30 richest players in the NBA
By John Buhler
Kevin Durant
Small Forward, Golden State Warriors
It was only a matter of time before superstar small forward for the Golden State Warriors Kevin Durant would make an appearance on this list. While he has only been in the NBA for 10 seasons, he is already the 16th highest paid active player in terms of career earnings with $132,183,333.
Durant was the No.2 overall pick by the then Seattle SuperSonics in the 2007 NBA Draft out of Texas. He would sign a two-year deal worth $8.65 million. The Oklahoma City Thunder would wisely pay Durant the team options for his third and fourth NBA seasons, costing the Thunder $4.8 million and $6 million, respectively.
Durant would strike his first big payday in October 2009, where he would sign a five-year maximum rookie scale extension worth $89 million. After nine years with the SuperSonics/Thunder, Durant would leave Oklahoma City on a controversial deal to land with Golden State.
On the Fourth of July 2016, Durant signed a two-year max with the Warriors for $54.3 million. He has a player option built into his Warriors contract. Should he take the player option, Durant stands to make roughly $159,917,738 before hitting free agency in summer 2018.
Durant is only 28 years old and very much in the midst of his prime as a basketball player. He will likely go down as one of the highest paid players in NBA history before he calls it a career.
Leaving Oklahoma City may have cost him some money and security in the long-run, but Durant is set up to win a championship this year and maybe next if he opts into the second year of his contract with the Warriors. If not, he’ll be the most coveted player in free agency again this summer.