Top 10 Richest NBA Players of All Time
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Michael Jordan tops our list of the NBA’s wealthiest players ever. He’s followed by Lebron James Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American former professional basketball player and the principal owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 15 seasons in the NBA, winning six Finals MVPs with the Chicago Bulls His biography on the official NBA website states: “By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time.” Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was considered instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s
LeBron James
A five-Ime Nba champion and four-time MVP, Lebron James is one of the most decorated players in NBA history He currently ranks fourth in all-time scoring, and his career earnings are estimated to be over $400 million.
Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bean Bryant (/ˈkoʊbiː/ KOH-bee; born August 23, 1978) is an American former Professional Basketball player. He played his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He entered the NBA directly from High School and won five NBA championships with the Lakers. Bryant is an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA team and 12-time member of the All-Defensive team He led the NBA in scoring during two seasons, and ranks third on both the league’s all-time regular season scoring and all-time postseason scoring lists. He holds the NBA record for the most seasons playing with one franchise for an entire career and is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
Magic Johnson
Earvin “Magic” Johnson Jr. is an American former professional basketball player and current president of basketball operations of the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played point guard for the Lakers for 13 seasons. After winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA draft by the Lakers. He won a championship and an NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in his rookie season, and won four more championships with the Lakers during the 1980s. Johnson retired abruptly in 1991 after announcing that he had contracted HIV, but returned to play in the 1992 All-Star game winning the All-Star MVP Award After rallies from Magic Johnson and other prominent athletes, NBA players began wearing black armbands during games to signify their support for Johnson.
In 1996, Johnson was honored as one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002, and was rated the Greatest NBA point guard of all time by ESPN in 2007. His friendship and rivalry with Boston Celtics star Larry Bird whom he faced in three NBA Finals and helped push each other to improve their performances, are well documented. Since his retirement from playing basketball Johnson has been an advocate for HIV/AIDS prevention and safe sex practices; he also founded Magic Johnson Enterprises, a multimedia conglomerate focused on high-tech investments within urban communities as well as owning part or all of several professional sports teams
Larry Bird
As of 2016, Larry Bird is the seventh richest NBA player of all time with a net worth of $85 million. The 54-year-old forward played his entire 13-year career with the Boston Celtics winning three NBA Championships and two NBA Finals MVP Awards He was a 12-time NBA All-Star and was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player three times. After his playing career, Bird served as Head Coach of the Indiana Pacers for two seasons before becoming their president of Basketball Operations in 2003. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998.
Wilt Chamberlain
You might not think of basketball when you think of the ultra-rich, but some of the NBA’s Top Players have made more money than you could ever dream of. Let’s take a look at the ten richest players in NBA history
1. Wilt Chamberlain – $10 million
2. Michael Jordan – $63 million
3. Lebron James – $130 million
4. Kobe Bryant – $320 million
5. Kevin Durant – $170 million
6. Shaquille O’Neal – $350 million
7. Magic Johnson – $600 million
8. Hakeem Olajuwon – $200 million
9. David Robinson – $190 million
10. Dirk Nowitzki – $140 million
Bill Russell
Bill Russell is an American retired professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was the tallest player in his era, at 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m), and is still the tallest player in NBA history Russell played for the University of San Francisco Dons before joining the Celtics, with whom he won eleven NBA championships including an unequaled eight consecutive times. He also won a gold medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics as captain of the U.S. national basketball team
Russell is widely considered to be one of the greatest basketball players of all time and was one of the first African-American players to achieve superstar status in the NBA. He was ranked number one in ESPN’s list of the top 100 greatest NBA players of all time and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Basketball Hall of Fame in 1974 and 1975, respectively. In 2007, he was enshrined in the FIBA Hall of Fame
Shaquille O’Neal
Shaquille O’Neal is an American former professional basketball player who is widely considered one of the greatest players in NBA history He is currently the principal spokesperson for The General automobile insurance company. O’Neal played for six teams throughout his 19-year NBA Career
Born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, O’Neal moved to San Antonio Texas, at age nine to live with his stepfather, Phillip Harrison, after his parents divorced. He first played organized basketball in seventh grade for Robert Gorter’s Junior Nets in the New Jersey Amateur Athletic Union (NJAAU).
Tim Duncan
Tim Duncan is a retired professional basketball player who played his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association He is widely considered to be one of the greatest power forwards of all time and was a central figure of the Spurs dynasty that won five NBA championships
Duncan was born and raised in the U.S. Virgin Islands and played college basketball at Wake Forest University, where he was named National Player of the Year in 1997. He was selected by the Spurs with the first overall pick in the 1997 NBA Draft and quickly became their starting Power Forward helping lead them to consecutive NBA Championships in 1999 and 2003. In his second season, Duncan was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the regular season as well as Finals MVP becoming just the third rookie in NBA history to win both awards.
During his prime years from 2002 to 2016, Duncan anchored a Spurs team that consistently ranked among the best in terms of defensive efficiency while also posting some of the best records in franchise history. He retired as a five-time NBA Champion two-time MVP, three-time Finals MVP and 15-time NBA All-Star As of 2021, he ranks fourth on both the Spurs’ all-time scoring and rebounding lists.
Karl Malone
Karl Malone is an American retired professional basketball player He is considered one of the greatest Power Forwards in NBA history Malone played 18 seasons in the NBA, spending the first 18 years of his career with the Utah Jazz During his tenure with the Jazz, Malone became a 14-time NBA All-Star and 11-time member of the All-NBA First Team as well as being named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 1997 and 1999. He played his final season with the Los Angeles Lakers with whom he won his only NBA Championship in 2002.
Malone holds numerous individual records. He is ranked as the second leading scorer in NBA history with 36,928 points scored he is also second on the all-time list in both offensive rebounds (5,362) and total rebounds (14,968). Malone was a versatile forward who could score as well as rebound and defend; he holds several all-time rebounding records and is 3rd on the NBA’s all-time blocks list. He is one of only two players to accumulate more than 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists in their career – the other being Oscar Robertson Furthermore, Malone is the only player to be named both league MVP and Finals MVP on multiple occasions; he did so twice (1997 and 1999), becoming one of only three players to achieve that feat along with Bill Russell and Michael Jordan respectively. Malone also holds several all-time records for playoff performance including most Free throws made by any player except for Jerry West (4th), most defensive rebounds by any player except for Bill Russell (2nd) and most points by any player who never reached an NBA Finals series (second behind John Havlicek)
In 2010, Karl Malone was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame