Being that the free agency period for the stars (and players posing as stars) is like Christmas to a child, I felt like this list was very necessary given all of the foolishness that has gone on thus far. Now be warned before reading, some of the names and the numbers beside them on this list will leave you scratching your head and may result in anger … discretion is advised.
I give you the Top 25 NBA Career Salaries of All Time (strictly NBA salaries, endorsements not included), courtesy of BasketballReference.com
Note: Salary leaders are for the 1968 through 2010 NBA seasons.
1. Shaquille O’Neal — $290,846,146
2. Kevin Garnett — $251,315,354
3. Chris Webber — $178,230,697
4. Kobe Bryant — $171,384,365
5. Jason Kidd — $165,853,968
6. Tim Duncan — $164,844,536
7. Tracy McGrady — $160,273,916
8. Allen Iverson — $154,494,445
9. Jermaine O’Neal — $153,450,640
10. Stephon Marbury — $151,115,945
11. Rasheed Wallace — $150,436,080
12. Juwan Howard — $148,761,271
13. Alonzo Mourning — $143,906,333
14. Dikembe Mutombo — $143,666,581
15. Michael Finley — $138,576,839
16. Grant Hill — $131,055,650
17. Dirk Nowitzki — $124,063,985
18. Patrick Ewing — $123,843,120
19. Zydrunas Ilgauskas — $123,135,542
20. Anfernee Hardaway — $120,469,142
21. David Robinson — $118,135,623
22. Allan Houston — $117,556,500
23. Vince Carter — $116,793,315
24. Antawn Jamison — $111,358,288
25. Elton Brand — $110,159,451
LOOK AT ALL THAT STOLEN MONEY!!!
Let’s look at this list a little further…
Tracy McGrady? Hasn’t made it past the first round and has his own VIP section at the local hospital … let’s not forget the fact that he is related to Vince Carter.
Stephon Marbury? This dude is now eating Vaseline and playing ball in China. Where is all that money?
Juwan Howard? I know his 360 wave game was up, but damn.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas? Right.
Rank 22-25: ENOUGH SAID.
Now, like myself, the first thing you may notice is that Michael Jordan is nowhere to be found on this list, and this is because 2/3 of Michael Jordan’s NBA money was made in the ’97 and ’98 seasons in which he made $30 and $33 million, respectively. Up until that point, MJ had only made $29 million in the previous 11 seasons, which I’m sure does not bother the GOAT one bit as he is now worth of $500 million.
Here is the Breakdown of MJ’s career earnings by season:
The idea of the likes of Stephon Marbury and Vince Carter being compensated more than Michael Jordan for anything basketball related is mind blowing to me.
To think that Joe Johnson just signed a contract worth more than what Michael Jordan made his entire career as a player…
The saddest part about this list you ask?
There are only 7 players who have at least one ring on this list
I’m Gone
Kris Moyo is one of BSO’s newest writers and comes from a long background of jive talking and pimp walking. You can follow Kris on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/IAMKRIS24
