30 richest players in the NBA
By John Buhler
Dwight Howard
Center, Atlanta Hawks
One of the highest paid active players is also one of the most enigmatic. Center Dwight Howard came into the league out of high school and became the No. 1 overall pick by the Orlando Magic in 2004. In 13 NBA seasons to date, Howard has already made $186,735,761 in career salary.
Howard signed a three-year rookie contract with Orlando in 2004 worth $13.5 million. Orlando would exercise its team option for the fourth year of Howard, costing the Magic $6.06 million for the 2007-08 NBA season. In July 2007, Howard would agree to a five-year rookie extension worth $83.2 million.
Howard would force a trade out of Orlando to the Los Angeles Lakers in summer 2012. He would spend only the 2012-13 NBA season in Los Angeles. Howard would terminate his contract a year early to sign with the Houston Rockets in unrestricted free agency in summer 2013.
Houston would give Howard a four-year max contract worth $87.5 million. After three years with the Rockets, Howard would opt out of his contract to test free agency again in summer 2016. A frustrating end to his time in Houston left Howard with few suitors last summer.
However, Howard was able to sign a three-year $70.5 million deal with his hometown Atlanta Hawks. Howard will be under contract with Atlanta through the 2018-19 NBA season. Should he play out both remaining years of his Hawks deal, Howard will stand to make roughly $234,055,486.
Howard’s first year in Atlanta has gone over quite smoothly. He seems to be embracing his role as a defense-first player that goes up for lobs on offense. While he may not ever win a championship in his NBA career, his tenure with the Magic might be good enough to get him to Springfield.