NBA seeks clarity for players affected by US immigration orders, including Thon Maker

The NBA has reached out to the US Department of State in an effort to understand how President Donald Trump's executive order suspending immigration and visas for citizens from certain countries will impact player travel.

"We have reached out to the State Department and are in the process of gathering information to understand how this executive order would apply to players in our league who are from one of the impacted countries," NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement.

"The NBA is a global league and we are proud to attract the very best players from around the world."

Los Angeles Lakers forward Luol Deng and Milwaukee Bucks rookie Thon Maker were born in Sudan (now South Sudan), and residents from Sudan have been banned entry into the US for three months, according to the order.

Deng is also a British citizen, and Maker has dual citizenship in Australia and South Sudan. The Bucks played in Toronto against the Raptors on Friday, and Maker had no issue clearing customs using his Australian passport upon his return to the US. The Bucks and Lakers do not play in Toronto the rest of the season. Maker's younger brother, Matur, plays prep basketball in Canada and is being recruited by US colleges.

There are several players from Sudan on American college and high school rosters. Centre Choi Marial, who is from South Sudan and plays for Cheshire (Connecticut) Academy, is one of the top prospects in the class of 2019 and has offers from Florida State, Georgetown, Iowa, St. John's and West Virginia, according to several recruiting sites.

Kentucky freshman Wenyen Gabriel is also from South Sudan.

Former NBA player Hamed Haddadi is from Iran, which is also on the banned list.

MCT