What is a Basket Wife?

Some of my newer readers may be wondering what in the world a Basket Wife is when I use the term in certain posts. The term was coined by Amber, who is the wife of a professional basketball player overseas. She and her friend, Megan, started a website entitled Basket Wives sometime around 2006. Joe was the one to first tell me about the group because he met Amber and Megan while on a road trip in Spain when his team played their husbands’ team. Joe gave me their website and after visiting it I was so encouraged at the amazing resource it was to wives/girlfriends living abroad with their husbands/boyfriends who play professional basketball. It had information on types of things you would need, cooking overseas, having a baby abroad and even a list of contacts for other women who had been in cities across Europe. I only wished it had been up and running when I had first started traveling with Joe four years earlier.

The site was a great way to help women connect with one another as well. From the site a Facebook group was formed for the Basket Wives. Although the original Basket Wives site no longer exists, the Facebook group is still going strong and currently has 170 members. Once again, it serves as a great resource, as well as a place of emotional support because you have women who are going through all that you do day-to-day and can relate on so many levels. It includes women from all different backgrounds, ages, experiences and those who stay at home during the season as well.  The group has helped us to have regional meet-ups and get to meet other wives whose husbands may have never played in the same city or country as our husband. There have even been trips organized for the players and their families to vacation together.

I was recently served by another basket wife whose husband is also playing in Italy in Lega Due this season. In our current city they do not sell peanut butter. And for the Crispin family that almost constitutes an emergency. I brought over 9 small jars and they were almost gone in 5 weeks time! So Joe was going to try and check in the other cities he had away games in for peanut butter when he went on away game trips. I knew it would be tough for him to do though as they don’t always have a ton of off time and it would have to be a grocery store he could get to by walking from his hotel. So two weekends ago he was going to the city of another basket wife, Jenny, that I had gotten to know a little bit last year. She and I were connected by another wife who saw I was going to be in Brindisi and was friends with Jenny who had been there the previous year. Our husbands played each other I think 3-4 times last year (and they are both point guards), but Jenny and I had never actually met. But when I saw Joe was going to be in her city for the weekend, I decided to see if they had any peanut butter where she was. She got back to me quickly and said they did and would be happy to pick us up some. So the few days before Joe’s trip there, she hunted down 15 jars of peanut butter for us, then took them to the arena and got them to Joe. It was such a blessing to have that done for us and we were truly appreciative.

That is really how this group of women works. I have received more encouraging e-mails from other basket wives than any other group of people. Those that are in the same countries together are always offering up their apartments for visits and those that stay home (like my friend, Maria) are always quick to send a package of American goodies to you. It is really a fabulous group. I am thankful that Amber and Megan got it started and pray it will continue for many years to bless the future generations of basket wives.

One basket wife of many out there,