How many professional basketball players are there in the United
States?  Pls do not include retired basketball players.

www.nba.com
491 players
30 NBA teams

NBA D-League   
8 teams  68 players

WNBA   
13 teams   160 players

http://www.usbasket.com/index.asp
Good all purpose site for N. American basketball 


Continental Basketball Association
http://www.cbahoopsonline.com/
 
9 teams 110 players

American Basketball Association
http://www.abalive.com/

Historically 8-10 teams have played in the ABA. Currently 53 teams are
in various forms of existence, reorganization, expansion.

12-14 players per team in the old ABA

http://www.usbl.com/

8 teams 146 players

http://www.easternbasketballalliance.com/index.asp

Mens Div.
7 teams 12 players per team

WEBA
Women?s Eastern Basketball Alliance

6 teams 10 players per team

American players on rosters overseas are listed under:
www.usbasketball.com

Thanks for your comment and great pointers.  I just want to ensure I'm
reading the numbers, correctly.  To arrive at the total number of NBA
players would Iadd 491 + 68 + 160 OR is the 160 + 68 part of the 491
total?
Thanks!

"Thanks for your comment and great pointers.  I just want to ensure I'm
reading the numbers, correctly.  To arrive at the total number of NBA
players would Iadd 491 + 68 + 160 OR is the 160 + 68 part of the 491
total?"

Add 491 players on active NBA rosters for the 30 teams plus 68 players
in the NBA Developmental League plus 160 female players on WNBA
rosters = 719 pro basketball players on various NBA rosters.

Also, with the various "semi-pro" basketball leagues, the economics
and popularity of the game means that the number of teams in existence
varies from year to year as does roster size.

Define professional?

There are 651 professional basketball players in the United States of
America. 491 from the men's National Basketball Association and 160
from the Women's National Basketball Association. That should give you
the answer. There are many other organizations who attempt to be "pro"
every little league from the ABA to the Harlem Globe Trotters.