Overseas Basketball: The Reality

Since we were almost locked out of the entire 2102-2013 NBA season, there has been a lot of talk about the overseas basketball scene. Most of this talk was fueled by New Jersey Net point gaurd Deron Williams signing to Turkish club Besiktas and the courting of many other NBA stars by European teams.

Before I get into the thick of things I would like to say that I am all for guys making a living playing basketball overseas. I would just like everyone to do research and know what they are getting into before they make that jump.

Now let's rewind to the summer of 2008 to the situation of current Phoenix Suns forward Josh Childress. Josh was a free agent of the Atlanta Hawks and was looking for the best pay day available. While meeting with his agent that summer he discussed offers from four other NBA teams. During that same meeting he discussed an offer from
Olympiacos in Greece, one of the most popular overseas basketball teams. Childress was blown away by the three year $20 million offer which was twice as much as he would receive from any NBA club.

What do you do when you add on luxuries like a car, free apartment with a chef, and paid taxes to an already great deal? Well you would probably think like Josh when he stated "I would be stupid to turn down that offer". Now let's fast forward to the summer of 2011. The NBA lockout is in full effect with no end in sight and playing basketball overseas looks promising for a number of NBA players.

At this point Childress is back in the States with a whole lot to say about players making that jump into the world of overseas basketball. Childress complained of the military style treatment he received as a player there, stating "they don't care about players health and bodies". He touched on several issues from small things like ten hour bus rides to the largest problem he faced of not receiving his salary. He said that he wouldn't advise anyone to play basketball overseas because you just never know what might happen.

The salary issue is the biggest problem for Americans that join overseas basketball teams. A lot of those teams just don't have the money and there isn't a whole lot a player can do thousands of miles away from home. The sad thing about this is that there are thousands of Americans right now playing basketball overseas that will never receive the money they are playing for.

This problem will persist until those problem teams and leagues adopt a system similar to the NBA. With proper research and with the help of a good agent, you might be safe. For more information on overseas basketball visit ihoopdreams.com