Professional Basketball: An Intercontinental Comparison

The Chinese Basketball Association has given the NBA some great premier talent over the past years,  most notably Yao Ming. However, another trend is quite popular; ex-NBA players going overseas to China to continue their basketball careers. Why is this the case? First and foremost it’s clear that the sizeable market of China allows player salaries to be more valuable than the European league counterparts. Second, exposure for these players would be massive since basketball is one of the most popular sports in China. Third, athleticism in the CBA is no where near the likes of US Basketball. Less wear and tear allows older players to join the league without worrying about conditioning and injuries. The idea of being a Chinese basketball superstar then does not seem too bad in the end. Most recently, players such as Jimmer Fredette, Tracy McGrady and Stephon Marbury have been finding success in China. So this raises the question, is the CBA a perfect post-retirement plan for Ameri...

By Brendan Olski Kobe Bryant is a rare example of someone who was raised with two different styles of basketball. He was born in Philadelphia in 1978, but lived in Italy from 1984-1991 because his father retired from the NBA and began to play professionally overseas. When his father retired from this league in 1991, Bryant returned to the states to play high school basketball. He would come back to the U.S. each summer to play in a basketball summer league, but from age 6-14, Bryant spent the majority of his time learning the game of basketball the way that it is taught in Italy. Unlike the intensive, year-round AAU basketball system that has been pushed more and more in the U.S., Bryant was able to play more than one sport growing up. He credits his unbelievable fundamental abilities to the opportunity that he had to play soccer as a kid. This video does a great job breaking this down even further: https://www.instagram.com/p/BpxEOrZDSDT/ Bryant has been very outspoken in...

Will European basketball ever catch up to the NBA? By Matthew Brady Though there are many differences between European basketball and the NBA, the contrast in play style may indicate why the NBA stays in front of the pack. European games are much more team oriented as they rely heavily on passing to create scoring opportunities. The NBA revolves around star players carrying teams to wins. Though neither style can claim it is more effective on court, the NBA has far more star athletes than European basketball does, which puts it over the edge. Fans love to be able to identify with the stars on their teams. A heroic performance draws massive attention from the media and fans of other teams to games as well. Countless times I have watched Lakers basketball to see Lebron James play in Los Angeles when I am from Washington DC. These iconic players define the NBA play style and its finances as well. They bring in more revenue for their teams and sign massive con...

Many current and former college basketball players all have the same goal, make it to the NBA. Players will play in the NBA Developmental league, or what is called the D-league, in order to have the potential chance of being called up to the NBA. While this is the dream for many players, it is not always the reality. Each year in the NBA, there are roughly 40 or 50 call ups from the D-League to the NBA. While this sounds like a lot, this figure can be misleading. A lot of the time these call ups are due to a player getting injured or struggling with their performance, so they are sent down to the D-League to either rehab or get back into their rhythm as a player. While these players are rehabbing and getting back into the flow of their play, players from the D-League are called up, but only with 10-day contracts. Once these contracts are up, they are sent back down to the D-League in order to continue to prove their worth and to try and scratch their way back up to the NBA, but thi...