The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the International Center for Sports Studies (CIES) have published the 10th issue of the seasonal International Basketball Migration Report on the migration trends of world basketball.
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the International Center for Sports Studies (CIES) have published the 10th issue of the seasonal International Basketball Migration Report on the migration trends of world basketball.
In this edition of the report covering the 2020-21 basketball season, FIBA’s information and data on international transfers have been analyzed, combined with the expertise of the CIES Sports Observatory to document international transfers of players this season.
There was a significant decrease compared to the previous season with 7 thousand 687 transfers in the 2020-21 season, with 6 thousand 254 players. The global pandemic could only be touched upon lightly in the previous issue of this report, but in this edition it is clear that COVID-19 has profoundly impacted the 2020-21 season on a wide range of issues, including international transfers and shortened seasons.
Two main sources were used for this report. First, FIBA’s own database of international transfers of all male and female athletes. These records include all moves between two national federations completed by players aged 18 and over that require a letter of authorization from the exiting federation to be issued. The second is FIBA’s database of all registered players in 16 of the top league leagues in the world. To be included in the statistics, players must have played at least once during the 2020-21 season.
In this report, there are a total of 7 thousand 687 transfers recorded for the 2020-21 season, which includes 6 thousand 254 players, professional, amateur, male and female.
The analysis in the report focused on three points in particular. These; comparison between national players and foreigners (players with at least one nationality different from the country in which they play), the transfer circulation of players and players under the age of 21, and the origin of imported players and comparison of the profiles of these players with national players. In addition, analysis was made on international players for US-based organizations (NBA, WNBA, NCAA Men, NCAA Women) and European competitions (EuroLeague, Basketball Champions League, Women’s EuroLeague and Women’s EuroCup).
Note: Since the report explains the transfer mobility of the players in economic terms, transfers from one country will be written as export (export) and transfers to the country as import (import). When referring to transfers from and to the country, transfers of players of all nationalities are mentioned, unless specified as domestic players.
Here are some highlights from this year’s findings:
Significant Decline in International Transfers
There was a large decrease in international transfers, the lowest since the 2014-15 season. The 2020-21 season has been deeply affected by the pandemic. Figures show that men (-1,166) are more affected than women (-90). It was the only increase in Oceania’s area to increase from 42 to 52. There was a notable decrease in other FIBA regions and especially in Europe.
The United States remained the largest exporter. However, when compared to 1,861 exports in the 2018-19 season, 1,488 transfers in the 2020-21 season show that fewer players transferred abroad.
There was a significant increase in the percentage of players staying both in their home country and in the same club.
European Leagues
The USA remains the most represented nationality in European competitions (for both men and women). This shows that these leagues still rely on US players. The fact that US players have higher average minutes and points per game than domestic players confirms this.
However, overall, domestic players’ playing time and average numbers per game were higher in the regular season than in the EuroLeague. Additionally, the percentage of national U-21 players was higher, with more opportunities emerging for younger players.
The women’s leagues remained the same as in previous years, although local players played more than last year.
INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS
There was a large decrease in international transfers, the lowest since the 2014-15 season. While 7 thousand 371 players were included in the transfers last season, this number decreased to 6 thousand 254 in the 2020-21 season.
The average age profile for both men and women remained stable, while the frequency of international transfers remained the same.
Transfer Balance
The European transfer balance remains negative (more imports than exports), and the import rate, which had increased in previous years, reached its lowest level since the 2017-18 season.
Europe continued to be the largest importer, with 8 out of 10 largest importers being European countries. Spain and France were the top countries for both men and women.
By contrast, there was a similar balance of immigration for America this season, but in a negative balance with more exports than imports. The numbers were also the lowest since the 2017-18 season.
Meanwhile, Africa, Oceania, and Asia remained stable, with exports at roughly the same level as imports, with a relatively neutral balance.
Turkey ranked 6th among the highest exporters per country with 204 players sent abroad, and 9th among the highest importers per country with 206 transfers to the country. While the rate of domestic players sent abroad by Turkey is 3.9 percent, the rate of domestic players returning to the country is 4.4.
Basketball Arbitration Board (BAT)
BAT was founded by FIBA in 2006 and is today officially recognized by FIBA. BAT is an independent body that provides services for the simple, fast and cost-effective arbitration of disputes arising from contracts between players, managers, coaches and clubs.
According to the data of 2019; Turkey ranks first in the list of country clubs with the most files against them with 392 files. Turkey is followed by Italy with 146 files and Greece with 132 files, while Russia and Serbia, in fourth and fifth place, have 85 and 80 files, respectively.
NATIONAL LEAGUES
According to the data obtained from the national league comparisons; In the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL), 240 matches were played last season with the participation of 16 clubs. The Argentine League, which ranks first in the list, and the Japanese League, which ranks second, were organized with the participation of 20 clubs, while the Spanish and Chinese leagues were organized with the participation of 18 clubs. Last season, 574 matches were played in the Japanese League, 504 matches were played in China and 387 matches were played in Argentina.
Japan is the country with the highest average age of 28.3, while Greece ranks second with 27.1, VTB United League ranks third with 26.9, and Turkey ranks 9th with an average age of 26.4.
In terms of the number of foreign players playing in the leagues, Spain ranked first with 70.2 percent, Germany ranked second with 56.9 percent, France ranked third with 54.2 percent, and Turkey ranked 7th with an average of 45.7 percent. Israel took the first place with an average of 24.8 minutes, while Turkey took the second place with an average of 24.5 minutes, and Brazil took the third place with an average of 24.1 minutes.
In the ranking of nationalities representing the leagues, in the Spanish League, in the 2020-21 season, there were 54 nationalities, 37 nationalities were represented in France, 28 nationalities in Germany and 23 nationalities in the Turkish League.
Belgium took the first place with 27.5 percent, Argentina took the second place with 24.8 percent, Brazil took the third place with 24 percent and Turkey took the 8th place with 16.7 percent in the ranking of the players under the age of 21 in the squads of the clubs in the leagues.
LOCAL LEAGUES
While examining the own data of each league and its clubs in the local leagues section of the report, the data for Turkey is as follows:
140 matches were played in BSL in the 2020-21 season with the participation of 16 clubs. While the number of games played per club was 30, the total number of players was 276. While foreign players made up 46 percent of the total number of players, athletes from 23 different nationalities competed in BSL. The average age of the players in the league was 26.4, and the average height was 196.9 cm. The average number of clubs scored per game was 82.2, the average time taken by the 5 players who took the field the most per game was 26.6 minutes, and the average number of players on the field per club during the season was 17.4.
Turkish Basketball Super League Local and Foreign Player Comparisons
Number of Players
Of the 255 athletes in the BSL, 150 were domestic players, 43 were foreign nationals excluding the USA, and 83 were US players.
Average Age
The average age of domestic players in BSL was 24.8, the average age of foreign players excluding the USA was 28.8, and the average age of US players was 28.1.
Height Average
The average height of the domestic players in the BSL was 196.6 cm, the average height of the foreign players excluding the USA was 200.1 cm, and the average age of the US players was 195.5 cm.
Scores Per Match
In BSL clubs, the number of domestic players per game was 4.9, 11.3 for foreign players excluding the USA, and 11.9 for US players.
Time Taken Per Match
Domestic players in BSL clubs took 12.1 minutes per game, while foreign players excluding the USA took 23.1 minutes and US players took 25.3 minutes.
Number of Shots Per Minute
In BSL clubs, the number of domestic players scored per minute was 0.27, while it was 0.44 for foreign players excluding the USA and 0.43 for US players.
In addition, in the 2019-20 season in Turkey, 83 from the USA, 6 from France, 4 from Canada, Serbia and Germany, 3 from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Lithuania, 2 from Mexico and Israel, Slovenia, England, Belgium, 1 player each from Czechia, Azerbaijan, Albania, Nigeria, Cameroon, Jamaica, Egypt, Suriname and Australia took part.
At the end of the 2019-2020 season, the main countries that made transfers from the players playing in BSL are; America (27), Germany (10) and Russia (8).
INTERNATIONAL LEAGUES
Main Countries Represented in EuroLeague and BCL 2020-21 Season
According to the data; In the EuroLeague 2020-21 season, players from the European continent made up 64.6 percent of the total, 32 percent from the Americas, 0.3 percent from the Oceania continent and 3 percent from the African continent. Players from the European continent, who took part in the Basketball Champions League 2020-21 season, made up 63 percent of the total, 33.7 percent from the Americas, 0.2 percent from the Oceania continent and 3.1 percent from the African continent.
To access the full report click here.
