The Caribbean is no stranger to the NBA. For years there have been basketball players born in the Caribbean who have played and sometimes thrived on the biggest of stages. Tim Duncan was born in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands and is a 5-time NBA Champion and considered to be the Greatest Power Forward to play the game. Patrick Ewing played for the New York Knicks in the 90s and was one of the great big men of the game. Carl Herrera was born in Trinidad and was drafted by the Houston Rockets and would be part of the back-to-back championship teams playing alongside Hakeem Olajuwon.
The following are some well-known current NBA basketball players who were born in the Caribbean. Some have made the all-star team and some are just getting their careers started. These are players who came straight from Caribbean countries and do not feature athletes who have Caribbean heritage but were born somewhere else (in the USA, Canada etc).
Buddy Hield
Chavano Rainer “Buddy” Hield, born in Eight Mile Rock in Freeport, was drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans with the 6th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft and then was traded to his current team, the Sacramento Kings later that season, and was named on the 2016-17 All-Rookie team.
He is regarded as one of the NBA’s most lethal shooters, with a career 40% 3 point shooting percentage. His 4 years at the University of Oklahoma projected his marksman potential, averaging 17.4 PPG while shooting 39% from 3. His senior year saw him shoot nearly 46% from 3 while averaging 25 PPG. His best shooting season in 2018-19 saw him shoot.
In the 2020-21 NBA season, Hield became the fastest player in history to make 1,000 3-pointers, needing only 350 games to do so. He also won the 2020 NBA 3-Point Shooting Contest during All-Star Weekend that year.Buddy also has a knack for making last second buzzer-beaters running out of the gym. These days, he comes off the bench for the Kings but still is a very productive player.
Buddy Hield Wins NBA 3-Point Contest, Hits Last Shot to Become Champion at All-Star Weekend
Deandre Ayton
DeAndre Ayton, from Nassau, was the #1 Overall Pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. A 6’11” 250 lb center coming out of his freshman year at Arizona University, he was compared to the likes of Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Anthony Davis by basketball experts. Ayton started most of his rookie season and tallied 16.3 points on 58.5% shooting, 10.8 rebounds and 0.9 blocks over 71 games played, and was rewarded with First Team All-Rookie honours, joining others such as Trae Young, Marvin Bagley III, Jaren Jackson Jr. and eventual Rookie of the Year, Luka Dončić.
This past season, he was a key piece in the Suns’ playoff run that saw them come up short in the NBA Finals against eventual champions, Milwaukee Bucks. In his first NBA Playoffs he averaged 14.7 PPG and 12 RPG, proving that he was ready for the bright lights and pressure of playoff basketball. He’s projected to be one of the top free agents this upcoming off-season so he’ll be looking for max contract money and be the #1 player on a team if the Suns don’t look to re-sign him.
Deandre Ayton POSTS Playoff CAREER-HIGH 24 PTS & GAME-WINNER! ☀
Al Horford
Al Horford was born in Porta Plata, Dominican Republic. He learned basketball from his father “Tito” Horford, who played in the NBA for three years before before going to play in Europe. He played college basketball at the University of Florida where he won back to back NCAA National Titles.
Horford was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the third overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. He was the only player unanimously selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team and was also runner-up for Rookie of the Year honors,finishing behind Brandon Roy in the voting. He averaged 10.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.9 blocks, 0.7 steals and 31.4 minutes in 81 games (77 starts).
Since entering the NBA, he’s played for the aforementioned Hawks, Celtics and currently the Oklahoma City Thunder. He’s a 5-time all-star, made the All-NBA 3rd Team in 2011 and was 2nd Team All-Defense in 2018. His career best season came in the 2012-13 season where he averaged a career-high 17.4 points, career-high 10.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.1 steals in 37.2 minutes, along with 43 double-doubles.
Al Horford Top 10 Plays of Career
Skal Labissière
Born in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, Skal was drafted by the Phoenix Suns with the 28th overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft before having his rights traded to the Sacramento Kings. He became the highest drafted Haitian-born player since Samuel Dalembert was drafted with the 26th pick in 2001. He averages 7.2 points and 4.5 rebounds for his career in the NBA.
For his rookie season, he only played in 32 games (started 12) while on assignment with the Kings’ G League affiliate, Reno Bighorns. His best game as a King came against the Suns in 2017 where he scored 32 points (21 in the 4th quarter) to go with 11 rebounds in a 107-101 win, his first career double-double.He became the youngest Kings player to record a 30-10 game and the fourth Kings player to do it as a reserve since the 1984–85 season.
In 2019, he was traded to the Portland Trailblazers. He started in the final game of the regular season due to the Trailblazers resting their starters for the playoffs. In 40 minutes of action, he had 29 points and 15 rebounds, helping the Blazers overcome a 28-point deficit in a 136–131 win against his former team, the Sacramento Kings. He’s currently a free agent.
Skal Labissiere (29pts, 15reb) Highlights vs. Sacramento Kings | April 10, 2019
Nicholas Richards
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Nick Richards was discovered by a basketball scout in 2013 during a basketball camp on his native island. He would eventually commit to the University of Kentucky in 2017. During his three years playing at Kentucky, the 7 foot, 245 lb center averaged 7.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 105 games played (started in 70). In his junior year he set career highs across the board (14 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game) and was named First-Team All-SEC.
He would declare for the 2020 NBA Draft and would be drafted 42nd overall by the New Orleans Pelicans, who would trade him to the Charlotte Hornets. He would be assigned to their G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm where he is able to develop his skills as a player. On his debut against the G League Ignite, he’d tally 26 points, grab 18 rebounds and blocked 4 shots in a 122-109 loss. In the G League he averaged 17 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3 blocks in 9 games played.
Nick Richards 26 Points 10 Reb 4 Blocks
Kai Jones
Kai Jones is a combo big man who could play the traditional power forward role as well as a small center for the Charlotte Hornets who drafted him with the 19th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Born in Nassau, Bahamas, he had aspirations of being a long jumper, but after playing organized basketball at age 15 and undergoing a significant growth spurt, he leaned more into basketball. He actually worked out with Deandre Ayton, who was at the time a top high school recruit, in their hometown of Nassau. He played collegiate basketball at the University of Texas and is now on assignment for the Hornets G League affiliate team, the Greensboro Swarm to have him get more playing time to better develop his skills. His first start for the Swarm saw him put up 15 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and 5 blocks. A very athletic big man, Jones is seen as one of the next big-name athletes to come out of the Caribbean basin.
Kai Jones (15 points) Highlights vs. Rio Grande Valley Vipers