30 richest players in the NBA
By John Buhler
With superstars like Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett retiring, let’s take a look at who are the 30 richest players that are active in the NBA.
Since former commissioner David Stern made the NBA a player-driven league back in the mid-1980s, the NBA has seen many of its star players procure a great amount of wealth as multi-millionaires.
The NBA grew in popularity in the 1990s. Once the league adjusted to rampant expansion, the television product got significantly better, therefore driving up the price of broadcasting contracts. Star players were paid like never before.
With the retirements of long-time NBA superstars like Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett, there is a new crop of highest earners in the NBA. Let’s take a look at the 30 richest active players in the NBA.
The list reflects the NBA player earnings, according to Spotrac.com.
Jamal Crawford
Shooting Guard, Los Angeles Clippers
The sixth man for the Los Angeles Clippers has been a reliable jump-shooter coming off an NBA bench for some time. The guy loves to play basketball, as he is very good at it. His smooth shooting stroke has allowed him to age gracefully in the NBA. It has also made him a very wealthy man.
Crawford has made $102,328,889 in 17 NBA seasons. He was the former No. 8 pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers before being immediately traded to the Chicago Bulls in 2000. Crawford played four years with the Bulls before getting a slightly pay bump on a sign-and-trade with the New York Knicks in 2004. He would sign a seven-year deal worth $55.44 million that summer.
Crawford would play out four years of that deal with the Knicks before being traded to the Golden State Warriors in November 2008. He would be traded in June 2009 to the Atlanta Hawks, voided the early termination clause in his seven-year contract to play out the final two years of it in Atlanta.
While with the Hawks, Crawford reinvented himself as a sixth man, helping the Hawks make the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Crawford would sign a two-year deal worth $10.225 million with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2011 free agency. He would opt out of the second year of his deal to become an unrestricted free agent in 2012, ultimately signing a four-year deal worth $21.35 million with the Clippers.
With Los Angeles, Crawford found stability in a well-defined role on a perennial playoff contender. That would help him sign a three-year deal worth $42 million in 2016 free agency. Though he is 36-years old, Crawford is poised to play out the final two years of his Clippers contract to earn an estimated $131,075,887 by the time he hits free agency in summer 2019.
Overall, Crawford was able to pivot in his NBA career from a ball-hog starter on losing Bulls and Knicks teams to a reliable sixth man with the Hawks and Clippers. Few shooting guards can create their own shot as well off the dribble in isolation quite like Crawford has for 17 years. Longevity and dependability have certainly made him one of the 30 richest players in the NBA today.