EuroBasket 2025 is almost here, and one of the big talking points is how many NBA players are taking part. The tournament begins August 27 and runs until September 14 across Cyprus, Finland, Poland and Latvia, with the final set for Riga. Twenty four teams are competing, but not all squads come loaded with NBA names.

Serbia comes in as the team with the most NBA players on its roster, a detail that is not exactly a surprise. The country has been among the top producers of basketball talent for decades, and this summer is no exception. What adds to the storyline is who sits right behind them in second place. While many expected a country like Greece or Slovenia to follow closely, the answer is instead France, a team building its identity around young NBA stars.

Serbia’s depth at the top

Serbia leads the field with four NBA players listed on its EuroBasket squad. Nikola Jokic, the three time NBA MVP and centerpiece of the Denver Nuggets, headlines the group. He is joined by Bogdan Bogdanovic of the Los Angeles Clippers, Nikola Jovic of the Miami Heat and Tristan Vukcevic of the Washington Wizards. This gives Serbia both proven stars and promising young pieces, an important blend for tournament play.

It is not just about having names on paper either. Serbia’s group has experience in high pressure moments, whether that is Jokic carrying Denver to a championship or Bogdanovic’s playoff runs in the NBA. Vukcevic and Topic may not have the same résumé yet, but their involvement shows how Serbia’s pipeline is constantly refreshing itself. According to multiple outlets including BasketNews and FIBA’s own listings, no other team can match this number of NBA representatives in 2025.

Serbia’s expectations reflect that depth. The program has not won EuroBasket gold since competing under the Yugoslavia banner, but this roster feels built for that goal. In 2017 they reached the final before losing to Slovenia, and in 2022 they were eliminated early by Italy. With ten players in total who either are in the NBA or have NBA experience, Serbia is entering the tournament with perhaps its clearest path to a title in recent years. The bar is gold, and anything else feels like a step short.

France surprises at number two

The team that ranks second in NBA presence is France, with four active players on the roster. That total alone is not shocking given France’s long track record of developing pros. But the surprise comes when looking at who is absent. Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert, two of the country’s most recognizable stars, will not be playing because of injury concerns. Yet even without them, France still sits just behind Serbia in NBA numbers, showing their impressive depth.

France’s NBA group includes Bilal Coulibaly and of the Washington Wizards, Zaccharie Risacher of the Atlanta Hawks and Guerschon Yabusele of the New York Knicks. The standout names here are Risacher and Sarr, who were the top two picks in the 2024 NBA Draft. Both are still very early in their professional careers, and their inclusion is a highlight.

They last medaled in 2022 EuroBasket with a silver, but this is a different looking squad now. Coulibaly has grown into a strong rotation player, while Yabusele brings experience after years in the league and overseas. With Risacher and Sarr carrying headline value, France sits in an unusual position of being both a young squad and still one of the most NBA loaded teams in the field.

Germany and others follow

Germany comes in next with three NBA players, led by Franz Wagner of the Orlando Magic. He is joined by his Magic teammate Tristan Da Silva and Sacramento Kings guard Dennis Schroder. The group would have been larger if Moritz Wagner and Isaiah Hartenstein were healthy, but injuries reduced the NBA count to three. Even so, Germany remains a serious contender, as shown by its bronze medal finish in 2022 and strong run through the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Turkey has two NBA players in Alperen Sengun of the Houston Rockets and Adem Bona of the Philadelphia 76ers. Sengun in particular has been seen as a player who could dominate in FIBA competitions with his passing and low post skill. Georgia also features two NBA names in Goga Bitadze of the Orlando Magic and Sandro Mamukelashvili of the Toronto Raptors, giving them strength in the frontcourt. Sweden, a less expected nation in this mix, has Pelle Larsson of the Miami Heat.

Other countries rely on single superstars. Luka Doncic will once again lead Slovenia, while Giannis Antetokounmpo is fronting Greece’s hopes. Kristaps Porzingis represents Latvia, Lauri Markkanen plays for Finland, Jonas Valanciunas suits up for Lithuania, Nikola Vucevic represents Montenegro and Deni Avdija joins Israel. Even with just one NBA player, these nations still carry weight because of how much those stars can impact single elimination games.

The presence of NBA players always drives attention in EuroBasket, but the tournament itself is about much more. Every participating team has already secured entry to World Cup qualifying for 2027, so the focus is on regional pride and crowning the best team in Europe. Group play starts with four groups of six. With the top four from each advancing to the round of sixteen. From there it becomes a knockout bracket that runs to the final on September 14.

Serbia starts as the bookmakers’ favorite largely because of their NBA presence. But France being number two in this ranking signals a longer race. Teams like Germany, Greece and Slovenia have strong cases as well, and Spain remains a notable force even without multiple NBA players. For fans, the bigger story is that some of the NBA’s biggest names, from Jokic to Giannis to Doncic, will be competing in meaningful basketball long before the NBA season begins in late October.

EuroBasket 2025 is about national teams first. But it doubles as a showcase of how NBA stars adapt to FIBA rules and systems. Serbia holds the lead with the most NBA players on their squad, France sits in second thanks to its young core, and several other nations are sprinkled with single or double representatives. By the end of this tournament, the question may not be which team has the most NBA players, but rather which of them managed to turn that talent into a medal.