From abandonment to counterattack: Yabuselle pursues his dream for five years, and starts a new NBA chapter out of his own pocket

In the summer of 2025, French forward Gaelson Yabuselle made a decision that shocked everyone: he paid $1.65 million out of his own pocket, bought out his contract with Real Madrid, and joined the Philadelphia 76ers with a base salary of $2.1 million a year. This means that his actual income is only $1.14 million and his net loss is more than $500,000.

But it was this seemingly crazy decision that opened the door to return to the NBA. A year later, the New York Knicks signed the 29-year-old French tough guy with a two-year, $12 million contract.

Abussele's basketball journey was bumpy. In 2016, he was selected by the Celtics in the 16th pick in the first round and officially entered the NBA in 2017. But in the two seasons with the Celtics, he averaged only 2.3 points and 1.4 rebounds per game and was cut by the team in the summer of 2019.

In the five years after being cut, Abussele began his basketball career and joined the CBA Nanjing Tongxi team, the French League and Real Madrid team in Spain. Many people think he can never return to the NBA, but he never gave up on this dream. In the summer of 2024, when the 76ers threw an olive branch to Abussele, he faced a difficult choice: he had one year left in his contract with Real Madrid, and the buyout fee was as high as $2.5 million.

According to NBA regulations, 76ers can only pay a maximum of US$850,000 in buyout fees, and the remaining US$1.65 million needs to be solved by Yabuselle himself. His salary for 76ers is $2.1 million, and he gets about $1.14 million after tax.

This means that Yabussele will have to pay at least $500,000 in order to play in the NBA. But he firmly believed that he could stay in the NBA and decided to pay out of his own pocket.

Abusele's bet paid off. In the 2024-25 season, he played 70 regular season games for the 76ers, starting in 43 of which, and averaged 11 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 0.8 steals per game, with shooting percentages of 50.1%, 38% and 72.5% respectively in the three events. Such an outstanding performance has attracted the attention of many teams. In January 2025, several reporters reported that many playoff teams issued trade invitations to Abuselle.

Although the 76ers wanted to keep him, the Knicks eventually won the French striker with a two-year, $12 million contract. In contrast, 76 people are only willing to provide a basic salary contract of 2.6 million yuan per year.

Abusselle's ability to return to the NBA is largely due to his outstanding performance in the Paris Olympics. He averaged 14 points and 3.3 rebounds per game for the French men's basketball team, with a shooting percentage of up to 51.9%, attracting the attention of many NBA teams.

From a marginal man abandoned by the NBA to a new chapter now opening a new chapter in a new team, Yabuselle spent five years writing a passionate and inspiring counterattack legend. His story inspires everyone who has a dream of basketball. As long as you have a dream in your heart and persevere, you will definitely usher in your highlight moment.