NBA Players with the Most Career Earnings of All Time
During the last couple of decades, the NBA has become an especially large business. Media contracts, sponsorships and other revenue streams have led to teams and players collecting many billions of dollars.
And being a superstar player is awfully lucrative.
While the number is certain to rise, only 11 players have surpassed $325 million in total NBA earnings. That even includes a player who began his career in the 1990s yet reached the impressive mark.
The list, which unsurprisingly ends with LeBron James, is strictly based on career NBA earnings and in ascending order.
All contract data is from Spotrac.
11. Kawhi Leonard
1 of 11
Career Earnings: $325,772,011
Once a defense-first stopper for the San Antonio Spurs, Kawhi Leonard quickly developed into an all-around nightmare in the NBA.
"The Claw" earned two Defensive Player of the Year honors and a Finals MVP over seven years in San Antonio. He forced a trade, landed with the Toronto Raptors and carried them to a championship in his lone season there.
Kawhi then signed a max contract to lead the Los Angeles Clippers, his first of three such agreements with the organization.
Leonard is set to earn exactly $50 million in 2025-26.
10. Damian Lillard
2 of 11
Career Earnings: $328,751,088
The last time we saw Damian Lillard, he'd been helped to the locker room as the Milwaukee Bucks drifted closer to elimination from the 2025 playoffs.
The next time he's on the court, he'll have a new, familiar uniform.
Lillard rose to stardom as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers, who signed him to a three-year, $42 million deal after the Bucks waived and stretched the veteran. He'd been dealt to Milwaukee in the summer of 2023 after 11 seasons in Portland that included securing a pair of max contracts.
Recovering from an Achilles tear at 35 years old is no simple task, but Lillard is back in a comfortable environment for his rehab.
9. Kevin Garnett
3 of 11
Career Earnings: $334,304,240
Despite making his NBA debut before salaries truly exploded, Kevin Garnett still hit $300 million over his 21 years.
In fitting fashion, Garnett's highest-paid season—$28 million in 2003-04—doubled as his MVP-winning year. He averaged career-best totals of 24.2 points, 13.9 rebounds and 2.2 blocks that season, along with 5.0 assists and 1.5 steals.
Longevity otherwise carried the Minnesota Timberwolves' legend and Boston Celtics' icon beyond $300 million.
Garnett only had a $20-plus million salary in six years of his Hall of Fame career but earned less than $11.5 million just twice in the 2000s.
8. Anthony Davis
4 of 11
Career Earnings: $335,911,755
Anthony Davis has been involved in two blockbuster trades.
First, the New Orleans Pelicans shipped their All-NBA superstar to the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2019 offseason. Then, out of nowhere on a quiet February 2025 night, news broke of Davis getting sent to the Dallas Mavericks with Luka Doncic heading out to Hollywood.
In short, Davis has navigated a fascinating 13-year career—and it, theoretically, won't be ending anytime soon.
All three seasons left on Davis' contract have at least $54 million in salary. And at 32 years old, he may have another big agreement in the future.
7. Russell Westbrook
5 of 11
Career Earnings: $345,897,096
Russell Westbrook is a prime example of players who have benefited from the NBA's enormous revenue growth.
As his rookie deal on the Oklahoma City Thunder neared its conclusion, Westbrook signed a five-year max extension worth $78.6 million. His next contract—five seasons for $206.8 million—surpassed Curry as the largest in NBA history.
Good work if you can get it!
Though he's still pursuing a first championship as of 2025, Westbrook is headed for the Hall of Fame as a nine-time All-NBA choice who secured the league MVP in 2016-17.
6. Paul George
6 of 11
Career Earnings: $354,537,886
Unfortunately for Paul George, a seemingly never-ending string of injuries has disrupted a once-incredibly promising NBA career.
Fortunately for him, the direct deposit keeps hitting.
George most recently inked a four-year, $211.6 million pact in free agency with the Philadelphia 76ers. He'd previously signed max extensions with the Indiana Pacers, Thunder and Clippers.
Although he's aiming to rebound from a disappointing 2024-25 season in Philly, the six-time All-NBA wing has three more $50 million-plus salaries ahead.
George is tracking to hit a half-billion dollars in 2028.
5. James Harden
7 of 11
Career Earnings: $372,223,981
As part of the 76ers in 2023-24, James Harden joined the $300 million club and added another layer to his productive career.
And that journey has been a fascinating one.
Harden began his NBA career on the Thunder, who dealt him to the Houston Rockets after three seasons. The lefty became an elite scorer in Houston, where he stayed for eight-plus years. Harden has since played for the Brooklyn Nets, Sixers and Clippers.
To date, Harden collected his highest single-year salary ($44.3 million) during his first of two seasons in Philly. He's due $39.2 million next year in L.A. with a $42.3 million player option on the horizon.
4. Chris Paul
8 of 11
Career Earnings: $400,892,419
One of the best point guards of his era, Chris Paul has parlayed that into several big paydays.
Following his rookie deal, Paul signed a $63.6 million max contract with the New Orleans Hornets in 2008. He landed a five-year max extension worth $107.3 million on the Los Angeles Clippers in 2013 and followed that with a $159.7 max deal in Houston in 2018.
And those contracts put CP3 on the path of a pretty exclusive club.
Following a $30.8 million year in Golden State, he ended up joining the Spurs on a $10.5 million deal in 2024-25. That contract lifted Paul past $400 million for his career.
3. Stephen Curry
9 of 11
Career Earnings: $410,534,690
The greatest shooter in NBA history, Stephen Curry jumped past the $400 million threshold in the same year as CP3.
Curry has spent all 16 seasons of his career with the Golden State Warriors, guiding them to four championships along the way. He's also won a pair of league MVPs, along with a Finals MVP honor in 2022.
Back in 2017, he signed a five-year contract for $201.2 million—the largest deal in NBA history at the time. After the 2022 season, Curry inked a four-year, $215.4 million pact.
Thanks to a recent one-year extension, he's set to surpass $500 million in career earnings in 2026-27.
2. Kevin Durant
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Career Earnings: $447,853,045
You see that number. The wildest part, however, is that Kevin Durant has actually left money on the table.
When he left Oklahoma City for Golden State, he didn't sign max contracts. Durant continued to accept below-market deals in order to keep the Warriors' core together—and it helped lead to two NBA titles.
Mission accomplished, I would say. He exited both of the Dubs' championship runs as the Finals MVP, too.
Durant finally inked a max offer in 2019, joining the Brooklyn Nets on a four-year, $164.3 million pact in a sign-and-trade.
His latest extension—one signed in Brooklyn before he joined the Phoenix Suns and was later traded to Houston—is worth $194.2 million over four seasons, expiring after the 2025-26 campaign.
1. LeBron James
11 of 11
Career Earnings: $528,695,302
To absolutely nobody's shock, LeBron James headlines the list.
Not only is he LeBron freaking James, he's the longest-tenured player of the 2000s. The King entered the NBA in 2003, so he's signed nine contracts across his 20 combined seasons on the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Cavs again and Los Angeles Lakers.
LeBron, as Durant did in Golden State several years later, took a discount with Miami to allow a stronger roster. That strategy paid on-court dividends with two NBA titles, as well.
Over the last decade, James has prioritized short-term contracts that have maximized both his salary and flexibility (read: leverage).
After collecting $48.7 million in 2024-25, he made history as the first player to surpass a half-billion dollars in NBA earnings.
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