Russian Players in the NBA

Timofey Mozgov and Alexander Kaun, both from Russia, played center for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2015-2016 season. The Cavs came back in the championship series and ended up beating the Golden State Warriors in game 7 to win the NBA Championship.

Mozgov was playing in his second NBA final in a row. Last year the Cavaliers were also in the finals against Golden State but ended up losing the series 4-2. This year, Mozgov spent an average of five minutes on the floor, scoring 1.4 points per game. These stats do not seem like much, but Mozgov was a huge presence when on the court. Kaun was a little different story in that he made his NBA debut during this championship season. He played in 25 regular season games, however he did not see the court during the playoffs. Mozgov currently plays for the Los Angeles Lakers.

When compared to other nations having players in the NBA, Russia has very few. In the 2015-2016 season, there were only three players. The two mentioned above along with Sergey Karasev, who played for the Brooklyn Nets. However, it is quite impressive to have 2 of 3 players on the Championship team.