Toppa Top 10: Ten NBA Ballers From The Caribbean

Words by Jesse Serwer

Finally… it’s basketball season. After nearly two months of cancelled games, the NBA lockout is over. The end couldn’t have come soon enough—this winter was starting to look long. With players reporting to training camp and the season opener set for Christmas Day, we’re taking a look at the best NBA players from the Caribbean and the Diaspora. Yep, there’s a lot more of them than you think!

10. Ronny Turiaf (Martinique)

Known for his defensive play, animated bench presence and long cornrows, the Martinique-born Turiaf attended high school in France before playing at Gonzaga University and for the Lakers, Warriors and Knicks. A fan favorite in every city he’s played, Turiaf was traded to the Washington Wizards last week.

9. Mickaël Piétrus (Guadeloupe)

A major contributor to the Orlando Magic team that played the Lakers in the 2010 NBA Finals, eight-year veteran and current Phoenix Suns forward Mickaël Piétrus grew up on Guadeloupe’s Grande-Terre island. Like his fellow Antillean Ronny Turiaf, the younger brother of Spanish League star Florent Piétrus has been known to provide comic relief on the sidelines.

8. Raja Bell (St. Croix, USVI)

St. Croix-born, Miami-raised Raja Bell went undrafted out of college in 2001 before catching on with the Philadelphia 76ers during their NBA Finals run in 2002. Now entering his 11th season, the defensive and three-point shooting specialist is back with the Utah Jazz, where he had some of his most successful seasons in the mid 2000s.

7. Roy Hibbert (Jamaica)

Born in Queens, NYC, to a Jamaican father and a Trinidadian mother, 7″2 Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert has chosen to represent Jamaica in international basketball competition. Parks and Recreation viewers may also recognize Hibbert from scenes like this one.

6. Charlie Villanueva (Dominican Republic)

Another product of Queens, Detroit Pistons forward Charlie Villanuva lobbied the International Basketball Federation in 2009 to be allowed to represent the Dominican Republic in international play, after previously repping the USA. Villanueva, who suffers from the skin disease alopecia areata, received the Community Assist Award from the NBA for his work as spokesman for the NAAF National Alopecia Areata Foundation.

5. Samuel Dalembert (Haiti)

Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, then Philadelphia 76ers center Samuel Dalembert, who grew up in Haiti, Canada and New Jersey, stepped up in a major way for his home country. His contributions to relief efforts won him the NBA’s J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award (in fact, all four players nominated for that particular award were Caribbean-born) and the NBA Human Spirit Award in 2010 and 2011, respectively. A member of last year’s Sacramento Kings, Dalembert is close to signing with the reigining-champion Dallas Mavericks.

4. J.J. Barea (Puerto Rico)

Little known before last season, Barea led the Dallas Mavericks to their first-ever NBA Championship last season, at point guard. He probably won’t have the chance to repeat the feat, as he’s just signed with perennial bottom feeders, the Minnesota Timberwolves. It’s OK, though—Barea has quite possibly the hottest girlfriend in the league, in 2006 Miss Universe Zuleyka Rivera.

3. Al Horford (Dominican Republic)

“Al Horford” doesn’t sound very Dominican but the Atlanta Hawks star’s full name is actually Alfred Joel Horford Reynoso. Born in Puerto Plato, DR, the younger brother of former NBA player Tito Horford was part of the Florida Gators team along with Joakim Noah that won repeat NCAA championships in 2007 and 2008, and appeared in each of the last two NBA All-Star games.

2. Tim Duncan (St. Croix)

A sureshot Hall of Famer, two-time MVP and 13-time All-Star Tim Duncan has more championship titles—four— than all of the rest of the players on this list put together. The quiet giant’s reserved, low-key style has often been lampooned in the States—The Onion once ran the headline “Tim Duncan Hams It Up For Crowd By Arching Left Eyebrow Slightly”—but as St. Croix Senate President Vargrave Richards once said, “his laid-back attitude is the embodiment of the people of St. Croix, doing things without fanfare and hoopla.”

1. Carmelo Anthony (Puerto Rico)

This choice may be something a surprise, as Anthony’s Puerto Rican roots are not that well known. Though his Puerto Rican father, Carmelo Anthony Sr., died when he was only two, Carmelo Jr. has reconnected with his roots in recent years, contributing to community rebuilding projects there—and marrying the fully Boricua Lala Vazquez. Now, can the Knicks franchise player prove he’s a superstar by bringing a championship home for all the Boricuas in NYC?

Samardo Samuels (Jamaica)

Second-year Cleveland Cavaliers forward Samardo Samuels is the only Jamaican-born player currently in the NBA but he’s certainly not the first. Ever heard of Patrick Ewing?

Gary Forbes (Panama)

Born in Colon, Panama and raised in Brooklyn, Gary Forbes played professionally in the Philippines (where he played for a team called the Talk N Text Tropang Texters), Venezuela, Italy and Israel before finding a home with the Denver Nuggets last season. A surprise contributor during his time in Denver, Forbes has signed to play with the Toronto Raptors this season.