Sports

The 25 highest-paid NBA players of all time

By Cork Gaines
LeBron James
Kelvin Kuo/AP
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Thanks to the NBA's skyrocketing TV contracts and smaller rosters, a basketball career can be quite lucrative compared to other major sports.

This is especially true for the stars of today and the athletes who played a large chunk of their careers between the late 1990s and the 2011 lockout. Those years led to some large contracts for players we might not consider among the all-time greats.

Here is a look at the 25 players who have made at least $165 million, according to data collected from Spotrac and Basketball-Reference:

25. Elton Brand — $165.9 million

Elton Brand
Getty Images

Seasons: 17

Highest single-season salary: $17.1 million

Championships: 0

All-Star Games: 2

NBA First-team All-NBA: 0

24. Russell Westbrook ― $166.9 million

Russell Westbrook
AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki

Seasons: 11

Highest single-season salary: $35.7 million

Championships: 0

All-Star Games: 7

NBA First-team All-NBA: 2

23. Jermaine O'Neal ― $167.6 million

Jermaine O'Neal
Scott Halleran/Getty Images

Seasons: 18

Highest single-season salary: $23.0 million

Championships: 0

All-Star Games: 6

NBA First-team All-NBA: 0

22. LaMarcus Aldridge ― $168.7 million

lamarcus aldridge
Eric Gay/AP

Seasons: 13

Highest single-season salary: $22.3 million

Championships: 0

All-Star Games: 6

NBA First-team All-NBA: 0

21. Vince Carter ― $169.5 million

Vince Carter
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Image

Seasons: 21

Highest single-season salary: $17.5 million

Championships: 0

All-Star Games: 8

NBA First-team All-NBA: 0

20. Chris Webber ― $178.2 million

Chris Webber
Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images

Seasons: 15

Highest single-season salary: $19.1 million

Championships: 0

All-Star Games: 5

NBA First-team All-NBA: 1

19. Ray Allen ― $184.4 million

Ray Allen
Getty Images

Seasons: 18

Highest single-season salary: $18.8 million

Championships: 2

All-Star Games: 10

NBA First-team All-NBA: 0

18. Tyson Chandler ― $185.2 million

Tyson Chandler
Mark J. Terrill/AP

Seasons: 18

Highest single-season salary: $14.8 million

Championships: 1

All-Star Games: 1

NBA First-team All-NBA: 0

17. Kevin Durant ― $187.2 million

Kevin Durant
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Seasons: 12

Highest single-season salary: $30.0 million

Championships: 2

All-Star Games: 9

NBA First-team All-NBA: 6

16. Jason Kidd ― $187.7 million

Jason Kidd
Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Seasons: 19

Highest single-season salary: $21.4 million

Championships: 1

All-Star Games: 10

NBA First-team All-NBA: 5

15. Paul Pierce ― $195.1 million

Paul Pierce
Elsa/Getty Images

Seasons: 19

Highest single-season salary: $19.8 million

Championships: 1

All-Star Games: 10

NBA First-team All-NBA: 0

14. Dwyane Wade ― $196.4 million

Dwyane Wade
Rob Foldy/Getty Images

Seasons: 16

Highest single-season salary: $23.2 million

Championships: 3

All-Star Games: 12

NBA First-team All-NBA: 2

13. Zach Randolph ― $196.6 million

Zach Randolph
Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Seasons: 18

Highest single-season salary: $17.8 million

Championships: 0

All-Star Games: 2

NBA First-team All-NBA: 0

12. Chris Bosh — $212.2 million

chris bosh
Wilfredo Lee/AP

Seasons: 13

Highest single-season salary: $23.7 million

Championships: 2

All-Star Games: 11

NBA First-team All-NBA: 0

11. Joe Johnson — $214.0 million

Joe Johnson
Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

Seasons: 17

Highest single-season salary: $24.9 million

Championships: 0

All-Star Games: 7

NBA First-team All-NBA: 0

10. Pau Gasol — $215.0 million

Pau Gasol
Rob Carr/Getty Images

Seasons: 18

Highest single-season salary: $19.3 million

Championships: 2

All-Star Games: 6

NBA First-team All-NBA: 0

9. Chris Paul ― $222.5 million

Chris Paul
Michael Wyke/AP

Seasons: 13

Highest single-season salary: $35.7 million

Championships: 0

All-Star Games: 9

NBA First-team All-NBA: 4

8. Dwight Howard — $234.5 million

Dwight Howard
Rob Carr/Getty Images

Seasons: 15

Highest single-season salary: $23.2 million

Championships: 0

All-Star Games: 8

NBA First-team All-NBA: 5

7. Carmelo Anthony ― $238.3 million

carmelo anthony
Mary Altaffer/AP

Seasons: 16

Highest single-season salary: $26.2 million

Championships: 0

All-Star Games: 10

NBA First-team All-NBA: 0

6. Tim Duncan ― $240.1 million

tim duncan
Patrick Smith/Getty

Seasons: 19

Highest single-season salary: $22.2 million

Championships: 5

All-Star Games: 15

NBA First-team All-NBA: 10

5. Dirk Nowitzki ― $251.6 million

Dirk Nowitzki
Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Seasons: 21

Highest single-season salary: $25.0 million

Championships: 1

All-Star Games: 13

NBA First-team All-NBA: 4

4. LeBron James ― $269.5 million

LeBron James Lakers
Ronald Cortes/Getty Images

Seasons: 16

Highest single-season salary: $35.7 million

Championships: 3

All-Star Games: 14

NBA First-team All-NBA: 12

3. Shaquille O'Neal ― $286.3 million

Shaquille O'Neal
Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images

Seasons: 19

Highest single-season salary: $27.7 million

Championships: 4

All-Star Games: 15

NBA First-team All-NBA: 8

2. Kobe Bryant ― $323.3 million

Kobe Bryant
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Seasons: 20

Highest single-season salary: $30.5 million

Championships: 5

All-Star Games: 18

NBA First-team All-NBA: 11

1. Kevin Garnett ― $334.3 million

Kevin Garnett
Kevin Garnett has a lot to smile about. AP

4Seasons: 21

Highest single-season salary: $28 million

Championships: 1

All-Star Games: 15

NBA First-team All-NBA: 4

Now check out the house Michael Jordan can't get rid of.

Michael Jordan house
Concierge Auctions; Stephan Savoia/AP

Here is Michael Jordan's 56,000-square foot house in Chicago and why it is still on the market after 6 years

 

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Cork Gaines
Cork Gaines
Cork was a correspondent for Insider's sports desk.Previously, he was a contributor at MLB Trade Rumors, and he has written for Yahoo Sports, Deadspin, and The Hardball Times. He has authored chapters in three books, including "The Hardball Times 2009 Season Preview." Cork's work has been featured on ESPN's "SportsCenter" and "Mike & Mike," "Any Given Wednesday with Bill Simmons," ESPN.com, BBC, Yahoo, USA Today, Sports Illustrated, Drudge Report, the Washington Post, the Kansas City Star, the Houston Chronicle, and the Dallas Morning News, among others.He is a graduate of the University of Iowa and holds a doctorate from Fordham University.Here is a selection of his work:Under Armour hit the jackpot on its Jordan Spieth betGary Woodland once took his pants off to hit a shot and learned a funny lesson about product endorsementWe tried the alcohol diet Tom Brady put Rob Gronkowski on, and it was a lot harder than we imaginedThe University of Texas spent $7 million remodeling their football locker room and the results are jaw-droppingStephen Curry has replaced LeBron James as the best basketball player in the worldEx-NBA player who made $60 million explains what really happens to your money when you sign an 8-figure contractHere's Michael Jordan's 56,000-square-foot house in Chicago, and why it's still on the market after 6 yearsMayweather beat McGregor with a TKO in the 10th round! Here are the big moments everybody will be talking aboutPerfect conditions at Cowboys-Patriots game helped create incredible picturesWe've been using Alexa in a car for 6 months and it's the best infotainment system we've ever used.
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