VBA 2026: Foreign Players - Growth Pill or Double-Edged Sword?

In the 2026 VBA finals, when the captain of Ho Chi Minh City made the decisive shot in the final seconds, I realized something: the entire lineup on the court had 4 foreign players, and the only Vietnamese player was standing in the corner waiting for the ball. The whole village curses me for a nameless kid — wait until I finish the story. That was not a basketball game, but a showcase of mercenaries. And I, a man who has followed Vietnamese basketball since the days of dirt courts, have witnessed this transformation bit by bit. Context: The VBA (Vietnam Basketball Association) has grown tremendously since its founding in 2026. The league attracts thousands of fans per game, teams have budgets of tens of billions of VND, and foreign players from the US, Europe, and Africa have poured in. But what is happening to Vietnamese players? They are being pushed to the sidelines. According to my statistics from the 2026 season, each VBA team averages 3.5 foreign players on the court during 40 minutes of play, while local players get only about 12 minutes. This number has doubled compared to the 2026 season. I spent a month quietly rewatching game footage, and I discovered that young Vietnamese players like Nguyen Van Hung, Tran Duc Minh, and Le Quoc Bao - who were once expected to become pillars of the national team - are sitting on the bench too much. They only get to play when the game is already decided, or when a foreign player is injured. This leads to a serious consequence: the Vietnamese national basketball team is lacking players with high-level competitive experience. At SEA Games 32, Vietnam only finished 5th, far behind Thailand and the Philippines. Meanwhile, countries like Indonesia and Malaysia have implemented policies to limit foreign players to prioritize the development of local players. They understand that an attractive league is not just about three-pointers from foreign players, but also about the stories of the Vietnamese themselves. I don't rewatch classic matches for nostalgia, but to prove what football has lost. Basketball is the same. Look back at the 2026 VBA finals, when the all-Vietnamese lineup of Ho Chi Minh City defeated the all-foreign lineup of Hanoi. That was a game where fans stood up and applauded not for flashy plays, but for the fighting spirit of Vietnamese people. But now, teams are following the same old path: recruiting tall, skilled foreign players and letting them play instead of local players. This creates a vicious cycle: local players don't get to play, don't develop, and the national team gets weaker. I had the opportunity to talk with a veteran coach at VBA, Mr. Nguyen Van Son, who led the national team for many years. He said: "We know the problem, but teams need immediate results. Without foreign players, they will lose, and the management will fire us." That is a harsh reality. But I believe there is another way. Look at the NBA model, which has minimum requirements for domestic players, or the Japanese league, which limits foreign players and focuses on youth development. If the VBA does not change, Vietnamese basketball will forever be a league of foreigners, and Vietnamese people will only be spectators. I could be wrong. Maybe the managers think foreign players will raise the quality of the league, attract fans, and thus create resources for development. But I have witnessed too many games where fans boo when a local player makes a bad pass, while they applaud the plays of foreign players. This creates a sense of inferiority for the Vietnamese themselves. I remember interviewing a young player once, and he said: "I don't dare dream of starting, because the foreign players are much better than me." That is a scary thought. If we don't change, the next generation will lose faith in themselves. So what is the solution? I propose that the VBA should implement a rule allowing each team to use a maximum of 2 foreign players on the court at the same time, and require at least 2 Vietnamese players on the court in each quarter. This will give local players the opportunity to play, learn, and develop. At the same time, teams need to invest in youth training systems, instead of just spending money on foreign players. I have seen academies like Nha Trang Club, where they have very talented young players, but they don't get a chance to play for the first team because their positions are taken by foreign players. That is a terrible waste. I am not xenophobic. I respect professional foreign players who have contributed to Vietnamese basketball. But I believe a successful league must be built on the foundation of local players. Look at Vietnamese football, where local players have made miracles at SEA Games and the Asian Cup. They achieved that because they played regularly in the V-League. Basketball needs the same. If we continue to favor foreign players, I bet that in the next 5 years, the Vietnamese national basketball team will not be able to compete with any team in the region. And when that happens, fans will turn away, because they no longer see their own image on the court. I have followed Vietnamese basketball for over 20 years, from grassroots tournaments in schools to professional arenas. I have never seen a generation of young players as talented as the current one. But they are being ignored. I don't want to witness that continue. I want to see Vietnamese kids playing basketball with pride, not with inferiority. I want to see games where fans cheer the names of Vietnamese players, not the names of foreigners. That is why I write this article. Not to criticize, but to awaken. Vietnamese basketball is at a crossroads: one path leads to dependence, the other to self-reliance. I hope we choose the right path. Three times I mispronounced Mbappe's name, a month of rewatching tapes that spoke volumes. I have been wrong many times in my career, but I always learn from those mistakes. And I believe the VBA can also learn from its mistakes. Look at what happened with Vietnamese football, where limiting foreign players created a generation of outstanding players. Basketball can do the same. But that requires determination from those in charge. I don't know if they will listen, but I will keep speaking. Because I believe that one day, we will see a Vietnamese national basketball team made entirely of Vietnamese players, playing with all the pride of the nation. And that will be the day I am most proud of.