Career earnings (NBA salary + endorsements) are estimates compiled from Sportico and Forbes reporting, adjusted for inflation — treat exact figures and mid-table order as approximate.
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Photo credits
Player photos are freely licensed Wikimedia Commons images. Attribution:
Michael Jordan — D. Myles Cullen (DoD photo) · Public domain
Kobe Bryant — Sgt. Joseph A. Lee · Public domain
LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, Kyrie Irving, Dwight Howard — Erik Drost · CC BY 2.0
Kevin Durant, Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Klay Thompson, Dwyane Wade, Tim Duncan — Keith Allison · CC BY-SA 2.0
James Harden, Chris Paul, Paul George — All-Pro Reels · CC BY-SA 2.0
Shaquille O'Neal — MarkScottAustinTX · CC BY-SA 2.0
Stephen Curry — Noah Salzman · CC BY-SA 3.0
Magic Johnson — Daniel Benavides · CC BY 2.0
Damian Lillard — nikk_la · CC BY 2.0
Kawhi Leonard — Chensiyuan · CC BY-SA 4.0
Anthony Davis — Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 3.0
Jimmy Butler — Joe Glorioso · CC BY-SA 2.0
Dirk Nowitzki — Sven Mandel · CC BY-SA 4.0
Rules & what counts
Highest-Earning NBA Players Quiz — Rules & What Counts
Basketball's real money table. This quiz deals 25 face-down cards ranked #1 to #25 — the all-time highest-earning NBA players once salaries and endorsements are added up and adjusted for inflation — and asks you to name them.
The podium is guessable. The middle is where runs die: the list rewards knowing who signed the quiet sneaker fortunes and the max-contract marathons — not just who won the MVP trophies.
Every card shows its earnings figure up front, so you're always guessing with a clue: who, exactly, banked roughly $400 million while barely filming a single commercial?
How to play
Cards start hidden, showing only a rank and the earnings badge. Type a correct player's name and the card flips to reveal their photo and country.
Answers are free-form — you do not need to know a player's exact rank. Name any player in the top 25 and their card solves wherever it sits.
Surnames are enough: "Duncan" works, and so do nicknames like "MJ", "Shaq", "KD", and "Greek Freak". Accents and apostrophes are optional throughout.
The count-up timer starts on your first keystroke; Give Up reveals everyone you missed, and progress autosaves along the way.
What counts in this quiz
Career earnings from basketball employment plus endorsements — NBA salary, bonuses, and sponsor deals — compiled from Sportico and Forbes reporting and adjusted for inflation.
Post-retirement royalties from a playing-career deal stay in the number. That is why Michael Jordan's total keeps growing: Jordan Brand pays him more each year than his whole NBA salary history.
The figures are estimates. The very top of the list is well documented; mid-table amounts and exact order are best reconstructions, and the quiz says so up front.
What's not included — and why
Pure salary lists are a different table — by salary alone, players like Kevin Garnett and Chris Paul rank far higher, and endorsement giants like Jordan rank far lower. This quiz counts both.
Net worth does not count — this is money earned, not money kept or invested. Jordan's billions from selling the Hornets are not in his number.
Post-career business income is out too: media salaries, franchise stakes, and wine labels acquired after retirement are not playing earnings.
Active stars still climbing — Jokić, Dončić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — have not yet banked enough to crack this table; give them five more max contracts.
Good to know
Michael Jordan earned about $94 million in NBA salary — under 3% of his total. Nearly everything else is Jordan Brand royalties, most of it paid after he retired.
LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant are the only NBA players to pass $1 billion in combined salary and endorsements while still active — Jordan only crossed that line after retiring.
Magic Johnson's biggest playing contract was famously odd: a 25-year, $25 million deal signed in 1981 — money a modern star makes in about six weeks.
Allen Iverson's Reebok deal pays him $800,000 a year for life, plus a $32 million trust fund he unlocks at age 55 — in 2030.
NBA players hold 13 of the 50 spots on the all-time highest-paid athletes list across every sport — more than any other league in the world.