Bucks stop here for foreigners

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International players long ago made an impact on the NBA with their on-court skills. Now foreign-born stars more and more are cashing in on the endorsement opportunities their American teammates have enjoyed for years.

Thanks in part to the NBA's efforts to promote basketball overseas, players such as Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash, a Canadian, and San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker of France have found on-court success increasingly translating into marketability.

International players now hold 108 endorsement deals, up from 57 four years ago, according to the NBA. And during those four years, the number of international players in the league rose from 68 to 83, an indication several of the top foreign-born stars have landed more than one endorsement deal.

"The level of talent of our international talent is at an all-time high," said Mark Tatum, the NBA's senior vice president for marketing partnerships. "We've got players like Steve Nash, [Spurs guard] Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker making huge contributions to their teams that make them very popular with marketers and fans."

Davie Brown Entertainment, a Dallas-based talent agency, places four international players on its list of the top 10 most marketable players, including Nash, Parker, Houston Rockets center Yao Ming and Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki.

The list also includes Spurs center Tim Duncan, who is from the U.S. Virgin Islands.

"You're seeing increased globalization, and in order to get that globalization, the [NBA] needs to find athletes they can use to brand the league," said James Santomier, who as director of the sports management program at Sacred Heart University has consulted with international companies about their relationship to sports leagues. "Companies are also finding that they can use these athletes for their own branding."

Yao, who pulled in more than $10 million in endorsements when he broke into the league in 2002, was named the top celebrity in China by Forbes Magazine for the third consecutive year. His endorsement portfolio includes deals with McDonald's, Visa and Apple, and he recently signed on with Garmin, a maker of global positioning systems.

Nash has deals with Nike, MDG Computers and Clearly Canadian, a maker of flavored waters. He also recently became part of a campaign with FedEx involving Parker, Ginobili, Utah Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko and New Orleans Hornets forward Peja Stojakovic.

"I think what you're seeing is maybe we're becoming more American and Americans are becoming more international," Nash said. "And with the influx of international players, everyone's slowly becoming more comfortable."