Norway is one of the most populated countries in Europe. It has a population of over 5 million, yet with almost zero success in all basketball competitions and not much NBA talent. Norway’s most prolific player is Torgeir Bryn who also happens to be the only Norwegian to play in the NBA. Their national basketball team has never qualified for a major basketball tournament organized by FIBA. As a matter of fact, in 2011 they decided to withdraw from all FIBA competitions. In 2018 they made their comeback to FIBA competitions by being part of the European Championship for Small Countries.
Norway NBA Players:
Torgeir Bryn
Bryn was born on 19th August 1964, in Oslo. So far, he is the only Norwegian that have ever played in the NBA. He is 6′ 9″ and performed at the center position. In the US, he went to play college basketball at MiraCosta College and Southwest Texas University.
His NBA career lasted only one season (1989-1990) in which he played for Los Angeles Clippers. He spent only ten minutes on court over the only three matches in which he was on the roster. He scored just four points before his career dived a different direction than the NBA. While he was in the US, he also played for USBL and CBL clubs.
Upon his return to Europe, he played for several clubs with Zalgiris and SL Benfica being the most notable ones. At the age of 43, he made a comeback to play for Amneris Basket, a local Norwegian club. He did that to play along with his son Martin Bryn.
Right now there are no immediate, additional NBA players expected to come from Norway, but hopefully in the future we will see some blue chip NCAA or NBA prospects coming from Norway.
