Professional basketball can boost a player’s wealth and fame like almost any other sport out there. The overall net worth of some of the best players in the league has increased to some unimaginable numbers, due to their earnings on the court as well as the brand that they have transformed into because of their sporting success. Those players who become the best in the league will automatically become the most marketable. Below we take a look at the twelve of the NBA’s wealthiest players ever.

NBA Stars Turned Successful Entrepreneurs

If they’re lucky, the career of an NBA player lasts several years. And while they bring in millions of dollars throughout their NBA days, unless they have hobbies or interests when they’re done playing, they’re going to have to live off their savings for the rest of their years.  Players with foresight and think about their futures begin thinking about their post-career lives way before their careers on the court ends. Here are some of the investment and business opportunities that are most attractive to NBA players:

• Venture capital and private equity
• Franchise ownership
• Real estate investments 
• Index funds and stock markets
• Investing in new ideas and startups
• Starting your own business with a team of experts
• Blockchain technologies and crypto investments
• Collectibles and owning antiques

All of these investment opportunities and business ideas come with a certain level of risk. Hers are the top 5 NBA stars who beat the odds and became successful in different markets.

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The NBA’s Richest Players of All-Time

Looking at net worth, here’s a list of the league’s richest players according to several sources including Forbes, Celebrity Net Worth and other publications.

12. (tie) Carmelo Anthony (Net Worth $120 Million)

Anthony has been playing in the NBA for 16 years and he has been an All Star no fewer than ten times. From 2004, his second season in the NBA, until 2010, he helped the Denver Nuggets reach the play-offs each season, and he also helped them to win two NBA Championships. When the 2018/19 season came to an end, Carmelo Anthony became a free agent. He has yet to retire from the sport and during his basketball career he has raked in an estimated $120 million.

12. (tie) Kevin Garnett (Net Worth $120 Million)

He has played in the NBA for 21 seasons and helped the Minnesota Timberwolves reach the West Conference Finals back in 2004. He has participated in 15 All-Star games throughout Kevin Garnett‘s career, which means that he has been considered as one of the best players in the NBA for 15 of his 21 seasons. He holds a number of records such as being the first player to win the Player of the Month award four times in one season. He retired from the sport in 2016, and it is estimated that he is now worth a crisp $120 million. If you want to try and improve your own wealth, then you can do so by placing bets on NBA matches. Basketball is a fun sport to bet on as there are just so many different markets available that you can choose from.

11. Tim Duncan (Net Worth $130 Million)

He has won the NBA Championship five times, has been a finalist for the Most Valuable Player award three times, and has played in 15 All-Star games throughout his career. He is considered by many to be one of the best power forwards that the NBA has ever seen. Tim Duncan played 19 seasons in the NBA and all of these have been with San Antonio Spurs – it is not often that you get a player who spends his whole career at one team. His net worth thanks to his exploits on the basketball court stands at $130 million.

10. Kevin Durant (Net Worth $170 Million)

You might be surprised to see Durant on this list. He doesn’t say much of his off-the-court life, but with a reported $170 net worth, Durant is as precocious off the court as he is on it. Kevin Durant is already one of the NBA’s richest players even though he’s still active. His endorsements with Nike, Degree, YouTube, Master & Dynamic has helped him bank a lot of his money. His wealth has inspired other NBA players to better manage their wealth, and become moguls. He’s also a shareholder of Philadelphia Union and has invested in 40 companies, so look for his net worth to grow.

9. Grant Hill (Net Worth $250 Million)

Grant Hill might be one of the league’s biggest “what if” players  having suffered several injuries that derailed his career, but that didn’t stop him from being smart with his money. During his time he represented big name brands like Fila, Sprite, McDonald’s, Tag Heur, as well as AT&T. After his career, he jumped into TV and became an actor and host, a basketball analyst, and started his own companies such as Hill Ventures and becoming a co-Owner of the Atlanta Hawks.

8. Hakeem Olajuwon (Net Worth $300 Million)

His nickname is “The Dream” which is because he has a dunking ability like no other player. In 2008 Hakeem  Olajuwon was added to the Basketball Hall of Fame, and in 2016 he joined the FIBA Hall of Fame. He played in the NBA for 18 seasons and when he decided to call it a day, he did so with a cool $200 million sitting in his bank account. It helps that he reportedly charges fellow NBA players $50,000 per training session.

7. Shaquille O’Neal (Net Worth $400 Million)

Shaquille O’Neal, affectionately known as Shaq, sits in seventh place in the NBA all-time points scorer list. Over his 19-year long career he has played for the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and Orlando Magic. He is just one of three players to have made NBA MVP. Heat and Lakers, as a tribute to him, retired his jersey when he left them. He was selected to participate in the annual All-Star game no fewer than 15 times. In 2017, he was entered into the Hall of Fame. At the time of writing, it was estimated that Shaq had a net worth of around $400 million.

4. (tie) Junior Bridgeman (Net Worth $600 Million)

As we scrolled down the list, it was very clear you had to be an all-star to be on this list and have played somewhat recently, but that’s not necessarily the case. Junior Bridgeman was a good NBA player; playing 12 NBA seasons and averaged a very respectable 13.6 points during his career.

However, Bridgeman really found his stride as an even better businessman. Bridgeman used the money he earned in his dozen seasons in the NBA (earning a high of $350,000) to create Bridgeman Foods Inc. which is the bottler for Coca-Cola. He is also the second largest owner of Wendy’s franchises in the United States. As President of his own company, that opened other opportunities for Bridgeman. JB currently sits on the  Board of Directors for the PGA. Those type of Board positions often pay high six figures.

4. (tie) Kobe Bryant (Net Worth $600 Million)

Bryant was seen by many as being one of the best players to every grace a basketball court. He spent his whole career, which spanned twenty years, playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, which means that he holds the record for playing the most number of seasons for one franchise. He is also the first guard in the history of the NBA to play 20 seasons.

During his time with Lakers, he won 5 NBA Championships. He won the MVP award twice and was selected to play in the All-Star game no fewer than 18 times. In January 2020, the basketball world was shocked by the news that Bryant had been killed, alongside his daughter, in a helicopter crash. Before his untimely death, he had a net worth somewhere in the $500 million mark.

4. (tie) Vinnie Johnson (Net Worth $600 Million)

The former Detroit Pistons has made waaaaaay more money in is post-NBA career. He reportedly made just $6 million during his 13-year NBA career. Not a bad haul, but the “Microwave” has since turned that $6 million in earnings into $600 million. Not bad.

3. LeBron James (Net Worth $1 Billion)

Forbes recently named James as one of the few athletes worth one billion or more. LeBron is one of the world’s most marketable athletes, and his net worth is increasing with each passing year. He has won the NBA Championships three times and has collected four MVP awards. During his 17-year career in the NBA, he has played for the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Lakers. LeBron James currently holds the record for the number of points scored in the playoffs and has appeared in 16 All-Star games.

2. Magic Johnson (Net Worth $1.2Million)

Magic set the course for NBA players as businessmen. He was the most-visible of professional basketball players as entrepreneur opening up movie theatres and Starbucks as well as many other ventures. He was a basketball analyst for some time. He’s now an investor of LA Dodgers and WNBA team Los Angeles Sparks and was a former Lakers President Of Basketball Operations.

1. Michael Jordan (Net Worth $3 Billion)

No surprise here. Ask someone who does not care about basketball to name you a basketball player, and we are sure that Michael Jordan’s name will pop up more than any other player in the history of the game. There is no doubt that he is the greatest basketball player ever.

He played in 15 NBA seasons and helped the Chicago Bulls win six championships and was selected for the yearly All-Stars game for 14 of those 15 seasons. When he left Chicago Bulls to go and play for Miami Heat, they retired his shirt. In 10 of the 15 seasons that he played in the NBA he finished as the leading scorer, which is extremely impressive. As one of the most marketable sportsmen in the world, Jordan has earned a staggering net worth of approximately $3 billion.