Some of you may be old enough to remember Josh Childress signing with Olympiacos and the scare that ensued about NBA teams potentially losing talent to deep-pocketed European clubs. It may sound like that was a zillion years ago now, but it was actually not even two decades ago.
It happened in the summer of 2008, when Childress, who had averaged 11.8 points and 4.9 rebounds the season prior for Atlanta, chose to sign with Olympiacos on a three-year deal worth up to $20 million. In hindsight, it makes sense that people at the time believed this could lead to the NBA losing coveted talent to big European clubs, considering the fact that Childress made that free-agent decision as a 25-year-old in his prime.
Of course, Childress’ decision ultimately didn’t lead to some huge exodus of NBA talent to Europe.
And now, it seems nearly impossible that a player coveted by NBA teams will choose to sign in Europe ever again, at least not purely for financial reasons. Nikola Mirotic, a solid NBA player in the ’10s, did choose to continue his playing career in Europe as a 27-year-old in the summer of 2019, but that had a lot to do with Mirotic wanting to play closer to home, not because a European team was offering him a huge amount more money than an NBA team.
The gap has widened in a big way between Europe and the NBA salary-wise, with fringe-y NBA players making Euroleague star money now.
And when discussing NBA superstar salaries? Well, those guys are pretty much earning in one season what an entire Euroleague team’s salary budget is overall.
Below, check out how NBA star salaries compare to some of the budgets of Euroleague teams (source: BasketNews).
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Real Madrid budget: $51.29 million
Kevin Durant salary: $51.18 million
Boasting two of the 10 highest-paid players in Euroleague in Mario Hezonja and Edy Tavares, according to BasketNews, Real Madrid’s entire budget is just a touch over that of what Kevin Durant earned in 2024-25. That’s despite Real having an elite roster by European basketball standards.
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EA7 Milan budget: $44.45 million
Rudy Gobert salary: $43.83 million
The aforementioned Mirotic now plays his club basketball in Milan, and is the team’s highest-paid player, and among the Euroleague’s Top 10 in salary. Milan as a whole, however, dishes out less in salary than what Rudy Gobert just earned for Minnesota in ’25.
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Panathinaikos budget: $42.17 million
Anthony Edwards salary: $42.18 million
Greek club Panathinaikos boasts one relatively known former NBA name, Kendrick Nunn, who was a solid player for a few seasons in Miami and with the Lakers. They also have Kostas Sloukas, a Top 5 player in Euroleague in salary. And even then, their entire budget is worth less than Anthony Edwards’ 2024-25 salary.
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Olympiacos budget: $42.17 million
Anthony Edwards salary: $42.18 million
2023 Euroleague MVP Sasha Vezenkov played 48 games with the Sacramento Kings in 2023-24 before basically forcing his way back to Europe. He’s now Euroleague’s highest-paid player as a member of Olympiacos. Even then, Olympiacos’ budget is also less than Edwards’.
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Anadolu Efes budget: $39.32 million
Ben Simmons salary: $40.34 million
Boasting just one Top 10 player in Euroleague salary this season (Darius Thompson), Anadolu Efes’ entire team budget is over $1 million less than what Ben Simmons just earned in 2024-25. Simmons averaged 5.0 points and 5.6 assists in 2024-25, for what it’s worth.
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Fenerbahce budget: $38.18 million
Zion Williamson salary: $36.73 million
Newly minted Euroleague champions Fenerbahce boast a salary budget of roughly $38.2 million. Led by former Wisconsin star Nigel Hayes-Davis, Fenerbahce won the Euroleague final over Monaco 81-70 just this past weekend. And they accomplished that with a budget just over $1 million higher than what former No. 1 pick Zion Williamson earned in 2024-25, when he appeared in 30 games for New Orleans.
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Bayern budget: $37.61 million
Zion Williamson salary: $36.73 million
Another team in Europe with deeper pockets, Bayern Munich had a salary budget of $37.61 million in 2024-25, approximately $120,000 over what Williamson just earned in ’25 to appear in 30 games for New Orleans. Bayern’s backcourt this season featured two of the best American college guards in recent memory, Shabazz Napier and Carsen Edwards.
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Barcelona budget: $36.47 million
OG Anunoby salary: $36.64 million
With two players – Kevin Punter and one-time NBA starter Willy Hernangomez – in the Euroleague’s Top 10 in salary, Barça has an overall budget below what OG Anunoby earned in 2024-25 with the New York Knicks. Money well spent for the Knicks, who enjoyed a healthy, strong two-way campaign by Anunoby.
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AS Monaco budget: $33.51 million
James Harden salary: $33.65 million
The team that Fenerbahce defeated in the Euroleague championship, Monaco, has a roster featuring some players with an NBA history, most notably high-scoring guard Mike James, who’s already done enough to be considered one of the top Euroleague players in history. Monaco also boasts the likes of Daniel Theis and Nick Calathes, two other former NBA players. Even then, the team’s budget is less than James Harden’s salary in 2024-25.
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Virtus budget: $28.49 million
Tyler Herro salary: $29.00 million
Ever wonder what happened to Marco Bellinelli and Justin Holiday? Well, they play for Virtus Bologna in Italy now. Virtus Bologna has a budget under Tyler Herro‘s salary in 2024-25.
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Partizan budget: $26.21 million
Andrew Wiggins salary: $26.28 million
The team where Frank Ntilikina and Aleksej Pokuševski
now reside, Partizan Belgrade boasts an overall salary budget under than Andrew Wiggins’ in 2024-25.
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Crvena Zvezda budget: $25.07 million
Jonathan Isaac salary: $25.00 million
A club in Serbia with not as deep pockets as many of its Euroleague counterparts, Crvena Zvezda has an overall budget less than Jonathan Isaac’s salary for 2024-25. That says more about the Orlando Magic than anything, however, as Orlando just paid Isaac $25 million to average 5.4 points and 4.4 rebounds over 71 appearances. Red Star does have some fun names on its roster at the moment, including Isaiah Canaan and Milos Teodosic.
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Maccabi budget: $21.65 million
De’Andre Hunter salary: $21.70 million
Maccabi Tel Aviv doesn’t have a huge number of super well-known names at the moment, as far as former NBAers go, at least. The club is where former high second-round pick Rokas Jokubaitis plays, though. Jokubaitis was the 34th overall pick in the 2021 draft by the Thunder. As a whole, the team’s budget is less than De’Andre Hunter’s was this season.
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Paris budget: $21.54 million
Lonzo Ball salary: $21.40 million
Boasting a roster with nary a former NBA name, Paris Basketball still managed to have a salary budget of $21.54 million, just north of what Lonzo Ball earned in 2024-25.
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Zalgiris budget: $20.17 million
Marcus Smart salary: $20.21 million
Lithuanian club Zalgiris Kaunas doesn’t have a pool of money with which to build its roster, so it has to be smart with its signings. Some of the players who just featured for the team include former Michigan star Ignas Brazdeikis and one-time Warriors forward Alen Smailagić.
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ASVEL budget: $18.46 million
Collin Sexton salary: $18.35 million
Featuring former NBA names like Andre Roberson, Joffrey Lauvergne and Nando de Colo, ASVEL Villeurbanne does not spend a huge amount of money on player salaries, even by Euroleague standards. As such, its budget was less than Collin Sexton’s in 2024-25. Fun fact: former No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama played for ASVEL for a year before getting to the NBA.
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ALBA budget: $16.64 million
Caris LeVert salary: $16.62 million
One-time NBA guard Matt Thomas now plays for ALBA Berlin, after 126 NBA appearances over three NBA seasons, a stretch that saw him shoot 40.4 percent from three. ALBA Berlin’s not a huge spender, either, with a salary budget of $16.64 million, roughly $20,000 more than what Caris LeVert just made in ’25.
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Baskonia budget: $15.96 million
Klay Thompson salary: $15.87 million
Baskonia, a club in Spain without the money that backs Real Madrid or even Barcelona, had a salary budget of nearly $16 million in 2024-25, not much more than Klay Thompson just earned in Dallas. Baskonia’s roster features former Florida State standout guard Trent Forrest, as well as Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, another former NBAer.
