BILBAO, Spain — The Basketball World Cup started Saturday with a record 45 current NBA players on the rosters of the 24 teams.
There were 75 players in the tournament who have played in the NBA, along with 17 more who have been drafted and whose rights are owned by NBA teams.
All 12 players on the U.S. roster are on NBA teams. Host Spain is next with six current NBA players.
Only three teams in the tournament have no players who have either played or been drafted by NBA clubs. Cleveland and Houston both have a league-high four players in the field.
The previous record was 44 active NBA players in the 2010 tournament.
