Top three notable names to leave the NBA for Europe this summer

There are only 450 spots in the NBA, 540 if you count two-way contracts. Each year, there's a group of players who hit the free-agency market and quietly fade into the obscurity of professional basketball outside of the NBA's bubble. 

Most of those players head overseas, either to Europe, Australia or China. In recent years, the jump from the NBA to Europe has grown in popularity. The talent level across the top European leagues has dramatically increased, with some teams now closing in on NBA levels of skill and athleticism. And with that talent increase, the pay has started to rise, too.

It makes sense, then, that some notable names for NBA fans have made the jump across the Atlantic this summer. Here are the top three players to head to Europe since the start of the offseason.

Lonnie Walker IV

This time last summer, there was significant chatter about whether Lonnie Walker IV would earn the 15th and final spot on the Boston Celtics roster. The same roster that had won the NBA championship just months earlier.

After seeing his Exhibit 10 deal with Boston expire, Walker ended up heading to Lithuania to play for Zalgiris Kaunas before the Philadelphia 76ers brought him back for the second half of the season.

Now, after failing to secure a new contract with the Sixers, Walker is heading to Israel, where he's signed a three-year, $10 million deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv. Walker will now be one of the highest earners within all of European basketball.

Oshae Brissett

Walker will join Oshae Brissett over in Tel Aviv, as the former NBA champion has also signed with the franchise this summer. Brissett is just 18 months removed from playing a role on the Celtics roster that won the 2024 championship.

Brissett doesn't have the athleticism and scoring skill that Walker brings to the table. As such, he won't be bringing home the same level of pay packet. However, he will undoubtedly be one of the better players, both in the Israeli league and in Europe.

Brissett leaves the NBA having played in 233 games, averaging 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds on 41.9 percent shooting from two-point range and 33.7 percent from deep.

Shake Milton 

Nobody can deny that Shake Milton has outperformed expectations after entering the NBA as the 54th pick in the 2018 draft. He leaves the NBA having suited up for 359 regular-season games and 40 postseason outings. 

Milton has spent time with the Philadelphia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers. Impressively, he's consistently earned playing time, regardless of what roster he's been on.

Nevertheless, it would appear that Milton has sought out an opportunity where he can be a core member of a rotation. According to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews, Milton has signed a two-year deal to play in Serbia for Partizan Belgrade. 

If he can adjust to the physicality of the Serbian league and the slightly different rules set, Milton could become a high-level player in the domestic league and perhaps even in Europe.