Former Lakers Guard Striving to Improve G League Salaries

Jeremy Hanna | Nov 20, 2024

April 10, 2018; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Andre Ingram (20) reacts against the Houston Rockets during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The G League remains an important part of the NBA, serving as an excellent place for younger talent who are almost ready to play in the NBA to develop their talents further.

That being said, these athletes aren't necessarily treated like they are nearly NBA-caliber players. According to former South Bay and Los Angeles Lakers guard Andre Ingram in an interview with GTV Hoops, the biggest discrepancy comes in pay.

"When Andre Ingram came into the G League in 2007, his salary was $13,500. Now, it’s up to $43,000, but Ingram and the G League’s Players’ Union are fighting for more," GTV Hoops posted on Instagram.

"You know, the G League, we are touted as, in many ways and by many people, as the second-best league in the world," Ingram said. "You wanna compensate your players for that. You wanna fare a livable wage for the second-best league in the world. We have many guys, as you know, that have played in high overseas leagues. Especially the financial part, it's not even comparable."

"Yeah, we're up from the $13,500 to, you know, $43,000 is where we are now, that doesn't even compare to the top leagues overseas and leagues that can claim that, 'Hey, actually, we're the second-best. Have you seen what we pay our players? Have you seen our accomadations? Have you seen what we do? Do you see what people come play with us instead of stay [in the US].

"We still got a long way to go in terms of that pay gap. There's no reason that our best players should be going elsewhere when there's a league right here. You can develop right here. There's so much value right here.

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"It's not even livable in this day and age, in this kind of economy that we're in," Ingram went on to say. "It's not even livable. To make a claim, and it's a true claim. There's a legit claim that we're the second-best basketball league in the world. But you wanna be compensated for that."

GTV Hoops also noted that some G League players make more than the $43,000 base salary.

"Many have Exhibit-10 training camp bonuses up to $75,000," GTV Hoops said. "Approximately 90 players are on Two-Way deals and a ton of players are are on assignment and are on full NBA contracts."

Still, this isn't much compared to what players are making in other leagues around the world. For example, the average salary for players in the EuroLeague is $400,000 to $800,000 in the 2021-22 season.

If the NBA wants to keep touting the G League as the second-best league in the world, they need to start treating them like it.

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