Home » Misc » How much do cba basketball players make
How much do cba basketball players make
How Much Do Overseas Basketball Players Make?
Scotttfujita.com is an informative blog for readers. The products in the article contain affiliate marketing links. We may receive a small commission when you make purchases through our links. You do not need to pay any additional fees for us. See our full disclosures here
When it comes to a basketball league, we think of the NBA. This professional basketball tournament attracts the attention of spectators around the world thanks to its sublime matches.
It is every player’s dream to be here. Part of the reason is thanks to the salary and benefits for NBA players. However, overseas basketball leagues are also gradually proving their potential and more and more players are joining here.
How much do overseas basketball players make? Overseas basketball players can receive an average wage from zero to $4 million a year.
There are many factors that affect the salary and amount an overseas basketball player can receive. If you still want to learn more, continue reading this article by Scott Fujita.
Overseas basketball salaries
Contents
How Much Do Overseas Basketball Players Make A Year?
While the number of players specified for NBA teams is limited, playing basketball overseas is optimal for players to find opportunities for themselves. Each country has its own rules and ways of paying its professional basketball players.
Many countries in Europe pay average salaries between $60k and $500k per season for a player playing in the top tier. Some Asian countries like Korea or Japan are also willing to pay a similar amount from $120k to $400k a season.
View more: How much do NBA players make
China has the most generous payouts, ranging from $1 million to $3 million a season. The rest of the world pays more modest salaries, ranging from $2k to $20k.
Remember, these numbers are only valid when you enter a top professional basketball division.
Through our research, we have identified two main factors that influence the payment ability of players in overseas basketball leagues. These include:
The economic potential of the country.
The growth and popularity of basketball for that country.
To learn more about salaries at most overseas basketball leagues, check out this video.
Do Overseas Basketball Players Pay Taxes?
The good news for those who want to play basketball professionally overseas is that you won’t need to pay taxes on your earnings. It is the most apparent difference between the contract of an NBA player and an overseas player.
The basketball player’s team is the unit responsible for paying tax on that individual’s income. The salary you see on the contract is roughly what you can expect. Meanwhile, NBA players often have to spend half of their salary to pay related expenses and taxes.
Top 8 Highest Paying Overseas Basketball Leagues In 2021
The salary of a professional basketball player in different leagues will fluctuate significantly. Not only that, but the leagues also present an income gap between the average player and the highest-paid player. To learn more about league-specific salaries, follow the next section.
#1. Chinese Basketball Association
Chinese Basketball Association
The 2020-21 season marks the agreement on a new salary cap by the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Basketball clubs at CBA can pay between 20-40 million yuan ($3-6.72 million) for Chinese players born in the country. Each team can have up to four foreign players and limit their salaries to no more than $7 million.
Related: Charles barkley net worth
Salary ranges are marked from A to E, with D being the maximum salary. Usually, overseas players will receive compensation of between 1 and 3 million dollars per year.
The season at the CBA also has a shorter playing time of just six months. Compared to the marathon race that lasts from 8 to 9 months in the European seasons, the competition conditions are good.
All of the above reasons have made CBA, apart from the NBA, one of the world’s most attractive overseas basketball leagues.
#2. EuroLeague
EuroLeague
The EuroLeague is the dream destination of any professional basketball player overseas thanks to its premium remuneration. The average European basketball salaries are pretty impressive, ranging from $500k – $800k per season. The best players can achieve a max salary of up to 4 million dollars per season.
FC Barcelona’s Nikola Mirotic leads the list of the highest-paid basketball players at the EuroLeague, receiving $4 million per year. Following him is Shane Larkin of Anadolu Efes, with $3.7 million per year.
Related: How much do NBA refs make
The sponsor for this sports tournament is Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. The tournament features 16 teams. They include Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Anadolu Efes, Olympiacos, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Valencia Basket, Baskonia, Zalgiris, Zenit Saint Petersburg, among others.
The EuroLeague schedule starts in October and ends in May every year.
#3. Spain Liga ACB
Liga ACB
Liga ACB is the premier professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. It consists of 18 teams. The most prestigious tournament teams such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, or Kirolbet Baskonia also compete in the EuroLeague. They are also the teams that pay the best for basketball players.
The average salary that a basketball player can receive at ACB is from $250k to $500k per season. The highest-paid European basketball players are Walter Tavares and Sergio Llull. Each pocketed more than $2 million per season.
Many ACB teams have one or more NBA players on their roster.
#4. Turkish Basketball Super League
Basketball Super League
Turkey’s top professional men’s basketball league is the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL). Top BSL contenders such as Fenerbahçe Beko and Anadolu Efes also competed in the EuroLeague.
Each BSL team can recruit up to eight overseas basketball players and use up to six players per match.
Salaries for foreign, non-Turkish players at BSL are typically between $250k and $450k per season. The highest-paid player is Anadolu Efes’ Shane Larkin, with a $2.6 million salary excluding taxes.
#5. Russian VTB United
VTB United
The VTB United is the leading national basketball league in Russia. They offer an excellent average salary between $200k and $450k per year. Depending on the player’s status, an overseas basketball player’s maximum pay is $4 million.
In fact, Europe’s highest-paid stars now mostly come from Russia. Alexey Shved, Nikola Milutinov, and Mike James all make $2.5 million per season.
It is worth noting that Alexey Shved played in the NBA for three years before returning to Russia. Brooklyn Nets currently hire Mike James as a free agent.
Given their stature and fame, we can easily see why the average Euro basketball salaries are so high.
#6. Germany Basketball Bundesliga
Basketball Bundesliga
The German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) is another foreign league that pays players well. They have 18 teams with budgets as low as $10 million. Bayern Munich is the team with the most significant budget, $25 million.
Playing overseas at BBL will bring in an average salary of $100K to $350K per season. NBA first-round superstars like Greg Monroe can pocket around $1 million per season.
#7. Italian Lega Basket Serie A
Lega Basket Serie A
Basketball, surprisingly, is quite a popular sport in Italy. The Lega Basket Serie A (Serie A) is the biggest tournament with the participation of 17 teams. Each team offers an average salary ranging from $180K to $350K per year for an overseas basketball player.
For players with superstar status, he will be offered a higher salary. The highest-paid basketball player in Serie A is Sergio Rodriguez. He gets $2 million a year, the highest salary in the league.
#8. France LNB Pro A
LNB Pro A
Founded in 1921 with 18 teams, the LNB Pro A is still France’s most prestigious basketball tournament today. The defending champion ASVEL is also the most successful team in the game.
An overseas basketball player can earn an average salary at LNB between $80k and $200k per season. A.J Slaughter of ASVEL was the highest-paid basketball player of the 2019-20 season with $300k.
Many successful NBA players, such as Ian Mahinmi and Tony Parker, have emerged from the club over the past 15 seasons. This league is considered one of the financially safe places to play professional basketball abroad.
Final Thoughts
With an average NBA salary of $6.2 million per year, the NBA league is a mecca for professional basketball players. However, they can still find attractive opportunities at overseas teams as basketball becomes more and more popular. When receiving an attractive salary, they are also subject to many expectations and pressure from the team and the fans.
Whether you want to become the highest-paid NBA player or an overseas player, the prerequisite is that you have a stable form and continuous learning.
Thank you for reading!
American basketball players share tales of what it's really like to play in China
Jan 17, 2017
print
It wasn't too long ago that outsiders considered the Chinese Basketball Association one of the great unknowns in professional sports.
But in recent years, especially since the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the CBA has emerged as a viable option for borderline NBA players or veterans looking to extend their careers.
Case in point: Former New York Knicks star Stephon Marbury, who earned more than $150 million in 13 NBA seasons. He jumped to the CBA in 2010, won three championships and became beloved in China. The erstwhile lottery pick now has a small museum and a statue dedicated to him in Beijing, and a postage stamp in his honor. He also appeared in a theatrical production that portrayed his life story, and a movie is in production.
Word of Marbury's larger-than-life success abroad quickly spread among American players, and dozens of them have followed him to China. Former NBA players Carlos Boozer, Jimmer Fredette and J.J. Hickson are playing in the CBA this season.
CBA teams haven't been shy about luring foreign players with fat paychecks. While accurate salary figures are difficult to obtain, anecdotal evidence suggests Americans often can earn more in China than in any other league, aside from the NBA. The average salary of foreigners is reportedly climbing upward of $500,000, and $1 million deals are now common. Former Washington Wizards big man Andray Blatche reportedly earns $2.5 million per season on his current deal with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers.
Stephon Marbury is surrounded by fans and photographers after helping the Beijing Ducks win the 2014 Chinese Basketball Association championship. AP Photo
It's not NBA money for the most part, but it's definitely an attractive payday for a league that plays a 38-game regular season over the course of five months.
With all that in mind, we tapped five Americans to share some of their experiences of what it's really like to play pro basketball in China.
Randolph Morris: 'A tremendous experience'
Morris, a former standout at the University of Kentucky who played in the NBA with the Knicks and Atlanta Hawks, has enjoyed one of the finest CBA careers of any American. He's playing in his seventh season with the Beijing Ducks, having joined the franchise in 2010.
"It's been a tremendous experience -- not just basketball, but culturally, very enriching and giving me a new perspective on the world that we live in," Morris said. "So overall, [it was] a pretty good decision to take that leap."
Morris averaged 29.9 points and 12.2 rebounds in his first season with Beijing and has hovered right around 25 points and 10 rebounds over the course of his CBA career. Morris said the quality of CBA play is already good and continuing to improve, which surprises some Americans who come over expecting to produce eye-popping numbers.
Randolph Morris has been part of three CBA championship teams for Beijing, along with Marbury. Morris was MVP of the 2014 finals. VCG/VCG/Getty Images
"They come here, and they think it's just going to be easy and they're going to average 30 or 40 points," Morris said. "It's very difficult. It's not that easy to just come over here and dominate. You can't cheat the game and think you're not going to put the work in and you're going to dominate just by being American."
As one of the longest-tenured Americans in the CBA, Morris is able to reflect on the recent evolution of basketball in China. He has seen a notable rise in attendance, a great increase in financial resources and considerable upgrades in arenas and facilities. Morris said he's proud to have played a role in that advancement and appreciates the opportunities he has received in China.
"That's one of the cool things I've gotten to see is the steady growth and being a part of that growth, knowing that we had a profound impact on the basketball scene," Morris said. "We can look back and say, 'We were here before it got huge. We were [part of] the grassroots process.' "
Jordan Crawford: 'They really rely on you'
Remember when a young college player dunked on LeBron James during a summer basketball camp in 2009 and Nike confiscated videotapes of the incident, purportedly to keep embarrassing footage of its star pitchman under wraps? That player was Crawford, a sophomore at Xavier University who would go on to be an NBA first-round draft pick a year later. The Detroit native then played four seasons in the NBA, suiting up for the Hawks, Wizards, Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors.
In 2014, his career path led to China, where he signed with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers for a reported $2 million.
"I was intrigued by, of course, the money, and the span of the season," Crawford said. "But from a basketball standpoint, I was intrigued because they really rely on you. I wanted to see how good I really was. They want the Americans to be the best players on the floor."
Crawford played in only five games with Xinjiang, scoring 49 points in his last game before returning to the United States with a severe eye infection. Still, the veteran shooting guard made enough of an impression for Tianjin to bring him in last season, and he rewarded the Gold Lions by leading the league in scoring at 43.1 points per game.
Jordan Crawford last appeared in the NBA with the Warriors in 2014. Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports
Crawford made headlines back in the States in January 2016 by racking up 72 points and 16 rebounds in a game.
Crawford said American stars are treated "like royalty" in China and that some teams offer perks unlikely to granted in the NBA. For example, he asked if younger brother Jalen, a rapper who performs under the name Willie Mac Jr., could perform at halftime of a Tianjin game. The team obliged.
"That was dope," Crawford said. "It was cool. They liked it."
Food, however, was another matter entirely.
"They just kind of throw you into the fire and expect you to eat live fish and go play!" Crawford said with a laugh. "You're in the hotel, and basically they have like five or six plates of octopus -- stuff you're not going to eat. You can go a day or two without eating, and they expect you to play the game?"
So what's the most unusual thing Crawford ate in China?
"The stuff you think is chicken that's not chicken!" he said. "Everything else, the time, the money, you can't complain."
Crawford is playing for the Grand Rapids Drive of the NBA Development League this season.
Shavlik Randolph: 'Offers were just staggering'
Like a number of Americans, Randolph was first lured to the CBA during the 2011 NBA lockout. With the possibility of losing most or all of the season, many players looked abroad, with Europe and China providing the most lucrative options.
"Compared to the leagues in Europe at the time, China was just offering so much more money," Randolph said. "The offers were just staggering per month compared to what Europe was offering. ... Plus, a lot of players that I had played with and against in the NBA had signed in China. That made me feel more comfortable that I was going to know players over there. "
Randolph, who played sparingly in his first five NBA seasons, remained in China after the lockout was resolved and routinely averaged more than 20 points and 10 rebounds in his first four CBA seasons. Because the CBA calendar spans only five months, players are able to finish seasons in the NBA -- something the former Duke University product did in 2013 and 2014.
Shavlik Randolph has played for three CBA teams, including the Liaoning Flying Leopards last year. VCG/VCG/Getty Images
Officiating is a sensitive topic among Americans playing in China. Some have called it downright horrible. Former NBA star Tracy McGrady harshly criticized referees in 2013 and was suspended for a game after calling one crew "three blind mice." When asked about the CBA officiating, Randolph was relatively diplomatic.
"The officiating over there makes me really appreciate the officials in the NBA and be able to confidently say they are the best officials in the world," Randolph said with a laugh. "It makes me appreciate the skill set that they have much better. So to answer your question, the officiating isn't really up to par."
Last season, Randolph played in Liaoning, which lost to Sichuan in the CBA finals. The team put its players up in a hotel during the playoffs, even for home games. One night, he was bored and decided to get out for a change of scenery. Before long, hundreds of fans surrounded him, and he had to be escorted back to the hotel by police, who then asked him not to leave because of the commotion it created.
"It's absolutely crazy," said Randolph, who returned to play in Liaoning this season. "I'm not going to lie -- it kind of felt good. It felt cool, but I don't think I'd want that to happen every time I went out in public."
Shelden Williams: Difficult to be away
Williams has a different perspective on playing abroad than most players.
The former Duke standout, who played in the NBA for six seasons, competed in the CBA during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. At that time, his wife, WNBA star Candace Parker, was playing for a Russian pro team, and they could see each other only a couple of times during the season. Parker would visit Williams in Tianjin for Christmas, and he would visit her in Russia during the Chinese New Year holiday. Although their daughter, Lailaa, who is now 7, was in good hands with Parker's mother back in the States while her parents were overseas, the absence was understandably difficult for all involved.
"It's always hard to leave my little girl," said Williams, who is now a scout for the Brooklyn Nets. "[Until] last year, I had been away from her eight months every year of her life. At that point, we're trying to do what's best for our little girl and make sure that she's financially stable when she gets older."
That's why the CBA presented a better opportunity for Williams than returning to the Euroleague, where he had played for French club Chalon-Sur-Saone in 2012-13.
A photo posted by Shelden Williams (@sheldenwilliams) on
"The money was good, and it was half the time," Williams said. "So I was able to get back to my daughter a lot faster than if I was playing in the NBA or Europe. That was my main thing, to be able to make money and still have time to be with her."
Williams played alongside longtime NBA point guard Sebastian Telfair with the Tianjin Gold Lions in 2013-14 and helped them reach the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
CBA teams are allowed to employ only two American players at a time, and league rules also place restrictions on playing time for international players. Williams said this meant the Lions would typically play Telfair in the first quarter, him in the second quarter and both of them in the third and fourth quarters.
Although the level of play in China is on the rise, Williams said the CBA will remain a notch below European basketball as long as those regulations remain in place.
"You can't have that if you're trying to be a top-tier league," Williams said. "As far as Euroleague, you might have four or five guys who aren't native to that country playing for a team, and they can play as much as they want. "
Josh Akognon: 'How LeBron and Kobe feel'
There are few, if any, American athletes more qualified to speak about playing in China than Akognon.
The Cal State Fullerton alum, who played briefly in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks, has played for five CBA franchises in six seasons while averaging 29.6 points per game.
Akognon makes no qualms about what convinced him to go China. It was purely a business decision when he signed with Dongguan after weighing offers from European clubs in 2010.
"I'd never heard of the CBA, but when they told me the money, then you start looking at everything else," Akognon said. "I realized that Marbury was playing there, so I started looking at it more. ... As long as they said that money was where it was at, I was sold, and I was ready to go."
Josh Akognon's international experience isn't limited to China; he played for Nigeria, his father's homeland, at the Rio Olympics. Jeff Swinger/USA TODAY Sports
Akognon has also played professionally in Estonia, Serbia and Italy and is with Lithuanian club Lietuvos Rytas this season. The California native competed in the 2016 Olympics for Nigeria, where his father was born. He said that while the fan behavior in China can be crazy, it's still a far cry from the fervor exhibited by basketball die-hards in Europe. And that might be a good thing.
Akognon said that when he played for famed Serbian club Partizan, the team once had to take a circuitous 30-minute bus ride from the hotel to the arena across the street because the scene was too hectic to simply walk over to the venue.
"It's night and day between Europe and China," Akognon said. "China is like the NBA. People come to watch the game and get a little bit rowdy. But in Europe, it is really their lives."
That's not to say Akognon wasn't treated as a celebrity in China. He remembers one moment in particular, when he and his wife were walking around looking at Christmas lights in Dongguan. After a fan called out to him, Akognon waved back and then bent down to pick his young son up from his stroller. When Akognon looked up, hundreds of fans were gathering around him. Before long, police officers showed up to push Akognon and his family through the masses all the way back to his apartment.
"It lets you know how LeBron and Kobe feel all the time," Akognon said. "You get a taste of the type of life they have, which is very stressful if that happens all the time."
How much players in different leagues receive. Europrobasket study
The Europrobasket academy has released a comprehensive study on how much money foreigners earn in the top European championships. "Interception" carefully translated everything.
Important:
1) the amounts are in dollars, not in euros, as usual;
2) believe it or not, it's up to you, but the authors of the work say that in the process of preparation they talked with many agents, coaches and team members.
Average salary in Europe:
Spain. The strongest teams play in the ACB League, many Spanish clubs play in European competitions. Accordingly, there are the best salaries, and the budgets of Real Madrid and Barcelona exceed $40 million. On average, players in Spain make from 250 to 500 thousand per season, but there are exceptions: for example, Nikola Mirotic with his $ 4 million a year or Sergio Yull, Walter Tavares, Corey Higgins - they all earn about $ 2 million.
Turkey. Two teams from the Turkish championship play in the Euroleague, several more clubs in the Eurocup and the Champions League. The country has some of the highest salaries and almost half of the clubs have budgets in excess of $10 million. Leaders can get big money, for example: Shane Larkin - $ 3.7 million, Nando de Colo - 2.4 million, Jan Vesely - 2.2 million. At the same time, on average, foreigners earn 250-500 thousand in the league.
Russia. Some of the highest paid players in Europe play here. For example, Alexei Shved ($4 million last season, this amount may differ), Mike James and Nikola Milutinov (2.5 million each). But the average salary in the United League is about 200-450 thousand dollars per year.
Italy. Few people expected this country to be so high in the ranking, but elite basketball players also play in the Italian championship. For example, Milan defender Sergio Rodriguez, who receives about $ 2 million, is the highest paid player this season. On average, the salaries of foreigners in Serie A range from 180 to 350 thousand dollars.
Germany. The German economy is the fourth largest in the world, so it's not surprising to see the Bundesliga in this ranking. Four championship teams at once have more than $10 million for the season, and the budget of one of them, Bayern, is as much as $25 million. 1 million
Greece. The economic crisis has played a role in the amounts that foreigners earn in this country. But the Greek league is played by top basketball players, and three teams have budgets over $10 million (including Olympiakos, which plays in the second division). The average salary here is from 150 to 250 thousand, although Nick Calathes received 2. 25 million in Pao last season, and Kostas Sloukas is now in Olya - 1.8 million.
Israel. Teams from here do not shine in Europe, and the money here is much lower. The exception is Maccabi, whose budget is $26.5 million, and point guard Scotty Wilbekin earns $1.7 million. But this is not the norm, but the norm - from 80 to 250 thousand dollars.
France. Only two teams from here have a budget of more than $10 million, but this is one of the most reliable countries in terms of payments - contracts are guaranteed by the French government. Interestingly, only 30% of clubs' budgets go towards paying players, while in the rest of Europe these expenses account for more than half of club budgets. On average, foreigners here earn from 80 to 200 thousand dollars a season. Two years ago, the highest paid ASVEL player was AJ Slaughter with a salary of 300 thousand.
Average salaries in Asia:
China. The CBA is considered one of the richest leagues in the world, and most importantly, it is watched by more than 500 million people. This means that you can just come, play and build a business.
Stephon Marbury did just that: in six years with the Beijing Ducks, he earned $12 million and became such a star that a statue of him was erected in front of the former team's arena. He went into coaching before starting his own company and selling basketball shoes to kids who can't afford branded shoes. Bliss? Bliss. Legend and forever secured.
The average salary of a foreigner in the Chinese championship is from 1 to 3 million dollars. That is, 4-6 times higher than in the most wasteful country in Europe - Spain. Tracy McGrady, Gilbert Arenas, Steve Francis, Ron Artest received so much in China. But there are exceptions, for example, Lance Stevenson, who is paid 4 million by the Liaoning Flying Leopards. .
The difficulty is that teams are allowed to have only two foreign players. But there are 19 clubs in the CBA, so they're really spending a lot.
South Korea. The rules of the local championship provide for a limit on foreign players - there can be no more than two of them in each team. If there are two foreigners in the club, then the ceiling of their total salary is set at the level of 700 thousand dollars, and if there is one, then by 500 thousand. On average, a legionnaire in KBL receives 250-400 thousand dollars, which puts the Korean championship on the same level with Spain, Turkey and Russia in this indicator.
But this is official information. A whole scattering of Europrobasket sources indicates that, together with bonuses, salaries here can reach up to 800 thousand dollars, which means that only China pays more.
However, remember that if you want to play in Korea, then get ready for 3-4 practices a day.
Japan. In 2016, two leagues were united here, and now the championship is flourishing. First of all, this concerns salaries: the local players in the season before last received an average of 147 thousand dollars, the players of the Japanese national team - about 417 thousand. Today, the highest paid Japanese - Yuki Togashi - earns $ 1 million.
Legionnaires in Japan receive an average of 120 to 300 thousand dollars. Life in this country is expensive, but teams tend to take care of all the expenses of their basketball players.
Press news
Without the first violin. Russia loses to Italy for the second time in EuroBasket 2022 qualifiers They didn’t let us leave – and everything fell apart. Russia lost to Italy in the qualification for the European Championship The Russian team did not put the squeeze on Italy. It's okay - a ticket to the Euro is almost in your pocket Caught up, but not caught up. The Russians lost to Italy Kirilenko: there was no leader in the national team who could take over the game in the match with the Italians Bazarevich: the Russian national basketball team must win the remaining matches of the European Championship selection Thomas Robinson joins Bahcesehir The Russian national team lost to the Italian team in the EuroBasket qualifier Kirilenko: Vorontsevich can play in any Euroleague club Vorontsevich: in matches for the Russian national team showed how I can play . ..
Latest club news
Happy birthday, Dmitry Vladimirovich! Happy birthday, Igor Vitalievich! Alexei Matyunin passed away A young basketball player from Donetsk became a player of BC Khimki GAME DAY. Khimki - Barnaul 19:00 Happy birthday, Oleg Vladimirovich! Khimki is ready to start the season in the Superleague Happy birthday, Sergey Nikolaevich! Friendly match. Khimki - University-Ugra - 102-78
How much do foreign basketball players earn? - 1Sport
When we talk about the basketball league, we mean the NBA. This professional basketball tournament attracts the attention of spectators from all over the world with its great matches.
Every player dreams of visiting here. This is partly due to salaries and benefits for NBA players. However, overseas basketball leagues are also slowly proving their potential, with more and more players joining.
How much do foreign basketball players earn ? Foreign basketball players can receive an average salary from zero to $4 million per year.
There are many factors that affect the salary and amount that a foreign basketball player can receive. If you still want to know more, keep reading this article by Scott Fujita .
Salary of a basketball player abroad
How much do foreign basketball players earn per year?
Although the number of players listed for NBA teams is limited, playing basketball abroad is the best way for players to find opportunities for themselves. Each country has its own rules and methods of remuneration for professional basketball players.
In many European countries, the average salary for a top-level player is between $60,000 and $500,000 per season. Some Asian countries such as Korea or Japan are also willing to pay a similar amount of $120,000 to $400,000 per season.
Read more: How much do NBA players earn
The most generous payments in China: from $1 million to $3 million per season. In the rest of the world, salaries are more modest: from 2,000 to 20,000 dollars.
Remember that these numbers are only valid if you are in the top professional basketball division.
In the course of our research, we have identified two main factors affecting the solvency of players in foreign basketball leagues. These include:
Economic potential of the country.
The growth and popularity of basketball in this country.
To learn more about salaries in most foreign basketball leagues, watch this video.
Do foreign basketball players pay taxes?
The good news for those who want to play professional basketball abroad is that you don't have to pay taxes on your income. This is the most obvious difference between an NBA player contract and an overseas player.
The basketball team is the entity responsible for paying tax on that individual's income. The salary you see in the contract is roughly what you can expect. Meanwhile, NBA players often have to spend half their paychecks on related expenses and taxes.
Top 8 highest paid foreign basketball leagues in 2021
The salary of a professional basketball player in different leagues will fluctuate significantly. Not only that, the leagues also show a gap in earnings between the average player and the highest paid player. To learn more about league salaries, see the next section.
#1. Chinese Basketball Association
Chinese Basketball Association
2020-2021 season Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Basketball clubs in the CBA can pay between 20 million and 40 million yuan ($3 million to $6.72 million) for Chinese-born players. Each team can have up to four foreign players, and their salary cannot exceed $7 million.
Related: Charles Barclay's estate
Wage ranges are marked A to E, where D is the maximum wage. Typically, foreign players receive compensation ranging from $1 million to $3 million a year.
The CBA season also has a shorter playing time of just six months. Compared to the marathon race, which lasts 8 to 9 months in European seasons, the competition conditions are good.
All of the above reasons have made the CBA, apart from the NBA, one of the most attractive foreign basketball leagues in the world.
#2. Euroleague
Euroleague
The Euroleague is a place that any professional basketball player abroad dreams of, thanks to high remuneration. The average salary of a European basketball player is quite impressive: from 500 thousand dollars to 500 thousand dollars. 800 thousand dollars per season. Top players can earn a maximum salary of up to $4 million per season.
Barcelona's Nikola Mirotic tops the list of the highest paid Euroleague basketball players, earning $4 million a year. He is followed by Shane Larkin of Anadolu Efes with $3.7 million a year.
Related: How much do NBA referees make
quote>
This sports tournament is sponsored by the Turkish Airlines Euroleague. 16 teams take part in the tournament. These include Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Anadolu Efes, Olympiacos, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Valencia Basket, Baskonia, Zalgiris, Zenith St. Petersburg" and others.
The Euroleague schedule starts in October and ends in May each year.
#3. Spain Liga ACB
League ACB
Liga ACB is the leading professional basketball division of the Spanish Basketball League System. It consists of 18 teams. The most prestigious tournament teams such as Real Madrid, Barcelona or Quirolbet Baskonia also participate in the Euroleague. These are also the teams that pay the most for basketball players.
The average salary a basketball player can earn at ACB is between $250,000 and $500,000 per season. The highest paid European basketball players are Walter Tavares and Sergio Lull. Each earned over $2 million in a season.
Many ACB teams have one or more NBA players on their roster.
#4. Turkish Basketball Super League
Super League Basketball
The main professional men's basketball league in Turkey is the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL). Top BSL contenders such as Fenerbahçe Beko and Anadolu Efes also competed in the Euroleague.
Each BSL team can recruit up to eight foreign players and use up to six players per match.
Foreign non-Turkish BSL players usually earn between $250,000 and $450,000 per season. The highest paid player is Anadolu Efes' Shane Larkin with a salary of $2.6 million before taxes.
#5. Russia VTB United
VTB United
VTB United is the leading national basketball league in Russia. They offer an excellent average salary of $200K to $450K per year. Depending on the status of the player, the maximum salary for a foreign basketball player is $4 million.
In fact, the highest paid stars in Europe now mostly come from Russia. Alexey Shved, Nikola Milutinov and Mike James each earn $2.5 million a season.
It is worth noting that Alexey Shved played in the NBA for three years before returning to Russia. The Brooklyn Nets are currently hiring Mike James as a free agent.
Considering their status and fame, we can easily understand why the average salaries of basketball players in Europe are so high.
#6. Germany Basketball Bundesliga
Basketball Bundesliga
The German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) is another foreign league that pays players well. They have 18 teams with a budget of just $10 million. Bayern Munich is the team with the most significant budget, $25 million.
Playing abroad in BBL will bring an average salary of 100 to 350 thousand dollars per season. First-round NBA superstars like Greg Monroe can earn around $1 million in a season.
#7. Italian Basketball League. Series A
Lega Basket Serie A
Basketball, oddly enough, is quite a popular sport in Italy. Lega Basket Serie A (Series A) is the largest tournament in which 17 teams take part. Each team offers a foreign basketball player an average salary of $180,000 to $350,000 per year.
For players with superstar status, he will be offered a higher salary. Sergio Rodriguez is the highest paid Serie A basketball player. He receives $2 million a year, the highest salary in the league.
#8. France LNB Pro A
LNB Pro A
Founded in 1921, Pro A is still the most prestigious basketball tournament in France. The reigning champion ASVEL is also the most successful team in the game.
A foreign basketball player can earn an average LNB salary of between $80,000 and $200,000 per season. ASVEL's AJ Slaughter was the highest paid basketball player of the 2019-20 season. with $300,000.
Many successful NBA players such as Jan Mahinmi and Tony Parker have left the club in the last 15 years. seasons. This league is considered one of the financially safe places for professional basketball abroad.
Final Thoughts
With an average NBA salary of $6.2 million a year, the NBA League is a mecca for professional basketball players. However, they may still find attractive opportunities in overseas teams as basketball becomes more and more popular.
Following him is Shane Larkin of Anadolu Efes, with $3.7 million per year.
The highest-paid European basketball players are Walter Tavares and Sergio Llull. Each pocketed more than $2 million per season.
Depending on the player’s status, an overseas basketball player’s maximum pay is $4 million.
Former NBA players Carlos Boozer, Jimmer Fredette and J.J. Hickson are playing in the CBA this season.
Morris was MVP of the 2014 finals. VCG/VCG/Getty Images
We were [part of] the grassroots process.' "
Still, the veteran shooting guard made enough of an impression for Tianjin to bring him in last season, and he rewarded the Gold Lions by leading the league in scoring at 43.1 points per game.
You can go a day or two without eating, and they expect you to play the game?"
"
"It makes me appreciate the skill set that they have much better. So to answer your question, the officiating isn't really up to par."
At that time, his wife, WNBA star Candace Parker, was playing for a Russian pro team, and they could see each other only a couple of times during the season. Parker would visit Williams in Tianjin for Christmas, and he would visit her in Russia during the Chinese New Year holiday. Although their daughter, Lailaa, who is now 7, was in good hands with Parker's mother back in the States while her parents were overseas, the absence was understandably difficult for all involved.
"So I was able to get back to my daughter a lot faster than if I was playing in the NBA or Europe. That was my main thing, to be able to make money and still have time to be with her."
"
The California native competed in the 2016 Olympics for Nigeria, where his father was born. He said that while the fan behavior in China can be crazy, it's still a far cry from the fervor exhibited by basketball die-hards in Europe. And that might be a good thing.
When Akognon looked up, hundreds of fans were gathering around him. Before long, police officers showed up to push Akognon and his family through the masses all the way back to his apartment.
Accordingly, there are the best salaries, and the budgets of Real Madrid and Barcelona exceed $40 million. On average, players in Spain make from 250 to 500 thousand per season, but there are exceptions: for example, Nikola Mirotic with his $ 4 million a year or Sergio Yull, Walter Tavares, Corey Higgins - they all earn about $ 2 million. 
25 million in Pao last season, and Kostas Sloukas is now in Olya - 1.8 million. 
This means that you can just come, play and build a business. 
If there are two foreigners in the club, then the ceiling of their total salary is set at the level of 700 thousand dollars, and if there is one, then by 500 thousand. On average, a legionnaire in KBL receives 250-400 thousand dollars, which puts the Korean championship on the same level with Spain, Turkey and Russia in this indicator. 
The Russians lost to Italy Kirilenko: there was no leader in the national team who could take over the game in the match with the Italians Bazarevich: the Russian national basketball team must win the remaining matches of the European Championship selection Thomas Robinson joins Bahcesehir The Russian national team lost to the Italian team in the EuroBasket qualifier Kirilenko: Vorontsevich can play in any Euroleague club Vorontsevich: in matches for the Russian national team showed how I can play .
.. 
Khimki - Barnaul 19:00 Happy birthday, Oleg Vladimirovich! Khimki is ready to start the season in the Superleague Happy birthday, Sergey Nikolaevich! Friendly match.
Khimki - University-Ugra - 102-78 
Each country has its own rules and methods of remuneration for professional basketball players. 
Chinese Basketball Association 
Euroleague 
He receives $2 million a year, the highest salary in the league. 
