Basketball appears to be a popular sport in many different countries throughout the world, and in some countries it is more popular than others. Research shows that many countries have their own professional basketball leagues, and they are similar to the United States and its National Basketball Association (NBA) league. International basketball leagues sometimes attract the interest of American players and many of those players may have aspirations of playing in the NBA, but sometimes they are influenced by overseas contracts that can position them in beneficial situations. These situations, however, are not always without complications; the effects of the overseas contracts include impacts on the NBA, on the players' decisions out of college, and on the countries for which the Americans are playing. The ethical implications of intercultural basketball contracts are the primary focus of this research. Included in this discussion is the ethics associated with lifestyles of athletes playing in America versus other countries, and of the structure of intercultural basketball.
