a ranking of the top international prospects. These are 10 young players who have not played college basketball and, in most cases, are not likely to. Since many of them will be in the NBA draft over the next few years, we want to introduce them to you now.
Some players below -- Emmanuel Mudiay and Kristaps Porzingis, for instance -- are already on the radar of NBA fans. Others will be appearing on the scene in the near future. Note: International players who don't attend college are eligible for the NBA draft in the year they turn 19.
1. Emmanuel Mudiay | 6-5, 196 | PG | Congo
The experiment ended in late November.
Mudiay, who chose to sign with Guangdong of the Chinese Basketball Association instead of playing at SMU after a high school career in Dallas, is ready to begin the preparation for June's NBA draft. The former McDonald's All American averaged 18 points and six assists per contest before injuring his ankle 10 games into the season. Despite the injury, he is staying in China until the end of the season.
Because his time with Guangdong was brief, Mudiay will be a work in progress in his NBA rookie season. He'll play most of it as a 19-year-old, so his ceiling is very high. His combination of speed, size and strength is built for the point guard position in the NBA. His jump shot, however, is a work in progress.
2. Kristaps Porzingis | 7-1, 220 | PF | Latvia
The most intriguing international big man likely to be in this year's NBA draft is Porzingis, who is playing for Seville in Spain's ACB league. What immediately jumps out about him is his tremendous length, athleticism and shooting touch. And he won't turn 20 until August.
Porzingis has drawn comparisons to both Dirk Nowitzki and Pau Gasol, for different reasons. He possesses Nowitzki's shooting touch at a similar age and has a Gasol-type body at that age. He certainly does not have Gasol's sophisticated low-post game yet, and physical strength and maturation are still major concerns.
When NBA teams really dig into Porzingis' background, they will come away impressed. He is a high-character kid with a great work ethic and a tremendous love for the game. Also, he has developed a high level of maturity due in part to being away from home since the age of 15.
3. Mario Hezonja | 6-8, 200 | SG | Croatia
The soon-to-be-20-year-old Hezonja has been one of the best players in the world at his age since 2011. But until recently there has been a lot of unfulfilled promise. After signing with powerful Barcelona in 2012 as a 17-year-old, he has had to remain patient, playing very little behind some of the best players in Europe. That has changed this season as his opportunities have grown.
At 6-foot-8, Hezonja possesses the very coveted combination of athleticism, offensive skill level and age that attracts the interest of NBA teams. Recently, he became only the fourth player in ACB history to shoot 8-for-8 behind the 3-point line in a game. In fact, he is shooting better than 40 percent from behind the arc in both the ACB and Euroleague.
Hezonja will have little problem fitting in the NBA athletically. He has positional size for a shooting guard, handles the ball well enough to get to the rim with force, moves well without the ball, and can create his own shot. Maturity has been an issue at times as a young player, but much of that can be attributed to a competitive nature that should eventually serve him well.
4. Dragan Bender | 6-11, 215 | PF | Croatia
Bender is a 17-year-old Croatian power forward who signed a seven-year deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv last summer and will use the next few years to polish his game before testing the NBA waters. He is currently playing in Israel's National League, the second division.
While not yet a good shooter from deep, he has all the other attributes to become a very athletic and mobile player for his size. He possesses excellent ballhandling and passing skills that, together with great instincts, make him a tremendous team player.
In last summer's FIBA Europe Under-18 Championships, he averaged 14 points, 10 rebounds and nearly five assists in nine games.
Like many talented young international players, once Bender's strength and physical maturity catch up to his size and skill, he is expected to turn into an excellent NBA prospect.
On a side note: His brother, Ivan, has enrolled at Maryland to play and is recovering from an ACL injury.
5. Egemen Guven | 6-foot-10 | C | Turkey
File Guven's name away for the future because time is on his side.
The 18-year-old is getting limited minutes for Karsiyaka in the Turkish Basketball League on a team that features former NCAA stars D.J. Strawberry, Jon Diebler and Juan Palacios. But Guven showed great promise last summer, winning MVP of the 2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championships.
At 6-foot-10 and 210 pounds, Guven is a long way from being a finished product. But the athleticism he possesses for his age is impressive. He runs and jumps like a track athlete and has great agility. Lurking on the baseline in anticipation of guard penetration, he loves to catch and dunk from there.
Guven's offensive skills are impressive. Once he adds strength, he will be able to score inside because he's fluid around the basket. He also has a chance to be a good midrange shooter. Guven has outstanding instincts for passing the ball and "seeing the game."
6. Zhou Qi | 7-2, 220 | C | China
I have not seen Zhou play in almost two years, but at the FIBA Under-19 World Championships in 2013 he was extremely impressive as a 17-year-old. I rank him here because he had a very good season in the CBA for Xinjiang, averaging 14 points and seven rebounds while shooting 72 percent from the floor.
Zhou is an extremely gifted athlete for his size. He is agile and quick off his feet, and he moves well. He's shown tremendous basketball instincts for his size, with great passing feel and vision. Plus, he has excellent instincts for playing in the low post and possesses outstanding footwork. However, in order to ever play in the NBA, Zhou must improve his strength and fill out because his major weakness at the moment is a very thin, narrow frame.
There is no way to predict if we will see Zhou in a future NBA draft, but stay on the alert for him because few big men his size possess his talent.
7. Lovro Mazalin | 6-8, 210 | SF | Croatia
Here's another guy to file away in your memory bank. The 6-foot-8 Mazalin is a small forward and plays for Cedevita in Croatia (the same team that developed Nuggets rookie Jusuf Nurkic) as a 17-year-old.
Mazalin's coach, Jasmin Repesa, is widely regarded as one of the best coaches in Europe, especially at developing young talent. And while Mazalin is not playing major minutes yet, his age and size are worth following over the next five years.
At this stage, Mazalin is not an elite athlete, and he has an inconsistent outside shot. But his agility and feel for the game are ahead of players his age.
8. Furkan Korkmaz | 6-6, 170 | SG | Turkey
Korkmaz is playing about 13 minutes per game for Anadolu Efes in a major European professional league as a 17-year-old.
In fact, his teammates include former NBA player Nenad Krstic and future NBA player Dario Saric.
At 6-foot-5, Korkmaz's major strength is as a standstill shooter. He's made more than 40 percent of his 3-point shots this season.
But he does possess the ball skills to be able to play both guard positions someday. Like many of the young players on this list, his physical maturity will play a key role in his development.
Considering that many 17-year-old basketball players in the United States would be in their junior year of high school, Korkmaz is off to an outstanding start to his career.
Given that it is early in his career, I am anxious to see how his game evolves over the next few years.
9. Omer Yurtseven | 6-foot-10 | C | Turkey
This young big man starred in the FIBA Europe Under-16 Championships last summer and followed that up with a dominant performance at the adidas Next Generation Tournament in Kaunas, Lithuania in January (he averaged 25 points and 15 rebounds in four games).
Yurtseven is learning the game under European coaching legend Zeljko Obradovic of Fenerbahce Ulker, one of the best clubs in Europe. While Yurtseven is not playing for a team that has three former NBA players in its rotation -- like others on this list -- he is soaking up the experience while dominating at the youth level.
Yurtseven turns 17 years old in June; however, like many of the players on this list, he has a rare combination of age, size and athleticism that makes him a prospect to track long term.
10. Martynas Echodas | 6-9, 220 | PF | Lithuania
Echodas is a very athletic power forward who was the recent MVP at the adidas Next Generation Tournament in Kaunas, Lithuania. He averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds in four games, shooting 62 percent from the floor. He also played very well in the FIBA Europe Under-16 Tournament last summer for Lithuania.
Echodas, who plays for Zalgiris Kaunas in the Lithuanian NKL second division, is skilled in the low post and has an excellent jumper and a great motor. He will turn 18 in July but already has been playing with men the past two seasons. He is averaging 11 points and seven rebounds per game.