By any reasonable standard, the average NBA player makes a lot of money. That is not particularly debatable in the grand scheme, with the best of the best earning at a level that most can never dream of earning. With that said, not every NBA player is immediately set for life as soon as they arrive in the league, and New York Knicks big man Guerschon Yabusele recently shed some interesting light on a view of NBA life that most would never consider.
Yabusele sat for an extended discussion with a French YouTuber and received attention for his comments regarding how much NBA service time can impact a person's life beyond the raw salary they receive.
"If you play three years in the NBA, you get a lifetime pension," Yabusele said. "After four seasons, medical expenses are covered for life. And after five years, the medical coverage is extended to the entire family. I want to play for five years here in the NBA so that my family can benefit from that lifetime care. You never know what can happen in life."
Don't forget that playing in the NBA is, first and foremost, a job
Cynics might immediately point to Yabusele's career NBA earnings comfortably sitting in the eight-figure range and note that someone in that financial station perhaps does not have similar worries to a person trying to make ends meet. Yabusele certainly is not dismissing that notion, but the reality is that things like a lifetime pension and, especially, family medical coverage for a lifetime are things that can significantly alter things for a player who scratches and claws by NBA standards.
Playing in the NBA is a dream scenario for many, but it is also a job. For every LeBron James or Nikola Jokic making untold millions, there are many more players scrapping to stay on NBA rosters and making the league minimum. In fact, the insitution of Two-Way contracts in the league has created more spots on rosters, but Two-Way deals are much more modest financially, including a G League baseline salary that is more closely aligned with an average American job than with perceived NBA wealth.
Beyond that, NBA minimum contracts do pay players least one million dollars (for rookies) per season, but it is not as if a year or two of NBA minimum life is enough to assuage any concern of future earnings. That is particularly true when considering taxes, agent fees, and the like, with dozens of players operating on league-minimum salaries during every NBA season.
Make no mistake, Yabusele is not acting as if NBA players are in dire need of financial help or that he and others are not fortunate to make it on that level. Instead, he is offering a very practical viewpoint for a significant chunk of professional basketball players. Lastly, the medical care is perhaps even more notable for athletes who spend years, and even decades, in rigorous physical preparation to compete at the highest level. That type of wear and tear on a body can create challenges later in life and, even with an augmented salary, the ability to receive lifetime medical care isn't something that should be ignored.
Yabusele recently earned an extra half-million dollars (approximately) as part of the New York Knicks winning the NBA Cup, and the Knicks drew attention for wildly celebrating the extra funds for players like Tyler Kolek, who had not made the type of life-changing wealth as a professional player that others had. That was another example that the life of an NBA player isn't the same for each individual, and Yabusele's comments should perhaps open some eyes on things beyond the salary and the glamour of NBA life.