The National Basketball Association has one of the highest percentages of African American players from the big four professional sports leagues in North America. In 2023, approximately **** percent of NBA players were African American. Meanwhile, ethnically white players constituted a **** percent share of all NBA players that year. After the WNBA and NBA, the National Football League had the largest share of African Americans in a professional sports league in North America. How do other roles in the NBA compare? When it comes to African American representation in the NBA, no other role in the NBA is as well represented by African Americans as players. Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the scale, less than **** percent of team governors in the NBA were African American in 2023. During the 2022/23 season, the role with the second-highest share of African Americans was head coach, with a share of ** percent. That season, the number of African American head coaches in the NBA exceeded the number of white head coaches for the first time. African Americans in the NFL In 2022, the greatest share of players by ethnicity in the NFL were African American, with more than half of all NFL players falling within this group. The representation of African Americans in American Football extended beyond the playing field, with **** percent of NFL assistant coaches being African American in 2022 as well. However, positions such as vice presidents and head coaches were less representative of the African American population, as less than ** percent of the individuals fulfilling these roles in 2022 were African American.

Of the big four professional sports leagues in North America, the NFL and the NBA have the highest percentage of African American players. In 2023, **** percent of NBA players were African American, as well as half of the head coaches within the league.

Professional sports leagues in North America have traditionally been home to athletes from many backgrounds and ethnicities. In the 2023 season, over ** percent of the players in the National Basketball Association (NBA) were African American. In comparison, **** percent of NBA athletes were white and *** percent were Hispanic.

In 2023, over ** percent of players in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) were black or African American. Meanwhile, just *** percent of players in the league identified as Asian.

Of the big four professional sports leagues in North America, the NFL and the NBA have the highest percentage of African American players. In 2024, around **** percent of NFL players were African American, as well as around **** percent of assistant coaches.

In 2023, the greatest share of players by ethnic group in the National Football League (NFL) were black or African American athletes, constituting just over ** percent of players within the NFL. Despite the large population of Hispanic or Latino people within the United States, there is a substantial underrepresentation within the NFL, with only *** percent of players identifying as such. National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that was established in 1920 and now consists of 32 clubs divided into two conferences, the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The league culminates in the Super Bowl, the NFL's annual championship game. As the league’s championship game, the Super Bowl has grown into one of the world's largest single-day sporting events, attracting high television ratings and generating billions of dollars in consumer spending. NFL revenues The NFL is one of the most profitable sports leagues in the world, generating a staggering **** billion U.S. dollars in 2022. This total revenue of all ** NFL teams has constantly increased over the past 15 years and, although this figure dropped significantly in 2020, this was largely as a result of the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) containment measures. This significant drop in revenue demonstrates one of the primary impacts of COVID-19 on professional sports leagues. NFL franchises As a result of this profitability in non-pandemic times, the franchises of the NFL are attributed extremely high market values. The Dallas Cowboys were by far the most valuable franchise in the NFL, with a market value of **** billion US dollars in 2023. The high value of NFL franchises can be seen clearly when compared to those of the NBA, MLB, and NHL. Franchises within the NFL had an average market value of approximately *** billion U.S. dollars in 2023.

A survey conducted in January 2025 in the United States revealed that over half of NBA fans were Caucasian. Meanwhile, 20.7 percent were Hispanic.

Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a social movement advocating for an end to police brutality and violence against Black people. The death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis in May 2020 caused a renewed wave of public outrage and, following his death, many athletes threw their support behind the BLM movement and advocated social change. During a June 2020 survey in the United States, ** percent of NBA fans stated that they supported the Black Lives Matter movement.

In the 2022/23 NBA season, there were ** African American head coaches in comparison to ** white head coaches. Going back to 2010, this was the first time that the number of African American head coaches in the NBA exceeded the number of white head coaches. Head coach of Miami Heat, Erik Spoelstra, remained the only Asian-American coach in the league.

Following a series of high profile instances of police brutality and racial inequality in the United States in 2020, several professional athletes and teams took a stand and refused to compete in scheduled games to bring awareness to the situation. During an August 2020 survey in the United States, 72 percent of NBA fans believed that police violence against Black people was common.

During the 2025 season, Kelsey Mitchell of the Indiana Fever had the highest salary among players in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) with ******* U.S. dollars. In second place was Arike Ogunbowale with ******* U.S. dollars. How much do WNBA rookies earn? In the lead up to the 2025 WNBA season, one of the most pressing issues surrounding the league was the pay structure. The previous year had seen college basketball superstar Caitlin Clark enter the league as the overall number one pick. Despite being a major draw for the WNBA, Clark's rookie salary stood at under ****** U.S. dollars. In 2025, this increased marginally for the number one pick Paige Bueckers to ****** U.S. dollars. How much are men’s National Basketball Association (NBA) players paid? Compared to the top earners in the women’s league, the picture in the men's league is a little different. Some of the highest-paid male professional basketball players take home eye-watering amounts each year. Steph Curry of the Golden State Warrior sat at the top of the pile in 2024/25 season, earning ** million U.S. dollars for his appearances in the NBA, on top of a further *** million U.S. dollars' worth of endorsements. Overall, average annual salaries in the NBA are much higher than in the WNBA. On average, NBA players took home more than ** million U.S. dollars in 2024/25, while WNBA players earned roughly ******* U.S. dollars in 2025.

All-star games are exhibition matches that take place in a variety of sports to showcase some of the leagues' top players. The line-ups are often selected by a panel of experts, fellow players, fans, and media. During a survey conducted on ************, ** percent of African American respondents stated that NBA All-Star Game was their favorite all-star sports game.

According to a January 2025 survey, **** percent of WNBA fans in the United States were female. Meanwhile, the same survey revealed that the largest ethnic group among the WNBA's fanbase was *********.