International players keep on taking over the NBA Playoffs, with Latinos among those shining the most

SEATTLE - In what's been a trend for the last few years, international players have taken the spotlight in the NBA world. The 2023-24 season saw a record 125 international players from 40 different countries and territories in the opening-night rosters, making it the third consecutive season featuring at least 120 international players and all 30 NBA teams counting with at least one in their roster.

Out of the 125 players, 56 of them reached the postseason. Among them, four Latinos have seen action in the first round of the playoffs. Here's a look at how they have fared so far.

Karl-Anthony Towns - Minnesota Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves have been one of the surprise teams this year, led by All-Stars Anthony Edwards and Dominican Karl-Anthony Towns, who missed 18 of the last 20 regular season games due to injury.

After finishing the regular season with the third best record in the Western Conference, the Timberwolves haven't slowed down and are currently two games up on the Phoenix Suns.

Despite still getting back on rhythm, Towns has been a huge contributor for Minnesota on both sides of the floor. Only Rudy Gobert (25) has grabbed more rebounds than Towns (15) and he is shooting at 50% from the field in two games.

The 28-year-old big man is coming off one of his best seasons yet, earning his fourth All-Star appearance and averaging 21-8-3 during the regular season.

Al Horford - Boston Celtics

The veteran center has continued to be a solid option off the bench for the Celtics throughout the year. One of 15 international players in opening-night rosters to be named NBA All-Star at some point in their careers, Horford played in 65 regular season games and averaged 8.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game this season.

The 16-year veteran was the third-best rebounder for the team in the regular season and shot 41.9% from deep, the best clip by a player aged 37 or older in the entire NBA.

The Dominican is currently the third-oldest player in the playoffs, only behind LeBron James and Kyle Lowry. But for Horford, age is just a number. He's played 20+ minutes in each of Boston's two games against the Miami Heat.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. - Miami Heat

One of the best rookies of the 2023 class, Jaime Jaquez Jr.'s impact was pretty much automatic with the Miami Heat. He averaged almost 12 points in 28 minutes per game during the regular season, the eight-best average by a rookie this year.

With Jimmy Butler out with an injury, Jaquez has had to change his role in the playoffs to a more aggressive scorer. Only Bam Adebayo (45) and Tyler Herro (35) have scored more points for the Heat in the opening round against the Celtics than the Mexican-American (30). He is also leading all rookies in scoring so far in the playoffs.

On Game 1 of their series against Boston, Jaquez established a new record for points by a player of Mexican descent in the postseason, scoring 16 points.

José Alvarado - New Orleans Pelicans

The Puerto Rican was one of the brightest spots for the Pelicans in play-in games, averaging 10 points per game and dishing out 4.5 assists as New Orleans secured the No.8 seed and a matchup against the No.1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder.

With Zion Williamson out with an injury, the Pelicans have had a tough time against the Thunder, dropping the first two games of the series.

Alvarado is shooting 2-for-12 from the field against the Thunder and has only contributed to three assists in the two games he's played so far.