The last 20 years have seen NBA contracts balloon to heights not seen before. Here are the 20 players who are at the top of the list of NBA career earnings
The mid-90s saw NBA owners and general managers signing players to $100 million contracts every offseason with fringe All-Stars turning one good season in to a nine-figure contract as owners had their wallets inflated by soaring TV revenues.
Many of these contracts came back to bite the team who had to swallow the sunken costs of an investment gone wrong as a result of injury, inconsistent performance or a combination of the two.
Naturally, some of the contracts proved to be shrewd investments that resulted in multiple NBA championships with future Hall of Fame players. By my count seven of the 20 players you will see on this list proved unworthy of the large financial investment in their NBA teams with the other 13 players destined to end up in enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, including four of the top five who are still active.
After reading through the list, please leave your thoughts and opinions on the players mentioned and let your voice be heard in the comments section below.
Without further ado, here are the 20 players who top the list of NBA career earnings.
Contract figures courtesy of basketball-reference.com
Next: Lewis - Pau - Agent Zero
20. Rashard Lewis – $155,332,815
The 16-yard veteran entered the NBA straight out of high school and is a two-time All-Star and won a championship as a role player with the 2013 Miami Heat. Lewis made the bulk of his money when the Seattle Supersonics and Orlando Magic agreed to a sign-and-trade on a six-year deal with more than $110 million in 2007. At the peak of his deal, Lewis was making $21.2 million a season.
19. Pau Gasol – $156,574,396
The four-time All-Star and two-time champion with the Los Angeles Lakers is no longer the $19 million player he was at the end of his run with the Lakers after signing a three-year deal with the Chicago Bulls worth $22 million.
18. Gilbert Arenas – $163,061,257
Agent Zero was one of the game’s best scorers from 2004-2007 before knee injuries derailed his career, but he was still being paid like one of the league’s best players when he made $20.8 million in the 2012-2013 season despite not playing a single game.
Easily one of the worst contracts in the league when he signed a six-year, $111 million deal with the Washington Wizards in 2008. He would play 55 more games in a Washington uniform and 121 overall after signing the extension.
Next: Brand - Starbury - Howard
17. Elton Brand – $165,338,631
The former No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 draft by the Bulls made his money with the Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers when he made between $10.9 million and $17 million. Brand made two All-Star teams in his 15-year career, averaging 16.6 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.
16. Stephon Marbury – $151,115,945
Marbury averaged 19.3 points, 7.6 assists and three rebounds per game over his 13-year NBA career. He was a two-time All-Star in 2001 and 2003 and although his time with the New York Knicks wasn’t the most successful, he did make $88 million in his five seasons in New York.
15. Juwan Howard – $151,465,633
Howard is on this list for at one point being an All-Star caliber power forward who once made $20.6 at the end of his $100 million-plus contract he signed with the Washington Bullets but also for being a steady and consistent enough player to stick around for 19 seasons and stay healthy enough to cash a check. He was on the 2012 Miami Heat team that won the championship when he played 24 minutes over nine playoff games.
Next: The Answer - Sheed - Vinsanity
14. Allen Iverson – $154,494,445
The Answer was one of the best players in the NBA from the day he entered the league as the No. 1 pick in the draft by the 76ers until his body broke down after more than a decade of his fearless style of play. He made the All-Star team every year from 2000 when he was the league’s MVP until 2010. He was a four-time scoring champ, three-time steals champ, routinely led the league in minutes and almost single-handedly led the 76ers to the NBA Finals in the 2000-2001 season. He made $20.8 million at the peak of his earning power.
13. Rasheed Wallace – $158,110,581
Wallace averaged 14.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game throughout his 16 years in the NBA when he made four All-Star teams and was crucial to the Detroit Pistons winning the title in 2004 after a trade from the Atlanta Hawks.
He was more good than great during his career but the year he was traded was also the year he was making $17 million in the final year of a deal signed with the Portland Trail Blazers.
12. Vince Carter – $161,663,315
Vinsanity never lived up to the Michael Jordan comparisons, which were unfair to begin with, but Carter did make eight straight All-Star teams from 2000-2007 with the Toronto Raptors and New Jersey Nets. At the peak of his earning power, the former North Carolina standout was bringing in $18.3 million.
Next: T-Mac - O'Neal - C-Webb
11. Tracy McGrady – $162,978,278
The second player on the list to enter the NBA straight from high school and the cousin of Carter, McGrady was one of the league’s most prolific scorers during his prime with the Orlando Magic when he twice led the league in scoring.
The height of his career was cut short as a result of knee injuries, but McGrady still played 15 years in the league and earned $23.2 million in 2009-2010.
10. Jermaine O’Neal – $168,794,021
O’Neal is the third player to join the NBA straight out of high school and gets credit for being at one time an All-Star performer for six years from 2001-2007 with the Indiana Pacers and for having staying power. O’Neal has played 18 seasons with seven different teams and made $$23 million in 2009-2012 with the Heat.
9. Chris Webber – $178,230,697
The former No. 1 overall pick and second member from the “Fab Five” from the Michigan Wolverines (Howard) was one of the better players of his generation who I believe gets lost in the shuffle when discussing the best players from his era. Webber was a five-time All-Star with career averages of 20.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists as one of the more all-around big men who made $19.1 million at his peak with the Sacramento Kings.
Next: Jesus Shuttlesworth - The Truth - J-Kidd
8. Ray Allen – $184,356,410
Allen is still debating whether he wants to continue his playing career but the 10-time All-Star and two-time champion is most likely going to continue it at some point this winter for a title contender. The league’s most accomplished three-point shooter in NBA history made $18.8 at the height of his earning power when he was with the Boston Celtics.
7. Paul Pierce – $184,819,552
Allen’s former teammate with the Celtics, Pierce has been one of the best small forwards in his time and arguably one of the toughest players at any position.
The Truth has career averages of 21.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game as he begins his first year with the Wizards. The 10-time All-Star and 2008 champion made $19.8 million in 2009-2010.
6. Jason Kidd – $187,675,468
Pierce’s former coach with the Brooklyn Nets and current coach of the Milwaukee Bucke, Kidd is a future Hall of Famer as one of the all-time great point guards and the leader in triple doubles with 118, Magic Johnson is second with 79.
Kidd led the New Jersey Nets to the NBA Finals twice with Carter as his primary beneficiary of his assists. Kidd won his championship in 2011 with the Dallas Mavericks. He made $21.4 million in the 2008-2009 season.
Next: Dirk - The Big Fundamental
5. Dirk Nowitzki – $204,063,985
Nowitzki opened the game for European players and helped shed the stigma that European players were soft and couldn’t translate their game to the NBA style. After 12 All-Star appearances in the last 13 years and a career that will end up him enshrined in the Hall of Fame, Nowitzki has been well worth the money the Dallas Mavericks and Mark Cuban have paid him. The 2006-2007 MVP and 2011 Finals MVP when he guided the Mavericks to their first championship made $22.7 million last year, the most he’s made in his 16-year career.
4. Tim Duncan – $224,709,155
The Big Fundamental is arguably the greatest power forward to ever play the game. Duncan has averaged 19.9 points, 11.1 rebounds 3.1 assists and 2.2 blocks per game during his 17-year career of which he was named an All-Star 14 times. Duncan has led the San Antonio Spurs to five titles and was named Finals MVP three times. He made $22.2 in 2009-2010.
Next: Kobe - Shaq
3. Kobe Bryant – $279,738,062
Bryant is the second best shooting guard in NBA history behind Michael Jordan. The 18-year veteran has made 16 All-Star teams and won five titles while averaging 25.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists during his spectacular career since he entered the league out of Lower Merion high school in suburban Philadelphia.
Jerry West’s acquisition for bryant on draft night in 1996 for Vlade Divac may be the most lopsided trade in league history. He’s made more than $20 million each of the last six seasons with the 2013-2014 season seeing Kobe rake in $30.5 million.
2. Shaquille O’Neal – $292,198,327
Kobe’s longtime running mate with the Lakers, “Shaq” played 19 seasons in the NBA with six different teams and made 15 All-Star teams. He burst on the scene with the Orlando Magic, averaging 27.2 points and 12.5 rebounds per game in his four seasons with the Magic and led them to the NBA Finals in 1995 before signing with the Lakers as a free agent on a seven-year, $120 million contract.
The same summer the Lakers would trade for Kobe and the rest is history as they won three titles together. Shaq would win a fourth ring with the Miami Heat after their relationship resulted in him leaving the Lakers. During his 19 years in the league, Shaq made at least $20 million nine years, including 27.7 in his first year with the Heat in 2004.
Next: The Big Ticket
1. Kevin Garnett – $315,372,398
The fifth player on the NBA career earnings top 20 list to come straight out of high school to the NBA is The Big Ticket as Garnett joins Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees as the only two professional athletes in the North American pro sports to earn more than $300 million in their respective sports.
Garnett benefited by signing two contracts worth more than $100 million during his 19-year career that has seen him make the All-Star team 15 times and win the 2008 championship with Pierce and Allen during his stint with the Celtics. Garnett signed two separate contracts worth more than $100 million in his career and has made at least $20 million seven seasons in his career, including $28 million in 2003-2004 with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
When the Timberwolves made Garnett the fifth overall pick int he 1995 draft he became the first player drafted out of high school since Darryl Dawkins and Bill Willoughby were the fifth and 19th picks in the 1975 draft. In the next three years he was followed by Bryant, O’Neal, McGrady and Lewis who made the jumps from the preps to the pros and are among the 20 richest NBA players of all-time.
More from FanSided
- MLB Trade Grades: Dodgers land Amed Rosario from Guardians
- Colorado gives Pac-12 a possible death knell with move to Big 12
- NFL rumors: Dalvin Cook suitor maintaining very ‘real’ interest
- Braves get dose of bad news on Max Fried as ace nears return
- LA Galaxy vs. Club Leon Leagues Cup match rescheduled for July 26