The NBA preseason tips off next week. While the sport has American roots, it has spread across the globe and now counts many international players among its most popular athletes. Here are five international players to watch heading into the 2017-2018 preseason:

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Andrew Wiggins, aka "Maple Jordan," enters his third season with the franchise. High expectations have followed the 22-year-old since becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, and who, over the years, has shown steady improvement. Wiggins comes off of a season in which he averaged 23.6 points, 2.3 assists and four rebounds per game. Heading into this season, the Timberwolves will feature a strong scoring trio of Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns and offseason addition Jimmy Butler. 

Wiggins currently has a five-year contract offer, worth 148 million US dollars, from Minnesota on the table, which would make him one of the highest-paid Canadian athletes ever. He’ll have until a day before the regular season begins to sign on the dotted line. The Timberwolves will be in China for a two-game set against the Golden State Warriors next week — Oct. 5 in Shenzhen and Oct. 8 in Shanghai.

The Wurzburg, Germany native enters his 20th season with the Dallas Mavericks coming off of his lowest scoring season since his rookie year ('98-'99). Nowitzki averaged 14.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game during a season riddled with injuries. In the twilight of his career, the 13-time All-Star will primarily play center, instead of power forward where he has spent the bulk of his time. Nowitzki, 39, may be in his final season or two, but he is by all accounts a future NBA Hall of Famer. He's currently sixth on the NBA's all-time scoring list, behind Wilt Chamberlain and ahead of Lebron James, with 30,260 points. Led by Nowitzki, the Mavericks will look to bounce back from a disappointing '16-'17 season, which ended with missing the playoffs. 

A native of Athens, Greece, Antetokounmpo’s dazzling athleticism on the court has earned him the nickname “The Greek Freak.” Watch any of his highlights and the nickname will make perfect sense. The 22-year-old comes off of his best season statistically in his four-year career, averaging 22.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. His stats were strong enough to warrant him a place in the starting lineup of the NBA All-Star Game, making him the first Buck to make an All-Star roster since 2004. He’s currently being courted for a major shoe deal, with Adidas, Nike and Chinese brand Li-Ning in the mix. The Bucks return a young squad of talented players this season, led by Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker. They will begin preseason play on Oct. 2 in a road game against the Dallas Mavericks.

Fans cried and booed when Kristaps Porzingis’ name was called fourth overall during the 2015 NBA Draft. Despite the cold greeting, the 7’3 Latvian proved his worth on the court. Porzingis averaged 18.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game last season, his second in the league. The 22-year-old will shoulder more of the load this season following the departure of Carmelo Anthony, who recently signed a deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the firing of team president Phil Jackson. Porzingis was second to Anthony in points and minutes, which leaves a large hole to fill moving forward, but also a chance to take the reins of the struggling franchise. The Knicks open preseason play on Oct. 3 against the cross-town rival Brooklyn Nets at home.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver in June said he was "frustrated" that there were no Chinese players in the NBA at the moment. "There's probably more basketball being played in China than anywhere else in the world. And more NBA basketball is being watched in China than anywhere else in the world," he said.

The answer may have arrived this year: Houston Rockets big man Zhou Qi, from China's Henan Province. Houston drafted Zhou 43rd overall in the 2016 NBA Draft, but he would finish out his season with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association instead of coming immediately to the US. This summer, Zhou signed a multi-year deal with Houston. After a 17-point opener in the NBA Summer League, his numbers fizzled, but his range, height and mobility present enough upside to keep him on the team’s radar. Zhou is more of a long-term investment for the Rockets, as they’ll look to beef up his 210-pound frame and sharpen his skill set moving forward.

"He has a chance. He has a real solid chance,” Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni said to the Houston Chronicle following Tuesday’s training session. "He's 7-2. He can shoot 3s, run the floor, knows how to play…It probably won't be this year when he makes a mark. But everybody keep going, 'Wow, he can be pretty good.'" 

Zhou is the only Chinese player currently in the NBA and the may be the first since Yi Jianlian in 2012 to make a regular season roster.