Kawhi Leonard was the MVP of last year's NBA Finals, though the San Antonio Spurs wouldn't have won without their incredible international presence.
The victory celebration was a flag-waving party for players who came to San Antonio from around the globe. They had nine players born outside the US, all of whom are back this season as the Spurs try to win back-to-back titles for the first time.
Tony Parker (France) and Manu Ginobili (Argentina) are stars, but key contributions from players such as Boris Diaw (France), Tiago Splitter (Brazil), Marco Belinelli (Italy) and Patty Mills (Australia) made it easy for the Spurs to dominate Miami in five games.
Splitter missed the final six games of the regular season with a right calf injury and the Spurs hope he can play in their series against the Clippers and big men Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.
The NBA says there are a record 58 players from outside the US on the rosters of the 16 teams who will begin the play-offs on Saturday. While Dirk Nowitzki and Pau and Marc Gasol are all-stars, many of the international players are lesser known but still critical to their teams’ success.
With that in mind, a look at some under the radar international players to watch in the playoffs:
Nikola Mirotic, Chicago Bulls: The Serbian by way of Real Madrid was one of the top rookies in the NBA this season, averaging 20.8 points in March, when he led the league in fourth-quarter scoring. That helped Chicago overcome a series of injuries, and the Bulls need the 6-foot-10 forward to continue making an impact now that they're healthy.
Timofey Mozgov, Cleveland Cavaliers: LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love will do most of the scoring, but the Cavaliers will need their big Russian centre to do some stopping, particularly if they face the Bulls and their collection of post players in the second round.
Bojan Bogdanovic, Brooklyn Nets: The rookie from Croatia averaged 17.4 points and made 51 per cent of his three-point shots in the final seven games, including a career-best 28 in the season-ending victory over Orlando that helped Brooklyn earn the final play-off spot. He was voted the Eastern Conference rookie of the month for April.
Jonas Valanciunas, Toronto Raptors; Marcin Gortat, Washington Wizards: Sure, the obvious attention on the Washington-Toronto series is on the outstanding backcourts, the Raptors' Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan against John Wall and Bradley Beal of the Wizards. So a series that's expected to be close could be determined by the men in the middle, the muscular Valanciunas (Lithuania) and Gortat (Poland).
Beno Udrih, Memphis Grizzlies: Miami's Goran Dragic may be the best Slovenian point guard in the NBA, but he's not in the play-offs. Udrih is and could have an important role for Memphis with starting point guard Mike Conley battling a foot injury. He averaged 11.4 points in the final five games, starting four, including a season-high 20 on April 10 at Utah.
Andrew Bogut, Golden State Warriors: The Warriors boasted the best defence in the NBA during the regular season, holding opponents to just 98.2 points per 100 possessions. Their scheme, reliant position-switching and emphasising fluidity, doesn't work right though without their Australian big man guarding the middle, where he's one of the best in the game as a rim protector.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks: Likewise, the Bucks were a defence-oriented team, just behind the Warriors in points allowed per 100 posessions (99.3) thanks to a collection of long-armed and quick defenders who can shift between hounding the wings and deterring shots inside. Antetokounmpo, a 6ft 11in Greek of Nigerian heritage, at just 20 years old is Milwaukee's most promising talent.
Omer Asik, New Orleans Pelicans: The 7-foot Turkish centre doesn't do a whole lot for the upstart Pelicans offensively, but he's a key component next to Anthony Davis in manning the defence around the rim, where New Orleans had the most blocks in the NBA this year.
Donatas Motiejunas, Houston Rockets: For a team that has been plagued by a lack of quality depth around MVP candidate James Harden, the 24-year-old Lithuanian turned into an invaluable contributor with 12 points per game as well as an underrated ability to knock down a three and help space the floor for Harden.
Dennis Schroder, Atlanta Hawks: The 21-year-old German pistol-whip is speedy and creative, displaying his playmaking potential this season off the bench for Atlanta with 4.1 assists and an impressive 34.6 assist percentage. Schroder is probably the Hawks' most important player off the bench and a decent Sixth Man of the Year candidate.
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE