Go back to the 1999-2000 NBA season, and there were only two foreign-born players in the NBA who averaged 15 points per game: Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan.

追溯到NBA的1999-2000赛季，联盟里非美国本土球员中，只有两位场均能得到15分以上，一位是德克-诺维茨基，一位是蒂姆-邓肯。

This season, there are 24 names on that list -- by far the most in league history.

这个赛季，有24位外国球员得分到了15+——是联盟历史上最多的。

The NBA international imprint¹ just keeps getting bigger, providing the sort of transformative impact the likes of which the league probably hasn't seen since the ABA merger².

NBA的国际印记越来越大，自从与ABA合并以来，我们可能从未见过具有如此变革性的影响。

These aren't just some guys taking up roster³ spots, either.

这些国际球员，不只是简简单单占一个球队名额而已。

These are franchise⁴ players. At least one-third of the league's teams have a foreign-born player who would classify as its best, or at least its most important.

这些人都是基石球员。联盟中至少三分之一的球队将外国球员作为头牌，或者至少在队内发挥最重要的作用。

One of the MVP front-runners at this point is Greece's Giannis Antetokounmpo. Dallas' Luka Doncic looks like an overwhelming favorite to become the first Slovenian rookie of the year.

比如，希腊的扬尼斯-阿德托昆博现在正是MVP热门之一；达拉斯的卢卡-东契奇则人气爆棚，将要成为斯洛文尼亚出产的第一位最佳新秀。

Cameroon's Joel Embiid might be the dominant⁵ big man in the league, and keeps getting better for Philadelphia.

喀麦隆的乔尔-恩比德可能算是联盟最具统治力的内线，在费城打得也是越来越好。

"It's been fun to watch over the last two decades, where the game started internationally and where it is now," said Dirk Nowitzki, the German who became the biggest star in Dallas Mavericks⁶' history.

德克-诺维斯基，这位德国人成为了达拉斯独行侠历史上最耀眼的明星，他说道：“在过去的二十年里，看着NBA一点一点国际化，直到今天的程度，也是个颇为有趣的现象。。”

"I think the game has grown globally, China, Australia, Africa, Europe, South America. I think we've got 150 international players in the league or more. It's been fun to watch."他说：“我认为比赛已经已经在全球有了发展，中国，澳大利亚，非洲，欧洲，南美。在联盟中我们已经拥有了150名国际球员，甚至更多。观看比赛变得很有趣。”

There's a myriad⁷ of theories on why this is happening.

有很多理论可以解释为什么会发生这种事。

The one that makes the most sense is that the game is basically beamed in real time right now to every phone in the world.

最有意义的一点是，比赛现在基本上是实时传送到世界范围的每一部手机上。

Young players like Doncic can see fellow Europeans succeed in the NBA while oohing and aahing over their basketball heroes,and for the Mavericks rookie, it was LeBron.

像东契奇这样的年轻球员可以看到他们的欧洲同胞在NBA中取得成功，同时他们也为自己的篮球英雄们欢呼；对于这位独行侠的新秀来说，他的英雄是勒布朗。

Embiid went slightly more old school, saying his favorite all-timer is former MVP Hakeem Olajuwon.

恩比德可能有点老派，他说过，纵观篮球史，他最喜欢的是前MVP哈基姆-奥拉朱旺。

Antetokounmpo modeled some of his game after Scottie Pippen.

阿德托昆博模仿过斯科特·皮蓬的球风。

The seeds have been planted over these last 20 years.

这些种子是在过去20年埋下的。

It was only a matter of time before they bore this sort of fruit.

它们结出这些果实，仅仅是时间的问题。

"We just know what this game is about," Doncic said of the young foreign cluster of stars. "I don't know if people think international players aren't that good, but I think we showed up."“我们知道该怎么打球，”东契奇在谈到年轻的外国球星时说，"我不知道人们是否认为国际球员其实没有那么好，但我想我们已经展现出自己的实力了。"