title: List of foreign-born players in Spanish men's national basketball team
text: # 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, where Spain won the silver medal: brothers Emilio and Pedro Alonso, Rafael Martín and Rafael Ruano. Two Americans were a key factor 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 | Years | Caps | Pts. | Pos. | Final Tournaments | Notes |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | La Habana | Emilio Alonso | 1935, 1943-49 | 9 | 29 | Small Forward | 1935 EuroBasket | Born in Cuba to Basque parents. Pedro Alonso's brother. |
  | La Habana | Pedro Alonso | 1935, 1943 | 5 | 16 | Small Forward | 1935 EuroBasket | Born in Cuba to Basque parents. Emilio Alonso's brother. |
  | El Salvador | Rafael Martín | 1935 | 4 | 24 | Small 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 | 1935 | 4 | 16 | Center | 1935 EuroBasket | Born in Costa Rica, exact location unknown. |
  | Guánica | Freddy Borrás | 1949-1954 | 22 | 245 | Small Forward | 1951 Mediterranean Games | Born 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 | 1949-1954 | 24 | 377 | | 1951 Mediterranean Games | Born in Puerto Rico. Arrived to Spain on a student visa. |
  | Venezuela | Juan Bautista Urberuaga | 1964-1965 | 9 | 0 | Small Forward | 11th 1965 EuroBasket | |
  | Syracuse, New York | Clifford Luyk | 1966-1976 | 150 | 2021 | Power Forward / Center | 7th 1968 Summer Olympics 5th 1969 EuroBasket 7th 1971 EuroBasket 11th 1972 Summer Olympics 1973 EuroBasket 5th 1974 World Championship 4th 1975 EuroBasket | Brought 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 | 190 | 2861 | Small Forward | 7th 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 Championship | Brought 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 | 1975-1976 | 17 | 58 | Center | 4th 1975 Mediterranean Games | Born 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 | 131 | 1012 | Center | 9th 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 | 101 | Small Forward | 1978 U-18 Europe | Born in Venezuela to Spanish parents, raised in Spain. Nicknamed "indio" after his birthplace. |
  | San Cristóbal | Chicho Sibilio | 1980-1987 | 87 | 1324 | Shooting Guard | 4th 1980 Summer Olympics 4th 1981 EuroBasket 4th 1982 World Championship 1983 EuroBasket 4th 1985 EuroBasket 5th 1986 World Championship 4th 1987 EuroBasket | Born 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 | 1988-1992 | 57 | 526 | Shooting Guard | 8th 1988 Summer Olympics 5th 1989 Eurobasket 9th 1992 Summer Olympics | Born 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 | 1990-1991 | 16 | 16 | Center | 1991 EuroBasket | Born in West Germany to Spanish parents. |
  | New York, New York | Mike Smith | 1995-1997 | 30 | 259 | Small Forward | 6th 1995 EuroBasket 5th 1997 EuroBasket | Played 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 Forward | 9th 2000 Summer Olympics | Played in Spain, Italy and Greece (1988-2004). Married to a Spanish woman, citizenship in 1996. |
  | Dudley, North Carolina | Chuck Kornegay | 2001-2003 | 18 | 92 | Center | 2001 EuroBasket | He played for several Spanish clubs from 1998 to 2008. Naturalized in 2001. |
  | Caracas | Germán Gabriel | 2002-03, 2013 | 20 | 47 | Power Forward | 1998 U-18 Europe 1999 U-19 World Cup 2000 U-20 Europe 2013 EuroBasket | Born in Venezuela, raised in Málaga, Spain. |
  | Brazzaville | Serge Ibaka | 2011-2014 | 50 | 437 | Small Forward | 2011 EuroBasket 2012 Summer Olympics 5th 2014 World Championship | Born 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 Mirotić | 2015-2016 | 30 | 372 | Power Forward | 2010 U-20 Europe 2011 U-20 Europe (MVP) 2015 EuroBasket 2016 Summer Olympics | Born 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. |
  | Dakar | Ilimane Diop | 2016- | 10 | 37 | Center | 2011 U-16 Europe 4th 2012 U-17 World Cup 5th 2012 U-18 Europe 2013 U-18 Europe 2015 U-20 Europe | Born in Senegal, brought to Spain as a baby, received Spanish passport at 16. Won 3 medals in 5 youth tournaments with Spain. |
  | Andorra la Vella | Quino Colom | 2017- | 29 | 214 | Point Guard | 2006 U-18 Europe 2008 U-20 Europe 2019 World Cup | Won the 2004 Europe U-16 Division C with Andorra. He holds dual citizenship. |
  