Overseas Basketball: Traveling on Someone Else’s Dime
Sometimes you hear about people joining the military or taking a maritime job in order to travel the world — all while getting paid. Historically sailors and soldiers have always had the opportunity to experience other cultures in exchange for a few years of service.
But what about joining a basketball team? Thousands of high-level men’s and women’s basketball players go undrafted from the NBA and WNBA, respectively, even though they have many years of playability left.
Laura Gonsalves, played overseas 1996–2003. Coming out of Reed High School, and the University of Washington went on to play for professional teams in Belgium, the Czeck Republic, Switzerland, Israel, Portugal, and China.
“I was super excited, and I was such a nerd,” said Gonsalves. “I was like, do they have tampons in Europe. I had never traveled that much like that. It was a little bit scary but super fun,” she continued.
For women leaving the NCAA and college ball, they have a 0.9% chance of being drafted to the WNBA according to the NCAA. When overseas opportunities are considered though, college ball players have a 4.9% chance of becoming a professional player.
For many of these players, leaving the United States to play overseas is their first time leaving the United States, and a great opportunity to experience other cultures.
Pack alumna Stephanie Schmid signed a professional contract for the Portlaoise Panthers, a professional women’s team in Ireland for the ‘17-’18 season. This is a route open to all levels of schools.
Gonsalves explained that playing for an overseas team is not only a great way to travel, but also a great way to experience culture, t understand other cultures, and to see how the United States is viewed outside of the United States.
“My teammate’s boyfriend was super excited about Independence Day (1996). After watching it he was like, ‘F the Americans! They’re the only one who think they can save the world,” said Gonsalves.
Overseas travel isn’t quite a walk in the park for everyone though, as Gonsalves explained. She cited jet lag and her apartment not being ready as major issues, but as minor issues that didn’t totally detract from the experience of playing overseas.
“The more I played overseas, the more I was able to do stuff. You could just jump on the train. I guess also the more comfortable I got,” she said.
Women’s basketball is significantly larger overseas, than it is in the United States. More teams, more money, and a larger fan base that truly rivals the American fan base for women’s basketball. A prime example of this is the case of Diana Taurasi.
Taurasi is considered one of the leading professional women’s basketball players of all time, going as far as winning four Olympic gold medals representing the United States at four consecutive Olympics.
Taurasi, one of the highest paid WNBA players with a salary of over $107,000 per season chose to forgo the 2015 WNBA season for a $1.5 million contract with her Russian team.
“I made like, my first year, I made $1,200 a month, but I didn’t really have any expenses. I’m sure on the scale that was definitely on the lower end,” said Gonsalves.
For most players though, that aren’t looking for the $40,000 to $600,000 contracts that most WNBA players can get for playing overseas, they get low paying contracts totaling between $1,000 to $3,000 per month. Even then, they get paid to travel and play overseas. An opportunity to experience other cultures all on someone else’s dime.