List of foreign-born players in Spanish men's national basketball team

Complete list of all foreign-born players who, despite having been born abroad, have represented Spain men's national basketball team in international competition since 1935. Some of them were born to Spanish parents abroad, some moved to Spain at a young age, and some others were "naturalized" or acquired citizenship after playing professionally in a Spanish club.

Up to 4 players born in Latin America were in the Spanish squad for the first EuroBasket in 1935. Spain won the silver medal: brothers Emilio and Pedro Alonso, Rafael Martín and Rafael Ruano. Two Americans were key factors in the modernization of the sport in Spain in the late 60s and the 70s, Wayne Brabender and Clifford Luyk, with the silver medal at the 1973 EuroBasket as their highest success. Two more Latin Americans were included in the 1980s, Argentinian Juan Domingo de la Cruz and Dominican Chicho Sibilio.

Modern FIBA regulations about the Eligibility and National Status of Players limit the number of naturalized players to one per squad:"A national team participating in a Competition of FIBA may have only one player on its team who has acquired the legal nationality of that country by naturalisation or by any other means after having reached the age of sixteen" (Book 3, Chapter 1, Article 21.a)In recent years, this regulation on a team's roster has avoided the inclusion of Serge Ibaka and Nikola Mirotić at the same time

List of players Note: list updated to senior team call-up in September 2019. Players in bold are still active at international level. Birthplace Player CapsFinal TournamentsNotes La Habana Emilio Alonso1935, 1943-49929Small Forward 1935 EuroBasketBorn in Cuba to Basque parents. Pedro Alonso's brother. La Habana Pedro Alonso1935, 1943516Small Forward 1935 EuroBasketBorn in Cuba to Basque parents. Emilio Alonso's brother. El Salvador Rafael Martín 1935424Small Forward 1935 EuroBasket (MVP)Of Salvadoran nationality, he was studying in Madrid at the time. Some sources list him as Costa Rican. Costa Rica Rafael Ruano 1935416Center 1935 EuroBasketBorn in Costa Rica, exact location unknown. Guánica Freddy Borrás 1949-195422245Small Forward 1951 Mediterranean GamesBorn in Puerto Rico. Arrived to Spain on a student visa to avoid being drafted in the Korean War. Player (1948-1949) and player-coach (1949-1954) at Real Madrid. National head coach in 1952. He introduced the Jump shot in Spain. Puerto Rico Guillermo Galíndez 1949-195424377 1951 Mediterranean GamesBorn in Puerto Rico. Arrived to Spain on a student visa. Venezuela Juan Bautista Urberuaga 1964-19659 Small Forward11th 1965 EuroBasket Syracuse, New York Clifford Luyk 1966-1976 1502021Power Forward / Center7th 1968 Summer Olympics 5th 1969 EuroBasket 7th 1971 EuroBasket 11th 1972 Summer Olympics 1973 EuroBasket 5th 1974 World Championship 4th 1975 EuroBasketBrought to Spain by coach Pedro Ferrándiz, who convinced him not to wait for the New York Knicks. Regarded as a key figure in the modernization of Spanish basketball. Naturalized in 1965, sped by the intervention of Raimundo Saporta. Montevideo, Minnesota Wayne Brabender 1969-1982 1902861Small Forward7th 1971 EuroBasket 11th 1972 Summer Olympics 1973 EuroBasket (MVP) 5th 1974 World Championship 4th 1975 EuroBasket 9th 1977 EuroBasket 6th 1979 EuroBasket 4th 1980 Summer Olympics 4th 1981 EuroBasket 4th 1982 World ChampionshipBrought to Spain by coach Pedro Ferrándiz, despite being drafted in 1967 by the Philadelphia Warriors. His quick naturalization in 1968 was a scandal in Spain. Buenos Aires José Luis Beltrán 1975-19761758Center4th 1975 Mediterranean GamesBorn to Spanish parents on a business trip to Argentina, moved back to Spain when he was 4. Pasteur, Buenos Aires Juan Domingo de la Cruz 1977-1986 1311012Center9th 1977 EuroBasket 6th 1979 EuroBasket 4th 1980 Summer Olympics 4th 1981 EuroBasket 4th 1982 World Championship 1983 EuroBasket 1984 Summer Olympics 4th 1985 EuroBasket 5th 1986 World Championship at the 1973 South America U-17 Championship, with Argentina. Then signed for FC Barcelona (1975-1987). Maracaibo José Luis "Indio" Díaz 1980, 1988-89 18 101Small Forward 1978 U-18 EuropeBorn in Venezuela to Spanish parents, raised in Spain. Nicknamed "indio" after his birthplace. San Cristóbal Chicho Sibilio 1980-1987 87 1324 Shooting Guard4th 1980 Summer Olympics 4th 1981 EuroBasket 4th 1982 World Championship 1983 EuroBasket 4th 1985 EuroBasket 5th 1986 World Championship 4th 1987 EuroBasketBorn in the Dominican Republic, which he represented in the 1975 Centrobasket. Signed for FC Barcelona in 1976, playing first for the youth team. Naturalized in 1977. Moscow José Biriukov 1988-199257526Shooting Guard8th 1988 Summer Olympics 5th 1989 Eurobasket 9th 1992 Summer OlympicsBorn in the Soviet Union to a Russian father and a Basque mother (sent to Moscow as a child to flee the Civil War). He'd played 22 games for the Soviet Union, so had to wait 3 years to play for Spain. Durmersheim Sivano Bustos 1990-19911616Center 1991 EuroBasketBorn in West Germany to Spanish parents. New York, New York Mike Smith 1995-199730259Small Forward6th 1995 EuroBasket 5th 1997 EuroBasketPlayed professionally in Spain from 1986 to 2002. Naturalized while playing for Joventut Badalona in 1991, had to wait until 1995 to play for Spain. Fullerton, California Johnny Rogers 2000 16 103 Power Forward9th 2000 Summer OlympicsPlayed in Spain, Italy and Greece (1988-2004). Married to a Spanish woman, citizenship in 1996. Dudley, North Carolina Chuck Kornegay 2001-20031892 Center 2001 EuroBasketHe played for several Spanish clubs from 1998 to 2008. Naturalized in 2001. Caracas Germán Gabriel 2002-03, 20132047Power Forward 1998 U-18 Europe 1999 U-19 World Cup 2000 U-20 Europe 2013 EuroBasketBorn in Venezuela, raised in Málaga, Spain. Brazzaville Serge Ibaka 2011-201450437Small Forward 2011 EuroBasket 2012 Summer Olympics 5th 2014 World ChampionshipBorn and raised in the Republic of the Congo, played for the Congolese U-18 team the 2006 Africa U18. He played for two years in Spain in his late teens. Granted nationality in 2011, while playing for Oklahoma City Thunder. He cannot play alongside Nikola Mirotić. Podgorica (formerly Titograd) Nikola Mirotić2015-201630372Power Forward 2010 U-20 Europe 2011 U-20 Europe (MVP) 2015 EuroBasket 2016 Summer OlympicsBorn in the SFR of Yugoslavia and raised in modern-day Montenegro, he signed at 14 for Real Madrid in 2005, playing professionally 2008-2014. He cannot play alongside Serge Ibaka. DakarIlimane Diop2016-1037Center 2011 U-16 Europe 4th 2012 U-17 World Cup 5th 2012 U-18 Europe 2013 U-18 Europe 2015 U-20 EuropeBorn in Senegal, brought to Spain as a baby, received Spanish passport at 16. Won 3 medals in 5 youth tournaments with Spain. Andorra la VellaQuino Colom2017-29214Point Guard 2006 U-18 Europe

2008 U-20 Europe

2019 World CupWon the 2004 Europe U-16 Division C with Andorra. He holds dual citizenship.

Notes Soviet Union dissolved in December 1991 into 15 independent countries, Russia being one of them. SFR Yugoslavia dissolved in 1992 into 5 independent countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. FR Yugoslavia was renamed into Serbia and Montenegro in February 2003 and dissolved in June 2006 into two independent countries, Montenegro and Serbia.

Other players Chilean-Spanish Álvaro Salvadores, born in Spain in 1928, whose family emigrated to Chile due to the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). He took part in the first FIBA Basketball World Cup, hosted by Argentina in 1950, having offered himself to the Spanish Federation. He also competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics with Chile. Finnish-born Carlos Ruf, born in Hamina to a Finnish mother, raised in Barcelona. won the silver medal in the 1985 U-16 European Championship with Spain. He played for the Cadet, Junior and U-22 squads. American Brad Oleson acquired Spanish nationality in 2009, and was selected to the senior men's Spain national team training camp pre-squad for the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

List of foreign-born players in Spanish men's national basketball team

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