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How much money do european basketball players make


How Much Do Overseas Basketball Players Make?

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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!

Overseas Basketball Salaries | Earnings by Country

If you are like most aspiring professional basketball players you surely have been asking yourself, what are the average overseas basketball salaries?

We are here to answer that!

We dive into the average and maximum salaries of players on every continent. Since individual player salaries are not public information like they are in the NBA, it is quite difficult to get accurate information.

Not to worry, we did the research for you!

Europrobasket staff has scoured the internet, spoken with top agents, coaches and team representatives in various countries worldwide to get the most accurate information about the salaries players make playing professional basketball overseas.

Needless to say, this is the largest and most complete list available to date.

We have collected and sorted all the figures by continent and country in the table down below.

But first, let’s answer some of the frequent questions relating to overseas basketball salaries.

Table of Contents

How Much do Overseas Basketball Players Make?

Each country can unfold a different answer to this question.

Our study confirms that there are two main factors to consider that will influence an overseas basketball player’s salary:

  • The economic strength of a country
  • The popularity of basketball as a sport in the playing country

Generally speaking, numerous countries in Europe offer on average anywhere between $60k to 500k per season to a player to play on the highest level league.

Certain countries in Asia such as Japan or South Korea offer a similar amount – between 120k to 400k USD a season, while China tops it all up with a generous average of 1m to 3m USD.

While the rest of the world is slightly more humble and pays out anywhere from 2k to 20k US Dollars.

As fantastic as it sounds, note that we talk about the highest level leagues.

So you may need to put some work in before you get a chance for this money!

For more detailed numbers, take a look at the overseas basketball salary table below.

Do Overseas Basketball Players Pay Taxes?

They say that only two things in life are guaranteed, death and taxes. The short answer to the question is NO, overseas basketball players players do not pay taxes on their income.

Before getting too deep into what kind of coin players make overseas we should note the main difference between an NBA contract and an overseas contract.

One of the big benefits of receiving an overseas basketball salary is that your team usually pays the taxes on your income.

You got it right! Your team pays the TAXES.

That means what is in the contract is what you get, unlike an NBA contract where you will lose roughly half due to taxes. 

Income of NBA players before and after taxes. Image from ESPN

With that being said the amount of time that you spend in the country you are playing will have an impact on where you should be paying your taxes.

As an American citizen, you are always required to file your taxes and all income regardless of where you live, in or out of the country.

If you live and play in certain countries for long periods of time, there is a good chance that you will have to file taxes in that country and show proof to the IRS.

Different countries have different tax agreements with the US so it is recommended that you speak with an international tax advisor to make sure you are handling your business.

Enough boring tax talk, lets get into the type of money you could be making playing professionally abroad!

Overseas Basketball Salaries by Country – Complete Table Chart

For a quick and easy reference, Europrobasket staff has put together a table that provides a detailed and comprehensive view of what players are getting paid to play overseas.

You’ll find the top professional leagues of every continent. The average salaries column shows what a more experienced player is getting paid to play in that respective league.

The max salaries are by no means the norm and may only account for one or two players in the league. It tells us how much teams are willing to spend to get the player they want.

You’ll see some values account for seasons and others per month. This is due to varying factors such as a shorter than normal season, a higher turnover rate or varying information on the various leagues. (k) is for thousands and (m) is for millions of US dollars.

Region/CountryLeagueAverage Salary U$DMax Salary U$D
Europe
EuropeEuroleague500k-800k/season4m/season
SpainACB250k-500k/season4m/season
TurkeyBCL250k-500k/season3.7m/season
RussiaVTB United200k-450k/season4m/season
ItalySerie A180k-350k/season2m/season
GreeceGreek A160k-250k/season2.5m/season
GermanyBBL100k-350k/season1m/season
IsraelPremier L. 80k-250k/season1.7m/season
FranceLNB Pro A80k-200k/season300k/season
Asia
ChinaCBA1m-3m/season4m/season
South KoreaKBL250k-400k/season500k-800k+/season
JapanB1 League120k-300k/season1m/season
TaiwanSBL10k-20k/month30k/month
PhillippinesPBA10k-20k/month30k-40k/month
Pacific
AustraliaNBL120k-250k/season500k+/season
South America
ArgentinaLa Liga7k-8k/month10k-15k/month
BrazilNBB8k-9k/month15k-20k/month
Puerto RicoBSN10k-14k/month15k-20k/month
MexicoLNBP7k-8k/month15k-20k/month
UruguayLUB6k-7k/month10k-12k/month
ColumbiaLPB3k-5k/month6k-8k/month
ChileL. Nacional3k-4k/month5k-6k/month
Middle East
IranSuperleague6k/month120k/season
UAED18k-10k/month100k/season
LebanonLBL6k-7k/month75k/season
BahrainZain L.5k-6k/month15k/month
QatarQBL D14k-6k/month12k/month
Saudi ArabiaSBL5k-6k/month12k/month
JordanJBL3k-4k/month10k/month
Africa
EgyptSuperleague10k/month18k/month
TunisiaNationale A4k-5k/month12k/month
MoroccoD12k-3k/month10k/month
Overseas basketball players salaries for the top basketball leagues in all regions. Table by Europrobasket

Domestic

Basketball Salaries

NBA and NBA G League Salaries image by EuroProBasket

United States of America – NBA and G League Salaries

The US leads the world in basketball salaries with the NBA lightyears ahead of the rest of the world. The NBA is by far one of the largest and most successful sports leagues on the planet bringing in an astronomical $8.3 billion USD in revenue for the 2019/20 season.

The average salary of an NBA player is $7.7 Million USD as of 2020. The highest-paid player for the 2019/20 season was Stephen Curry with an insane $40.2 million USD salary for just the season.

But of course, that doesn’t include his sponsorship deals.

The NBA includes 30 teams with a Salary Cap set at $109.14 million USD. That is a lot to split between 13 active players and the extra 2 two-way players on each roster.

The regular NBA season is 6 months and can go another 2 months for the NBA Playoffs and Finals with 82 games in the regular season.

United States of America – NBA G League Salaries

The only other fully professional league in the US is the NBA G League, previously called the D-League.

As the developmental league for the NBA each franchise has either their own or single-affiliated team.

The G League has come a long way in terms of how much they pay their players. In recent years salaries have increased greatly to entice more talented players to stay and develop under the guidance of the NBA franchises.

The average salary of a G League player is 35k per season but can be boosted significantly via Call-Ups, Two-Way contracts, Assignments and the new Professional Path.

Seasons are 5 months long and include housing and insurance benefits.

Let’s conclude it all with numbers:

  • Average Base Salary – $35,000 USD per season or $7,000 USD per month
  • Training Camp Bonus – $50,000 USD – When a player goes to training camp with an NBA team and then is assigned to the G League affiliate team.
  • Select Contract or Professional Path – $125,000 USD which will be offered to elite players that are at least 18 years of age.
  • Call Ups – Players on G League teams whose rights are not owned by the affiliate NBA team are allowed to be called up by any other NBA team.
  • Two Way Contracts – $77,250 USD to $385,000 USD
  • Bonuses – 225,000 in bonuses offered to players that had top performances or made it to the playoffs.

Both the NBA and G League cover some housing expenses, as well as some moving costs for players traded. They also pay a daily per diem for meals during trips as well as all hotel expenses.

All of the salaries are without US taxes taken out so you will need to take roughly 50% of the gross salary to get the net or take-home salary.

Contracts in the NBA G League have been getting better in the last few years but are still far from the NBA as well as the better-paid players in top overseas basketball leagues.

Let’s take a look at some of the best-paying countries and leagues on each continent.

ABA Basketball Salaries

ABA Basketball Salaries image by EuroProBasket

American Basketball Association or ABA basketball salaries range from $10,000 per season, $1500 – $250 per month, to players not getting paid anything. Many teams pay salaries per game which can be $50 – $250 per game. Other payment methods would include payments based on ticket sales, sponsorships and merchandise sales. Many teams are also known to cover living expenses as well as a few other perks which are all covered below.

Payment Structures in the ABA

American Basketball Association teams have many different payment structures. Most of which pay their players depending on talent like most professional leagues around the world. There are players that get paid the max salary with other players not receiving much if any pay. Below we cover the ABA basketball salary payment structures.

Monthly Salary – Monthly payments of $250 – $1500 were paid by 28 out of the 53 teams that were contacted for an economic study on ABA basketball salaries.

Stipend – A few teams offer one to three payments throughout the season which vary from $500 – $3,000. 6 teams out of the 53 in the study used this payment method.

Pay Per Game – Players are paid $50 – $400 per game played. 38 out of 53 teams were found to use this payment structure.

Sales Pay or No Pay – Players make a percentage from sales which can range from 5-50% depending on what is being sold. It was found that some players can make upto 50% of tickets sold while getting 5-10% on sponsorships and 10-20% on merchandise sales. 41 out of 53 teams in the study paid players in this way.

Housing – Expenses and other Perks

Some teams offer only room and board the study found. Others offer a combination of some form of payment above as well as room and board.

All teams offer a team insurance medical coverage with some teams offering individual coverage on top of the team coverage.

Many organizations offer gym memberships, dietician advice, career advisors, massages or chiropractor clinic visits. Not to mention connections with opportunities abroad.

Conclusion

With roughly 183 teams, the American Basketball Association offers players a great opportunity to continue playing the sport they love, while improving and possibly getting paid a little to do so.

Common ground is that team payment packages include multiple items above such as a combination of stipends, monthly payments and per game payments which coincide with the sales each player makes for the organization.

In the vast majority of ABA teams, the norm is to pay the top 5-6 players then have the remaining players be salespeople for the organization if they want to make money. Almost every team in the study used a combination of the above payment methods.

Players in the American Basketball Association can make $10,000 a season plus sales commissions, or make nothing, it just depends on their talent and/or willingness to market their team.

ABA Team Salary Budget – An average team budget was estimated by the study and was found to be on average $25,000 to $30,000 per year.

European Basketball Salaries

Europe is a place with the variety of possibilities for basketball players.

However, the popularity of the sport is not to the same extent in different countries. Therefore, euro basketball salaries vary depending on the place.

To put it all to a visualization, take a look at the graph below.

Image by EuroProBasket

Europe – Euroleague Salaries and Budgets

To really know what a team spends on their players’ salaries you need to dig into the team finances as most salaries and even team budgets are just rumors and unofficial information.

Budgets in the Euroleague vary greatly depending on many different factors. Various countries have different economic situations. Teams get their revenue from various sources:

  • The government
  • TV rights
  • Sponsorships through private companies
  • Endowments from a president or owner
  • The number of ticket sales 

Due to basketball being one of the more popular sports in Europe and the fact that the Euroleague is the top tier competition on the continent, players in this league typically have the highest salaries.

Image by Europrobasket

Euroleague – Highest and Lowest Budgets

The max Euroleague budget for the 2018/19 season was Spanish giant Real Madrid with an overall budget of $47 million USD with $35 million USD going to players’ salaries.

The lowest was Montenegrin club Budućnost VOLI with an overall salary of 6.5 million USD and 4 million USD going to the players’ payments.

The average Euroleague salary budget was 14 million USD. With such a large variance in budgets as well as a lack of exact budget and salary numbers it’s not possible to give a definite number.

However, you could expect a Euroleague import player to receive anywhere from 500k-800k USD per season with a max of $4 million USD.

Import players will be receiving all of their basketball salaries as the teams take care of paying the income taxes. Although, the player may have to pay taxes in their country of permanent residence.

Interested in getting paid to play basketball in Europe?

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Highest Paid Basketball Players in Europe

There are some very well paid players in Europe currently but none other than Nikola Mirotic which is reportedly making around $4,000,000 US dollars making him the highest paid basketball player in Europe.

Some reports mention that Nikola Mirotic is getting paid $5,400,000 to $4,400,000 per season, but as per Eurohoops.com, a more realistic number with taxes included is in the $3.8 million to $4 million range.

Nikola Mirotic is playing for FC Barcelona which competes both in the Euroleague and the Spanish Liga Acb or Liga Endesa.

Other notable highest paid basketball players in Europe would be Alexey Shved when he was with Khimki Moscow Region in which he was making nearly $4,000,000 US dollars per season during the 2019-20 season.

Shane Larkin’s paycheck is also worth mentioning and puts him in the top of highest paid basketball players in Europe with a annual pay of $3,700,000 US dollars.

The highest paid basketball player of all-time in Europe would have been Josh Childress when he signed a $20 million US dollar deal for three years with Greek powerhouse Olympiacos in 2008.

Spain – Pro Basketball Salaries. Spanish Liga Endesa (ACB)

Liga ACB. Image by acb.com

The Spanish Liga Acb is considered the highest level competition in terms of domestic leagues. Both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid have budgets over $40 million USD. The salaries in the Acb are some of the highest, taking away the Euroleague teams.

Typically more than half of the acb teams are in one of the European competitions, with 4 teams in the Euroleague. Many teams have one or more former NBA players on their rosters.

Average import salaries in the Spanish basketball league are well into the 6 figure range with many players making $250k to 500k USD per season. The max salary for the years 2019 to 2021, would be Nikola Mirotic, former 1st round 23rd overall pick for the Houston Rockets, which is reportedly making roughly $4 million USD per year. You will find other players such as Sergio Llull, Walter Tavares and Corry Higgins making roughly $2 million USD per season. The 2020/21 Spanish League Acb includes 18 teams with top talent from all over the world.

Turkey – Turkish Basketball Super League Salaries (BSL)

Shane Larkin. Image via Solobasket.com

The Turkish BSL is considered a European league, even though most of the country is geographically located in the Middle East. It also has some of the highest salaries and many teams in various European competitions, with two in the Euroleague as of 2020/21.

Team budgets for nearly half of the clubs are over $10 million USD. The 2020/21 Turkish Basketball Super League includes 16 teams.

Teams in the Turkish basketball league boast NBA talents such as Shane Larkin, former 1st round 18th overall pick. Currently playing for Anadolu Efes, Shane pulls in a whopping $3.7 million USD via sources.

Other players such as Nando De Colo and Jan Vesely, make a cool $2.4 million and 2.2 million USD respectively. Although they have some very attractive max salaries in the Turkish BSL, the average import player is making $250k-500k USD for the year.

Russia – Russian United League Basketball Salaries (VTB)

Alexey Shved. Image via Fullbasket.es

Some of the highest paid players are competing in the Russian VTB United League. Teams such as CSKA Moscow have $40+ million budgets with others around $30 million USD.

With those bank accounts, salaries are on par with the likes of many NBA players. Russian guard Alexey Shved, a player with 4 different NBA teams on his resume, pulled in a massive $4 million USD during the 2018/19 season.

For the 2020/21 season you will find scoring monsters such as Mike James, former Phoenix Sun and New Orleans Pelicans point god, which bankrolls  $2.5 million USD for the year. His teammate Nikola Milutinov, former first round 26th overall for the San Antonio Spurs, is cashing in with Mike also earning $2.5 million USD for the season.

With 13 teams in the VTB, you’ll see many elite players in the league making solid incomes.

Although the max salaries for Russian VTB United League teams are enticing the average salaries are very interesting as well with players making $200k-450k USD for the season. Now there’s motivation to deal with a Siberian winter.

Italy – Italian Lega Basket Serie A Salaries (Serie A)

Sergio Rodriguez. Image via Euroleague Basketball

It’s no surprise that Italy is in the top ranks of basketball overseas. With their elite players in the NBA and many Italian teams in European competitions, Italian clubs offer some very inviting salaries.

Players such as Sergio Rodriguez, 1st round 27th pick overall for the Phoenix Suns, makes roughly $2 million USD in 2020/21 playing for Olimpia Milano. He is the highest paid player in Italy for the season.

Average Italian Serie A salaries for imports can be found in the $180k-350k USD range. With 17 teams in the 2020/21 competition, Italy is definitely bringing in some top talent. Add some inexpensive wine and beaches on the Mediterranean Sea and you have a dream job for any player.

Germany – German Basketball Bundesliga Salaries (easycredit BBL)

Greg Monroe. Image via Euroleague Basketball

With Germany being ranked as the 4th strongest economy in the world, it’s clear why their basketball clubs pay their players well. The 2020/21 German easycredit BBL league has 18 teams with four of those teams pushing $10 million USD budgets, and the top budget, Bayern Munich, reaching $25 million USD.

The average salary an import player in the German BBL makes is between $100k-350k USD for the season. The top salary for the 2019/20 season was Greg Monroe, former 1st round 7th pick overall for the Detroit Pistons, which was earning nearly $1 million USD, adding all goal-related player bonuses to the final salary figure.

The German BBL is host to some top teams competing in multiple European competitions and the level shows in their domestic league. With that salary, you’ll surely be enjoying your bratwurst. Just don’t get carried away with Octoberfest as you still need to play games on the weekends.

Greece – Greek A1 Basketball League Salaries (Greek A1)

Nick Calathes. Image via Euroleague Basketball

Greece has had its issues with their economy which plays a major role in their basketball finances. Even though this can be considered a rough patch for Greek A1 basketball, they still have some of the highest paid players outside of the NBA.

The 2020/21 Greek A1 is host to 12 teams, not mentioning Olympiacos which has chosen to just participate in the Euroleague. With Olympiacos included, 3 teams have budgets over 10 million USD with the top two over $15 million USD.

Greek basketball average salaries are in the range of $60k-250k USD for import players while top players are well into the millions. Nick Calathes, 2nd round 45th overall pick for the Memphis Grizzlies, was making $2. 55 million USD for the 2019/20 season.

Kostas Sloukas is bringing home $1.8 million USD for the 2020/21 season playing in his home country. Greek basketball seems it will always have its place in the top ranks. The fact that they have nearly 6,000 picturesque Mediterranean islands for you to go island hopping on your downtime should sweeten the deal.

Israel – Israeli Basketball Premier League Salaries (Winner League)

Scottie Wilbekin. Image via Euroleague Basketball

Infamous in Europe for their great results in European competitions the Israeli Basketball Premier League, also known as the Winner League, has its place in the elite ranks for European salaries.

Israeli basketball has been recognized as having some of the top talents in Europe. Host to 12 teams, the top teams in the Winner League play and excel in European competitions.

Maccabi Tel Aviv plays in the Euroleague with a budget of roughly $26.5 million USD as of 2019/20. Average salaries for import players can be found in the $80k-250k USD range with elite players such as Scottie Wilbekin earning a comfortable $1.7 million USD.

With only really one team able to pay that salary it is not the norm, but six-figure incomes are commonplace in the Israeli basketball league. The salary will surely get your interest but don’t miss a chance to check out one of the oldest civilizations on the globe.

France – French Jeep Elite LNB Pro A Basketball Salaries (Pro A)

AJ Slaughter. Image via Joël PHILIPPON

Last on our list but certainly should not be considered least is the French Basketball LNB Pro A, or for short French Pro A. With only two teams in the $10 million USD budget ranks, it’s clear why the LNB Pro A is towards the bottom of the list.

With that being said there are many benefits to the league as it is considered one of the most financially secure places to play basketball professionally overseas. It is one of the only countries to offer unemployment to players without a team. Imports included!

Contracts are also guaranteed by the French government. Possibly another reason only roughly 30% of the team’s budget goes towards salaries when most other teams throughout Europe spend in the 50-65% range.

Needless to say players in the French basketball league Pro A make a nice salary for playing basketball. An average import player can make between $80k-200k USD for a season.

The highest-paid player in the French Pro A, A.J. Slaughter was making $300k USD for the 2018/19 season with Tony Parker’s team ASVEL Villeurbanne. Considering that was guaranteed and the team took care of his expenses during his time in France, that brings the value even higher.

Australia – Australian National Basketball League Salaries (NBL)

Lamelo Ball. Image via NBL Australia

Similar to most leagues outside the USA, team budgets and player salaries are not public information in the Australian NBL. The minimum salary for local players in Australia for the 2020/21 season is set at roughly $45,000 USD with an average NBL players salary being roughly $106,000 USD.

The Australian NBL Soft Salary Cap is set at roughly $1.03 million USD. This means that all players’ salaries combined should add up to this amount. Teams will receive a tax for any values above the salary cap which will be shared among the other teams in the league.

Judging from the Salary Cap and various sources, you can expect the average salary of an import player in the Australian NBL to be between $120,000 to $250,000 USD.

One of the maximum salaries that have been speculated was that of Andrew Bogut which reportedly received a two-year $1 million AUD contract which equates to roughly $363k USD per season. He likely was paid more than what is reported.

There has also been reports about Bryce Cotton’s salary being in the $440,000 US dollar, $600,000 AUD range, but since official figures are not known, they are just rumors.

How Much Was LaMelo Ball Making in the NBL?

LaMello Ball’s salary in the Australian NBL was speculated to be $370,000 US dollars, $500,000 AUD net after getting incentives.

Since there is a Soft Salary Cap there are teams likely spending much more than the average on their imports or “marquee” players. So the actual max player salaries are likely much higher than what has been reported.

For the 2020-21 season there are 9 teams with one team, the New Zealand Breakers located in New Zealand. There is also an addition from Tasmania for the 2021-22 season.

Asian Basketball League Salaries by Country

Graph by Europrobasket.com

China – Chinese Basketball Association Salaries (CBA)

Stephon Marbury. Image via cba

Widely regarded as one of the highest paying leagues in the world, the Chinese Basketball Association or CBA is a magnet for elite talent. Players in the league have made small fortunes with 500+ million fans watching them.

Stephon Marbury, after six seasons, 3 titles and roughly $12 million USD, is a great example of success as an import player in China. With an NBA career winding down, Stephon decided to take his talents abroad to China.

He now has a statue in front of his former team’s stadium and a shoe company, selling affordable basketball shoes to kids that cannot afford the name brand counterparts.

As per CBA regulations two import players are allowed on each team. The high salaries and short seasons create a hotbed for Veteran NBA Elite such as Tracy McGrady, Gilbert Arenas, Steve Francis and Metta World Peace.

Average salaries for an import player in the CBA are in the neighborhood of $1 million to $3 million USD. The highest-paid player to this date is reportedly Lance Stephenson which is said to rake in a staggering $4 million USD with the Chinese team Liaoning Flying Leopards.

With 19 teams in the Chinese Basketball League and an increasingly larger basketball following than any other country in the world, it is clear that Chinese basketball is a force to be reckoned with.

South Korea – Korean Basketball League Salaries (KBL)

Image via Korean Basketball League

Rightly so, the Korean Basketball League or KBL is high in the ranks as one of the highest paying leagues in the world. The Korean League rules allow two import players per KBL team.

There is a $700k USD salary cap per team for two imports while the limit is $500k USD for teams with one. You can say the average salary for an import player in the Korean Basketball League is between $250k-400k USD with a max of $500k USD.

Those are official numbers. We’ve heard many rumors from numerous sources that players receive bonuses which can also reach into the six figures. That can put the max salary at over $800k USD per year.

Where do I sign up you ask?

Just know it is not like you just show up to a game, drop 30 and collect a paycheck. Teams in the KBL are known to practice 3-4 times per day. Better make sure you show up in shape if you are offered the opportunity to play in this league.

Japan – Japanese B League Salaries

Image via B League

The Japan Professional Basketball League, or for short Japan B League has made big improvements to it’s competition. A merger in 2016 between two Japanese leagues brought on by Fiba mandates, has turned the newer league into a profitable and growing business.

Which in turn improves the B League player’s salaries. Local Japanese players saw an increase in their salaries to an average salary of $147k USD, with the players that compete in the Japanese National Team making on average $417k USD in the B League for the 2018/19 season.

Currently, the highest-paid Japanese player, Yuki Togash, is making just a hair under $1 million USD. This brings us to the import players which like most leagues have a different bracket. You can expect to see higher level import players in Japan making $1 million USD or more for a season.

An average import salary in the Japanese B1 would be more in the radius of $120k-300k USD per season. Living expenses are expensive in Japan, but players don’t need to worry about that as teams usually cover those expenses.

About The Data

And here you have it. A collection of overseas basketball salaries in each continent.

Note, that there is a little something to keep in mind when you study this data.

The overseas basketball salaries compiled in this article cover information from the 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons to give a better understanding despite the changes due to covid-19.

The salaries also only take into account import players and the higher paid players in the various leagues and competitions. In each league mentioned starting salaries would be much lower as well as for teams with smaller budgets which are typically in the lower range of the rankings. 

When the term “Overseas Basketball” is used, it is such a broad use of the phase as “Overseas” to an American player could mean anything outside of their country. To a European player it would signify playing on another continent. Here we use the term regarding the professional leagues outside of the USA.

Season Length for Overseas Teams

You should also take note that the length of a season depends on the league and country the competition is in. China has a short season with just 5 months so a player playing in that country is getting paid more for less practices and games than say a European league player which can be playing upto 9 months. Some leagues in Latin America and Asia are just a few months in length such as Puerto Rico’s BSN, leagues in the Dominican Republic as well as the Philippines. That’s one of the reasons why people talk about salaries in terms of months whereas in other countries they speak in terms of seasons.

Import Players vs Domestic Players

Unlike the NBA and G League, basketball leagues overseas have restrictions on the amount of import players allowed on each team. The import player definition varies depending on the league under discussion but it typically means a player with a passport outside of the country. An example is an American playing in China or Europe. Import players are typically paid more than domestic or local players, with the exception of the top handful domestic players for each league. Leagues that allow multiple import players, more than two, typically spread their salary budget out more evenly which result in a little lower salary. Leagues that only allow one or two import players per team will typically pay that player a higher salary.

How to Play Basketball Overseas?

Image via Europrobasket

We’re currently working on another article just on this subject. If you are currently struggling to get opportunities overseas take a look at our professional placement programs which have been very successful at helping players get their starts playing professionally in Europe, with hundreds of players placed on teams so far.

In the meantime, teams are looking for these things:

  • Experience (Professional or University)
  • Stats (Recent from competitive leagues)
  • Film (Two full games and a highlight, from this season or last, on youtube or other video platform online)
  • Resume, CV or Player Bio (With all of your information, stats and video links)

A special thanks to everyone who collaborated with us to compile all of this information. We’ll keep updating it to make sure you all have the most accurate information to make the right decisions on your future.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or information you believe is helpful to add.

And if you like the article follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or subscribe to us on Youtube to be updated on new content.

We’ll make sure the articles and videos keep coming providing you the information you need to stay on top of your game, and by following us you’ll be updated as soon as they drop.

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: he earned $12 million in six years with the Beijing Ducks 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.

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How billions fly through the basketball basket

Hubs continues its cycle of materials on the economics of sports, talking about the leading examples that Ukraine can ideally emulate. Perhaps the first steps will be taken after the adoption of the new Law "On Physical Education and Sports", the draft of which was registered in the Verkhovna Rada on June 21.

On June 19, the 70th anniversary season of the American National Basketball Association (NBA) ended. Basketball is the second most popular sport in the world after football, according to a composite index of several sports media based on 13 indicators (including the number of people interested in this sport in the world, television audience, number of leagues, average salary of athletes, etc.). Accordingly, a lot of money is circulating in the basketball economy. Although they are distributed very unevenly. Hubs looked into the reasons why the NBA model remains an unattainable ideal for basketball life in other parts of the world.

Sky-high NBA heights

This season, the Cleveland Cavaliers won the league title for the first time by beating last year's champions, the Golden State Warriors, in the final game of the final series. Leader rotation is a common occurrence in the NBA. Actually, this is the goal and consequence of a reasonable policy that ensures constant sports intrigue and stable spectator interest.

Such a policy has been worked out for decades - through the years of hegemony of the richest clubs, through the advent of television as the most important source of income for the Association, through strikes and lockouts.

For more than thirty years, the philosophy of the NBA has been that in the championship of the Association, clubs should be approximately equal in strength and ability, only then the tournament will be competitive, and the games will arouse real public interest. Moreover, the love of sports here is in perfect harmony with a highly profitable business.

Today there are 30 teams in the NBA (29 from the USA and one from Canada). Among them there are clubs of different profitability levels, but the Association's management is trying to level this difference as much as possible. The main tools for such equalization of opportunities are those introduced in 1984 salary cap and luxury tax, draft system for newcomers, as well as an even distribution of all Association income between clubs.

The salary cap means that the payroll of an NBA club cannot exceed the established limit (in the 2015/16 season it was the amount $ 70 million ), and if it is exceeded, the club owner pays a luxury tax - a certain amount for each dollar over the limit. The luxury tax is then divided among those clubs that have not gone beyond the established limits. (See the table "Top 10 Biggest NBA Payrolls").

The NBA Draft is organized in such a way that the clubs with the worst performances in the past season have preferential rights to talented recruits from college basketball and foreign countries. That is, everything is aimed at equalizing opportunities.

Thus, the NBA initially blocks the situation in which any rich man can invest unlimited amounts of money in his club, buying up the best players.

In addition, the total amount of the collective television contract concluded by the NBA is divided among 30 teams in equal shares, regardless of the place in the standings. Today we are talking about the amount of $24 billion on 9years - the Association signed such an agreement with ESPN / ABC and TNT in October 2014.

The scheme for distributing money earned by the NBA from merchandising - through the network of official NBA Stores - operates in much the same way. Therefore, when a basketball fan buys a LeBron James jersey in the official store, the money paid for it goes not only to his Cleveland Cavaliers club - some of it goes to other clubs.

In general, at the moment the income of any club consists of about 40% of their own earnings and 60% of what comes from the NBA. The association owns television rights at the national and global level, and rights to other media content, including digital. The Association has its own national and global sponsors and advertisers. The association finally receives income from the sale of official merchandise and royalties from companies that produce licensed NBA merchandise.

As for the clubs, their main income comes from the sale of season tickets and tickets, contracts with local media and sponsors, as well as income from the operation of their own arenas, including the sale of food and drinks during games. (See the table "Top 10 Most Valuable Clubs in the NBA").

A few concrete examples of how this works.

30 NBA teams in the 2014/15 season generated nearly $ $.5.2 billion in revenue, resulting in $..900 million in operating profit. Both figures are NBA records.

NBA ticket revenue for the 2014/2015 season increased immediately by $ 100 million compared to the previous season. In particular, the return of LeBron James to Cleveland caused a sharp increase in visitors to the home arena of the Quicken Loens club (20,000 seats). And the successful performance of the Atlanta Hawks, after a long break, returned the audience to the stands of the Philips Arena (19 thousand), fixing a record number of full houses in the history of the club. The average ticket price in the NBA was $90,065. 54.

The Association's revenues from the sale of rights to television broadcasts of matches also increased: to local companies - by $90,065 90,066 70 million and to national TV networks - by $90,065 $ 90,066 20 million. Advertisers are willing to cooperate with TV channels that broadcast basketball matches. The reason is that sports is one of the few types of television content that the viewer tries to watch live. The recording of the game is no longer the same, which means that a smaller part of the audience will watch it on YouTube or another video portal in a few days.

The season was also successful in terms of sponsorship contracts. For example, Nike intercepted a contract from Adidas to equip NBA teams from the 2017/18 season. The agreement for 8 years will bring the Association more than $ 1 billion annually (according to the agreement with Adidas it was $ 400 million). Tissot became the NBA's first official timekeeper with a six-year, $90,066,200 million deal, while telecommunications company Verizon took over from Sprint with a three-year deal for $ 400 million All NBA video is now available on Verizon's mobile video service through this alliance of content and marketing. (See NBA Revenue Growth table.)

With the new TV deal discussed above, the salary cap for the 2017/18 season is projected at $ 94m bln, well above the current figure of $ 70m. The highest paid NBA players earns a total of $90,065 390 million per year - on salaries and advertising contracts. 90,003 90,002 Average cost per NBA team now valued at $90,065 90,066 $1.25 billion – up 13% from 2013/14 And the Association itself is ranked fourth in the ranking of the richest leagues in the world - after the NFL (American football), MLB (baseball) and the English Premier League (soccer).

While the NBA is strong in America, many growth opportunities lie overseas. There are over 100 foreign players from 37 countries in the NBA, and every team in the league has a foreign player. NBA games are shown in 215 countries, and the league is constantly looking for ways to monetize its popularity outside the United States. (See the "Top 10 Richest NBA Players" table.)

In July, the NBA signed a contract with Chinese Internet company Tencent to broadcast games and other basketball videos. The five-year agreement was signed for $90,065 $90,066.500 million. According to the NBA, there are more than 300 million basketball fans in China.

European socialism

In Europe, basketball has failed to become a profitable business. In contrast to America, with its principle of "amateur sports - student sports - elite superleague", in Europe the territorial-corporate approach dominates.

Here basketball clubs are either subdivisions of major football clubs or run by companies, municipalities or private sponsors.

The names of the leading European clubs speak for themselves. Basketball clubs "Real Madrid", "Barcelona", "Maccabi", "Panathinaikos", "Fenerbahce" and others are well known from football clubs. And such names as "Efes Pilsen", "Emporio Armani", "Benetton" or "Montepaschi" immediately correlate with well-known brands - beer, fashion, sportswear, a bank, etc. Even the main Euroleague club tournament since 2010 has included in its name the sponsor's brand - Turkish Airlines Euroleague, according to a five-year contract worth EUR 15 million (extended until 2020).

There is nothing wrong with that. The problem is that European basketball cannot earn as much money as it takes to keep the players. Last season, the two flagships of the Euroleague, Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​suffered huge losses. The losses of Real Madrid amounted to 28 million EUR, Barcelona - 22 million EUR, and were covered by the income of football clubs.

The number of spectators of Euroleague matches and the size of sponsorship agreements are growing, but slowly. According to basketball website Eurohoops.com, Euroleague television contracts are valued at EUR 16 million, more than three times less than European Nations Rugby Cup contracts.

The situation is aggravated by the fact that in Europe the continental federation FIBA-Europe (analogous to football UEFA) and the professional structure ULEB, created in 1991 with the aim of holding elite tournaments for the best teams of the continent, oppose each other.

If in European football the idea of ​​creating a supranational Super League is only being discussed, in basketball it has long been implemented. The strongest clubs in Europe simultaneously play in the championships of their countries and participate in transnational tournaments - the Euroleague, the Eurocup, the Challenge Cup (hosted by the Euroleague and ULEB).

FIBA-Europe is trying to regain its main role and establish its own tournament - the Champions League. Now there are trials, and, most likely, in the season 206/17. in Europe there will be two main tournaments from two structures - the Euroleague and the Champions Cup. Plus a number of smaller tournaments and the VTB League, where clubs from eight countries of Northern and Eastern Europe play.

FIBA-Europe is guided not only by ambition and jealousy, but also by purely material considerations. In November 2015, the Euroleague entered into a cooperation agreement with the world's largest sports and media company IMG (a ten-year contract worth hundreds of millions of euros). Envying such a jackpot, FIBA-Europe offered the leading clubs EUR 30 million for participation in their Champions League, but the Euroleague blocked this offer by offering the clubs EUR 50 million. The 32 lower ranked teams that choose to play in the FIBA ​​Europe Champions League will be given a total prize pool of EUR 4. 42 million.

In addition to Turkish Airlines, the Euroleague has five other sponsors. Television rights of the tournament have been sold to 199 countries, the most interesting matches are watched by up to 800 thousand people. But all financial indicators do not go to any comparison with the NBA. The best European players dream of going overseas. (See Table " Top 10 Highest Paid Euroleague Players").

The most accurate description of today's European basketball was given by the president of CSKA Moscow, the reigning champion of the Euroleague, Andrey Vatutin: “Now there is a lot of talk about investing in basketball. Unfortunately, in fact, this is not an investment at all. The theory says: an investor places capital in order to make a profit. Of course, profit can be not only money, but also other advantages - image, political, some kind of lobbying. But in terms of finances, I don’t know anything about significant profits in European basketball. On the contrary, the expenses of the clubs are not comparable with the income. It's just that financial flows are pouring into the sport. Budget or not - it does not change the essence. Hence the whole "European model" as a whole: leveling, average attendance, average income, average quality of basketball. Socialism, in a word. It just discourages the desire to earn.”

The President of CSKA believes that the future belongs to closed leagues. “You can say as much as you like that this is an American story, that there are other markets and television incomes, that this is impossible in Europe, ,” says Andrey Vatutin. – The model is unreal exactly until we start building it. Everything else is armchair reasoning in search of "free basketball on TV" . Only a closed league, only more matches between strong clubs, only playoffs, only strict requirements for halls, and so on. Then there will be real incomes - and the leagues will be able to give part of their earnings to the needs of the federations.

Ukrainian exotic

In Ukraine, basketball, like all other team sports, develops (more precisely, survives) according to the investment business model, that is, it does not earn for itself, but is completely dependent on club owners.

Throughout the twenty-five years of independence, our basketball clubs have existed, emerged and disappeared depending on certain big businessmen. In the early 2000s, interest in basketball from Dmitry Firtash caused the phenomenon of BC "Kyiv". With Igor Kolomoisky and his business partners a couple of years ago, a good half of the Ukrainian Super League clubs were connected.

Ukrainian basketball reached its peak of development in 2013. On average, the budget of one Superleague team was about $ 1 million per year, and the giants - Azovmash and Donetsk - could afford budgets of $ 3-3 .5 million per year and pay quality legionnaires $ 90,065 $ 90,066 300-400 thousand per year. Through the efforts of the then President of the Basketball Federation of Ukraine Oleksandra Volkova Ukraine received the right to host the 2015 European Championship. It was planned to build modern sports arenas in several cities of the country for this tournament. However, after the start of the war with Russia, the EuroBasket 2015 project was buried, after which Ukrainian basketball rapidly degraded.

A number of the strongest clubs either ceased to exist at all (Donetsk, Kyiv, Ferro) or went down in class (Azovmash). Conflict between Igor Kolomoisky and the owner of the Cherkasy Mavpy club Mikhail Brodsky , who headed the FBU in June 2015, led to a split in Ukrainian basketball, and in the 2015/16 season we had two championships of Ukraine at once - the FBU Superleague and the Privat Superleague.

But this number turned into the opposite quality: the budgets of the clubs, some of which were created artificially, fell sharply. Attendance at the arenas was extremely low (200-300 spectators gathered at the top matches in the Kiev Sports Palace). Players' monthly salaries range from $ 3 thousand (from legionnaires and leading Ukrainian masters) up to 3 thousand UAH. The strongest players in the country went abroad.

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