Is Basketball A Good Career Option?

For many kinds and teenagers, basketball can seem like one of the best career options. With significant earnings potential, the ability to travel across the globe, and scores of fans and admirers, who wouldn’t want to be a professional basketball player?

But being a professional basketball player is hard-work and takes time, commitment, and intense dedication to the sport and the craft. You will have to outwork many rivals and individuals looking to pursue the career and make it to the big leagues.

So, is basketball a good career option? We’re going to take an in-depth look below on just whether or not basketball is a good career option and if it is one worth pursuing. In addition, we’ll take a quick look at some of the pros and cons of a career in basketball and discuss some of the best ways to pursue a career in the sport.

How to Become a Professional Basketball Player

Becoming a professional basketball player is not easy and is, in fact, one of the most difficult careers to break into. However, if you are committed to the sport, dedicated to understanding the fundamentals, and passionate about the game, you can give yourself a better shot to making it to the big leagues.

To start, in order to be drafted into the NBA, a player must be a minimum of 19 years old. This new rule change bars players from entering the league straight from high school, as such famous players like Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett had done.

As such, many basketball players looking to enter the NBA will either look to commit to a Division I basketball team at a nationally recognized college or university or will look to take their skills overseas for a year to improve their game, skills, and experiences.

However, once you have committed to either a college team or to play overseas, the work to enter the NBA has only just started.

From there, you will need to gain some brand recognition and encourage NBA scouts to come out to watch you play. By far, the simplest way to do so is to play exceptionally well and have NBA scouts attend your games by their own volition.

However, if you are unable to get on an NBA scouts radar, there are a few additional ways to do so. These include reaching out to them yourself, including your most recent basketball resume and highlight reel, having your coach or network reach out to them, or posting your skills and highlights to social media in the hopes that a scout may see your post.

Although being on an NBA scouts radar and having them view your play is not a requirement, it definitely helps with being drafted. And once you have reached the age of 19, and are comfortable with your experience and skillset, you will need to declare eligibility for the upcoming NBA draft.

Once you’ve declared eligibility for the upcoming NBA draft, you will need to wait until the NBA draft to know just whether or not you were selected by an NBA team. The NBA draft is a lottery draft, with typically the worst performing team from the previous season being given the number one draft pick to better assist them in building a more robust roster for the upcoming season.

With only two rounds in the NBA draft, a total of 60 players are drafted each year.

However, if you were not selected during the draft, all hope is not lost. An NBA team can still pick you up from the free agency pool. The free agency pool is a group of basketball players who are available for any NBA team to choose from to add to their roster.

In addition, in the event that you are not selected from the NBA free agency list, you are also able to tryout and join an NBA G-League team.

The NBA G-League is the NBA’s official minor league.  It is the league where players, coaches, and referees can prepare for the NBA, while simultaneously acting as the NBA’s league research and development laboratory.

Being selected to an NBA G-League team is a great way to make a name for yourself around the league and with hard work and dedication to the game, significantly increases your chances of being given an NBA contract to join an NBA team.

Pros of a Career in Basketball

While making it to the NBA is a dream for many, the benefits of a career in one are vast and expansive. We’ve listed a few pros of being a professional basketball player and playing in the NBA below.

• High Salary and Bonuses – the NBA, as compared to their NFL, NHL, and MLB counterparts, is one of the highest paying professional sports leagues in the world. With NBA players averaging $7.5 million in average salary, becoming an NBA player typically sets you up for life financially.

• Admiring fans – as an NBA player, you will likely be inundated by admiring and adoring fans of all walks of life. These fans typically look up to you and will want to meet you, discuss their own professional basketball prospects, and look to learn from you.

• Sponsorship opportunities – as an international star, you will also likely be inundated with sponsorship opportunities from some of the biggest and most well-known brands in the world. From Adidas to State Farm to Under Armour, these brands will look to collaborate with you and have you become the face of their marketing efforts.

Cons of a Career in Basketball

While being a professional basketball player or one who plays in the NBA may seem like a life of luxury, there are some cons to the career. Below, we go over just a few cons of pursuing a career in basketball.

• Extremely difficult to break into – with stiff competition, the NBA is one of the most difficult sports leagues to get into. More-and-more players are enlisting the help of professional coaches and trainers and being able to break into the league has become more difficult, making it an uphill climb from the onset.

• Risk of injury – as with any physical and contact sport, the risk of injury is ever present. And whether the injury is a simple strain or a torn ACL, it can sideline you for a season or for life. As such, basketball players need to be extra careful to not succumb to an injury to increase their earnings potential.

• Limited earnings potential – while NBA players earn substantial salaries, those earnings are not forever. On average, an NBA player will only remain in the league for 4.5 years. Figuring out what to do after is often difficult and many NBA players find themselves struggling to find meaningful and substantial work after their time in the league.

• Frequent travel – while frequent travel may seem like a positive, for NBA players, they will often only touch down in a city for a road game before having to pack and move onto the next city. Such frequent travel can be difficult and physically exhausting. In addition, such frequent travel can become lonely, with NBA players typically away from their friends and family during the regular season.

Alternative Careers to Basketball

While we always encourage students and youth to pursue the career of their dreams, it is also important to review other career options that may be available to you. And if you love basketball and wish to remain close to the sport, consider some of the following careers, which we go in depth on here.

• Social media manager
• Basketball referee
• Starting a basketball website
• A basketball coach or assistant coach
• Basketball analytics
• Basketball scout
• Athletic trainer
• Licensing and merchandising partner
• Graphic designer