While the NBA as a league is as popular as ever, the gap between the best league in the world and the plethora of international options is shrinking. ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla recently broke down the world’s top leagues in a must-read feature for any hoops fans curious about the basketball scene outside of the NBA.
Fraschilla ranks EuroLeague as the best non-NBA league. It’s the continent-wide league of top clubs from domestic leagues in countries like Spain and Turkey. The league is very financially stable, Fraschilla writes, noting that approximately 100 EuroLeague players are making as much or more money than the bottom 100 players in the NBA.
Fraschilla highlights Spain’s Liga ACB, the Turkish Basketball Super League and Russia’s VTB United League as the top pro leagues based in a single country.
Other leagues mentioned in the feature include Australia’s National Basketball League and the Chinese Basketball Association, both of which are growing in popularity of late.
There’s more from around the basketball world:
- It’s official, Tim Leiweke‘s Oak View Group is investing to refurnish KeyArena in Seattle. Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports breaks down the latest in the pacific northwest city’s pursuit to reclaim an NBA franchise.
- Professional basketball hasn’t always succeeded in Mexico. Most recently, Nathaniel Janowitz of ESPN writes, the Capitanes de Ciudad Mexico of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional have tried to win over hoops fans in the country’s capital.
- Both LiAngelo Ball and LaMelo Ball have an agent, Jeff Goodman of ESPN writes, so neither will be eligible to play college basketball. As Bleacher Report’s David Pick writes, their chances of playing in a competitive league overseas aren’t exactly great either.
Wish LaVar would take his sons back to China, steal something again, and see how much help he gets.
Fraschilla’s comment about the pay gap / top 100 Euro vs bottom 100 NBA isn’t too enlightening, since I bet there’s at least a 100 NBA players who make some version of the veterans minimum. That tops out under $2.5mm.
The gap might be shrinking, but it is still huge. The bottom 100 players would approximately be the G League guys and the Coach’s Decision guys on a team. When the best guys in a league are comparable to those guys, it’s not really that close a gap.
What is LaVar doing, and why hasn’t one of his kids stepped up and told him to F-off?
Doesn’t have to be Lonzo, he’s already in the show, but LaMelo specifically is going to have a potential quality NBA career ruined by his dad.
Agreed. I doubt many teams are going to want to take on LiAngelo and LaMelo considering the side show that will come with (their TV show, the extra media, and Lavar eventually making comments about the coach and how he/she is playing his two sons).
Worst part is LaMelo is a high school drop out now. Do you believe LaVar intended to home school him? He drives a fancy (expensive) sports car.
LaMelo is dropping out of Home School too.
These clowns better hope Lonzo can find a jumper, or they’re ALL gonna be broke in a few years. Their father is a joke, an embarrassment, doing a lot more harm than good. No ones buying that the brothers are actually good at ballin’, just like no one is buying those ridiculous shoes they’re tryin to sell.