- Only three players in NBA history have made over $350 million in career earnings
- LeBron James is the only player in NBA history as of right now to make over $400 million in career earnings
- Of the 35 highest-paid players in NBA history, 23 of them are under contract for the 2023-24 season
It is no secret that one of the perks of being an NBA player is the extraordinary amount of money that comes with it. Although money hasn’t always been as abundant as it is in today’s game, NBA players have always been synonymous with fame and fortune. There have been 35 players in NBA history who have made at least $200 million in their careers just off of basketball contracts alone, and this is before endorsement deals or any other avenues of income are considered.
Below, we will be placing all the highest-earning NBA players in history into tiers based on the money they have made off of their basketball contracts. Whether warranted or not, these 35 NBA players have seen more money than any others in the game’s history. As we go through these tiers, we will quickly break down these earnings and contracts that have given some players elite financial status compared to the thousands of men who have taken the court as NBA players.
These are the highest-earning NBA players in history by tiers.
Tier 5 – $200 Million-$249 Million
List: Tobias Harris, LaMarcus Aldridge, Joe Johnson, Jimmy Butler, Jrue Holiday, Pau Gasol, Bradley Beal, Klay Thompson, Anthony Davis, DeMar DeRozan, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, Gordon Hayward, Chris Bosh, Tim Duncan, Dwight Howard, Kyle Lowry, Mike Conley
We kick things off at Tier 5 with the NBA players who have made between $200 and $250 million in their careers. Over half of our list resides in this tier, so let’s begin to break down their contracts.
Although he hasn’t quite lived up to the money he has accumulated in his career as a player, Tobias Harris is laughing all the way to the bank with just over $209 million in career earnings. On his rookie deal with the Bucks and Magic, Harris made between $1 million and $2.3 million per season. By 2019, he was signing an extension with the 76ers worth $180 million over five years. Since 2020, Harris has made at least $32 million per season with Philadelphia and will make just over $39 million in 2023 in the final season of his deal.
LaMarcus Aldridge made just over $213 million in his NBA career that spanned 16 seasons from 2007 through 2022. Over the first nine seasons of his career with the Portland Trail Blazers, Aldridge would make over $85 million while earning four All-Star selections and three All-NBA Team selections. From 2016 through 2021, Aldridge would make $125 million with the Spurs, earning three more All-Star selections and two more All-Star selections. Aldridge retired following the 2022 season with the Nets, making just $3.1 million over two years in Brooklyn.
Joe Johnson’s NBA career spanned 18 seasons with seven different NBA teams from 2002 through 2022. His best years were undoubtedly with the Atlanta Hawks from 2006 through 2012, where he averaged 20.9 points and 5.2 assists per game. Although he was rewarded handsomely for his efforts in Atlanta, his best earning seasons would come in the years to follow with the Brooklyn Nets. Over four years with the Nets, Johnson would make just under $90 million, which nearly equaled his total earned in seven years with Atlanta.
Make no mistake about it, Jimmy Butler has earned every penny he has made in the NBA, and then some. Butler has made a total of $218.1 million in his NBA career with the Bulls, Timberwolves, 76ers, and Heat. His most lucrative stop has been in Miami, where he has earned over $140 million of that since 2020. Moving forward, Butler will make over $45 million annually with Miami as well. I guess that’s what two NBA Finals appearances and three Conference Finals appearances in four seasons will get you.
In his 14-year NBA career with the 76ers, Pelicans, and Bucks, Jrue Holiday has made $219.1 million. Over the last three seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks has been his highest-earning stop, as he has made over $90 million in just three short seasons. He helped Milwaukee capture an NBA championship in 2021, playing elite two-way basketball as one of the best defenders in the world. In 2023-24, Holiday will make $36.9 million to add to his total, and in 2024-25, he will take home $39.4 million with Milwaukee.
The newly-elected Basketball Hall of Famer Pau Gasol made just under $220 million in his 18-year career with the Grizzlies, Lakers, Bulls, Spurs, Bucks, and Trail Blazers. To no surprise, Gasol’s best years financially came with the Los Angeles Lakers from 2008 through 2014. Gasol earned over $116 million with the Lakers during those seven seasons, winning two NBA championships and appearing in three NBA Finals in total.
Bradley Beal has one of the craziest contracts in NBA history. He is one of just a few players to ever have a no-trade clause in his contract and has made $221.1 million in his NBA career so far. Up until the 2023-24 season, Beal has spent his entire career with the Washington Wizards, where he averaged 22.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game in 11 seasons. Since 2017, Beal has made over $22 million annually with the Wizards, which topped $43.2 million in 2022-23. By 2026-27, Beal will earn $57.1 million if he decides to opt into his player option at that time.
Klay Thompson is one of the greatest three-point shooters in NBA history and has played a large role in four NBA championships for the Golden State Warriors. Thompson has earned $222.9 million in his NBA career, which has spanned 12 years, all with Golden State. Since 2020, Thompson has made at least $32 million per season and will make over $43.2 million in 2023-24, the final year of his deal with the Warriors.
Anthony Davis is an elite two-way player in 2023, much like he has been for his entire 11-year career with the Pelicans and Lakers. Davis has made a total of $226 million during those 11 seasons and won an NBA title with Los Angeles in 2020. Since being traded to the Lakers in 2019, Davis has made a minimum of $27 million annually. In each of the next two seasons, his annual salary will jump to $40.6 million in 2023-24 and $43.2 million in 2024-25. Davis and the Lakers are currently negotiating a lucrative extension for the big man as well, who may be next up to take the reins of the franchise from LeBron James.
DeMar DeRozan has spent his 14 seasons in the NBA with the Raptors, Spurs, and Bulls, earning six All-Star selections and three All-NBA Team selections as well. DeRozan has made at least $26 million per season in each of his last seven seasons with all three teams. In 2023-24, the final year of his contract with the Bulls, DeRozan is set to earn the most money he ever has in one season with $28.6 million waiting for him.
I could sit here forever and speak about the issues there are with Kawhi Leonard’s contract over the years. Leonard has certainly earned it with two championships and two Finals MVP awards but injury issues continue to plague his time with the Clippers. Over the last three years with L.A., Leonard has made a minimum of $34 million annually while playing just 104 games and missing many important playoff games as well. The bad news for the Clippers is that Leonard is set to make over $45 million in each of his next two seasons with the team as well.
After signing a max deal with the Mavericks this past offseason, Kyrie Irving is set to blow past Tier 5 in the next few seasons. To this point, he has made $233 million in basketball contracts with the Cavaliers, Celtics, Nets, and Mavericks making him the 24th-highest-paid player in NBA history. Since 2020, Irving has made a minimum of $31 million annually with Brooklyn and Dallas. By 2024-25, his deal with Dallas will be worth over $40 million annually with a %43 million player option for the 2025-25 season.
As one of the greatest shooting point guards and clutch performers ever, Damian Lillard has been rewarded by the Portland Trail Blazers with career earnings of $233.7 million to this point. While we await to see where he will spend the next phase of his career, Lillard will still be among the highest-paid players in the NBA wherever he goes. Since 2021, Lillard has earned a minimum of $31 million per season which topped $42.4 million in 2022-23. By 2025-26, his contract will be worth over $58 million annually, with a $63.2 million player option set for 2026-27.
Gordon Hayward is another NBA player who has been handed one of the worst contracts in NBA history. With all of his injury troubles and declining play, Hayward has still made over $236.8 million in his 13-year NBA career with the Jazz, Celtics, and Hornets. Since 2018, Hayward has made a minimum of $29.7 million annually with three different seasons over the $30 million mark. Luckily for Charlotte, 2023-24 will be the final year of his deal when he will make an astounding $31.5 million, making him one of the most overpaid players for the upcoming season.
Chris Bosh had a Hall of Fame career with the Raptors and Heat that spanned 13 years from 2004 through 2016. Bosh won two NBA titles with the Heat in 2012 and 2013 and has made over $239 million during his career. His best seasons financially came from 2015 through 2019, when he was barely on the court any longer due to blood clots as he made a minimum of $20.6 million in 2015 and a high of $26.8 million in 2019.
If anyone on this list deserves their money more than the other, it is the great Tim Duncan. In 19 seasons with the Spurs, Duncan won five NBA championships, three Finals MVP awards, and two MVP awards. Despite these accolades, Duncan was ahead of his time when it comes down to money as he made as he earned over $20 million annually just three times in his career. In 2010, Duncan made a career-high $22.2 million, which when compared to the contracts today, makes Duncan look like the Spurs fleeced him.
In his prime, Dwight Howard was one of the best two-way players of the last 30-plus years. He is a former three-time Defensive Player of the Year and an NBA champion with the Lakers in 2020. Howard made $245.1 million in 18 seasons in the NBA with the Magic, Lakers, Rockets, Hawks, Hornets, and Wizards. His best years financially would come from 2014 through 2018 with the Rockets, Hornets, and Hawks. During this time, Howard made between $20 million and $23.5 million every season.
The next two point guards to wrap up Tier 5 have been rewarded handsomely for their consistency in the NBA. Over 17 NBA seasons, Kyle Lowry has made over $245.3 million with the Grizzlies, Rockets, Raptors, and Heat. Lowry has made between $26, 9 million and $33.3 million every season since 2018 through the present day. In 2023-24, Lowry is set to make $29.7 million in the final year of his deal with Miami which would push him through to Tier 4 on this list.
The final member of Tier 5, earning just under $250 million in his career with the Grizzlies, Jazz, and Timberwolves, is Mike Conley. As a 16-year NBA veteran, Conley has been an All-Star just once, well as the All-Defensive Team once in his career. Despite his lack of accolades, Conley has made a minimum of $21 million per season since 2016-17, which topped out at $34.5 million in 2021. Currently, Conley is headed into the final year of his deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, which will see him earn $24.4 million at 36 years old.
Tier 4 – $250 Million-$299 Million
List: Dirk Nowitzki, Blake Griffin, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, Al Horford, Kevin Love, John Wall, Shaquille O’Neal
Tier 4 will see us break down the earnings of eight NBA players who earned between $250 million and $300 million in their NBA careers. These eight players are among the top 15 highest earners in NBA history, but it will be up to you to decide to label them as overpaid, underpaid, or just right.
We kick things off with one of the greatest power forwards to ever play the game. Dirk Nowitzki spent his entire 21-year career with the Dallas Mavericks, where he delivered an NBA championship, won Finals MVP, and an MVP award in his career. Nowitzki earned $251.6 million over those 21 seasons with Dallas, rewarded for his loyalty to the organization. A true sign of the respect he earned from Dallas came in 2017 when he earned $25 million despite being well past his prime as a player. That is what can happen when you are the one true GOAT of an NBA franchise.
At his peak, Blake Griffin was one of the most exciting players in the NBA with the Clippers and Pistons. As one of the main components of the Lob City era in L.A., Griffin had no shortage of highlights featured on ESPN. In his career that has spanned 13 seasons, Griffin has earned $258.7 million. His best years financially would come between 2019 and 2021, when he made between $32 million and $34.2 million with the Pistons over those three years.
Paul George is another player on this list whose staggering earnings have come with some negative connotations over the last few seasons. George has earned $259.7 million over the last 13 years with the Pacers, Thunder, and Clippers. Since 2019, he has made a minimum of $30 million every season, and he is set to make over $45 million in each of his next two seasons with the Clippers which includes a $48.8 million player option for 2024-25.
Whether you think he is overrated or not, Carmelo Anthony is the 13th-highest-paid player in NBA history, having made $262.5 million in his 19 seasons in the NBA. Despite never being an MVP or NBA champion, Carmelo was one of the most talented scorers ever in his prime. His best years financially would come between 2014 and 2019 with the Knicks, Thunder, and Hawks, as he made between $22.5 million and $26.2 million every season.
Al Horford being one of the highest-paid players ever, is one that doesn’t sit right with me. This isn’t to say that he didn’t earn a lot of his money, but compared to the players around him, it just doesn’t feel right. In 16 seasons, Horford has earned $265.8 million with the Hawks, Thunder, Celtics, and 76ers. He has made a minimum of $26.5 million every year since the 2017 season and will make $10 million next season as well as $9.5 million in 2024-25.
The next two players on our list could certainly be considered overpaid. Sure, Kevin Love is an NBA champion and former All-Star, but $265.8 million over 15 years seems excessive. Love has spent his playing days with the Timberwolves, Cavaliers, and Heat and, at a time, was considered to be one of the best power forwards in the game. For four seasons from 2020 through 2023, Love would make a minimum of $27.4 million annually with back-to-back $31 million seasons in 2021 and 2022.
John Wall went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows over the course of his NBA career but was paid handsomely for it with $276.5 million over the course of 13 years. Wall made the most money of his career between 2020 and 2022 when he earned between %38.2 million and $44.3 million each season. Coincidentally during those years, Wall played just 40 games, with injuries and failed negotiations being the cause.
The final member of Tier 4 is a man that needs no introduction. At his best, Shaquille O’Neal was the most dominant player in NBA history, leading the Lakers to three NBA championships with three Finals MVP awards. During his NBA career, Shaq would earn $$286.3 million, and that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface when we include his endorsement deals and the businesses he owns. O’Neal was paid his highest from 2000 through 2010 when he made between $20 million and $27.7 million per year with the Lakers, Heat, Suns, Cavaliers, and Celtics.
Tier 3 – $300 Million-$349 Million
List: James Harden, Stephen Curry, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Russell Westbrook
Tier 3 will be for the players who have earned more than $300 million in their career and less than $350 million. Every member of this tier and beyond are NBA legends who earned the right to be called some of the highest-paid players ever. Let’s take a look.
James Harden kicks things off, having made $301.6 million in his NBA career with the Thunder, Rockets, Nets, and 76ers. Harden is a former MVP and three-time scoring champion with the Rockets and has been one of the NBA’s best guards for a decade. Since 2019 with Houston, Harden has made a minimum of $30 million per season, which topped out at $44.3 million in 2022 with the 76ers. Although it looks like he may not be with the team much longer, Harden opted into his $35.64 million player option for the 2023-24 season with the 76ers.
Over the last decade, Stephen Curry completely changed the game with the Golden State Warriors. He proved you can win two MVP awards and four NBA titles with a three-point-centric offense, paving the way for the future of basketball. Curry has made $302.8 million in his 14 years with the Warriors, and that value only continues to increase. He has made at least $40 million every season since 2020 and is set to make over $50 million every season from now through 2025-26.
As a global basketball icon, Kobe Bryant made $323.3 million in 20 seasons with the Lakers from 1997 through 2016. Bryant is the sixth-highest-paid player in NBA history who delivered five NBA championships to the Lakers in his career along with two Finals MVPs and an MVP in 2008. From 2009 through 2016, Kobe was paid at least $21.2 million every year which includes his career-high $30.45 million in 2014. Of course, his shoes and business deals add much more to his value overall, but on the court, he was a money-making machine, and deservedly so.
Kevin Garnett is easily one of the greatest trash-talking power forwards to ever walk the planet. His elite two-way play and championship mentality earned him $334.3 million in his 21 seasons on the court with the Timberwolves, Celtics, and Nets. Garnett won an MVP, NBA championship, and Defensive Player of the Year in his career overall, as well as a host of other accolades to go with it. Of his 21 seasons, Garnett had seven in which he earned over $20 million, yet his long career allowed him to cash in time and time again.
The final member of Tier 3 is the triple-double king himself, Russell Westbrook. For 15 seasons, Westbrook has taken the NBA by storm with his athleticism and skill to become the NBA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles. Westbrook is a former MVP who has spent time with the Thunder, Rockets, Wizards, Lakers, and Clippers in his career. He has made $336.4 million in his career during that time. From 2021 through 2023, Westbrook would make a minimum of $41 million annually but has signed on with the Clippers for 2023-24 at the low price of $3.8 million.
Tier 2 – $350 Million-$399 Million
List: Chris Paul, Kevin Durant
There have been just three players in NBA history to make over $350 million in basketball contracts and two who have made just under $400 million. The first of these players is Point God Chris Paul, who, at his best, was one of the best two-way players in the game’s history. In his career, he has made $359.1 million in total for the Hornets, Clippers, Thunder, Rockets, Suns, and now the Warriors. Paul has made at least $35 million every season since 2019 and is set to make over $30 million in each of the next two years in Golden State.
The final member of Tier 2 is one of the most efficient players to ever play the game, Kevin Durant. With an MVP, two championships, and two Finals MVPs over the course of his career with the Thunder, Warriors, Nets, and Suns. During those 16 seasons, he made $350.3 million and has not made less than $30 million annually since 2018. Over the last two seasons, his annual contract has been worth over $40 million and will reach $50 million for each of the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons.
Tier 1 – $400 Million+
List: LeBron James
When it comes to money and handling his business affairs, few have accomplished what LeBron James has accomplished. He is the only player to reach $1 billion in net worth while still actively playing the game and is the only player in NBA history to earn over $400 million off of just basketball contracts.
James has not made less than $20 million in a season since 2014 with the Miami Heat and has made over $35 million every year since 2019. James has delivered four NBA titles, four Finals MVPs, four MVPs, and has become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer over the last 20 seasons with very little signs of slowing down. He is set to make $47.6 million in 2023-24 and has a player option worth $51.4 million with the Lakers for 2024-25. If any player has earned the right to be the highest-paid ever, it is LeBron James for all he has done for the game, both on and off the court.
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