NBA games are around for 75 years, and over time they are continuously gaining more popularity. NBA is allowing its player to make huge amounts of money from the games and many other sources like endorsements, business, entertainment sectors, etc. Players own luxurious cars, houses, multiple assets, and many other things.
Here we prepare the billionaire NBA player list and will discuss how they made this enormous amount of wealth.
1. Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan is the GOAT of the NBA, and nobody has ever earned as much popularity, publicity, and stardom as Jordan did. He was the NBA champion 6 times, and 5 times the most valuable player. He was the rookie of the year, too, in 1985. In 2016 former US President Barack Obama handed Jordan the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
| Name | Michael Jeffrey Jordan |
| Date of Birth | February 17, 1963 |
| Birth Place | Brooklyn, New York |
| Current Age | 59 |
| Occupation | Former NBA Player |
| Career | 1984-2003 |
| Net Worth | 1.7 Billion Dollars |
| Height | 6’6” |
| Weight | 98 kj |
| Eye Color | Yellow |
| Gender | Male |
NBA Career
| Points | 32,292 |
| Rebounds | 6,672 |
| Assists | 5,633 |
Michael Jordan’s Net Worth, Income, Assets, Business
- Michael Jordan became the first ever NBA player to join the billionaire club in 2016. His current net is approximately $1.7 billion
- In his basketball career, Jordan used to make 90 million dollars from his salary and combined endorsement he reportedly made 1.8 billion dollars. He has endorsement deals from brands like Nike, Gatorade, and Hanes
- Jordan owns a golf course, sprawling estates, an NBA team, and multiple restaurants in Florida, Chicago, Connecticut, and Washington. He also has a share of interest in DraftKings
- Jordan owns an NBA team Charlotte Hornets which he bought in 2010 for $175 million
- Nike Jordan brand yearly revenue is more than 3.7 billion dollars
- Jordan has his own Air Line, he is also partnered with the popular video game “Fortnite”
- In 2012Jordan spent $12.8 million to build his house in Florida
- Jordan also co-owned a Nascar Cup Series team 23XI Racing, with Denny Hamlin. It was in 2019 and they added a second car in 2022.
- He has a share in the MLB team Miami Marlins
- Jordan donated $2 million in 2020; from a series, he made $4 million and donated all of them to charity. In 2020, Jordan and Nike’s Jordan Brand promised to donate $100 million over 10 years to organizations fighting for racial quality, social justice, and greater access to education. In 2018, he helped hurricane relief organizations in Florence with 2 million dollars. Donated 7 million dollars to open two hospitals in Charlotte in 2019
Career
- Jordan was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the 1984 third overall pick of the NBA draft. He made his first professional appearance on October 26, 1984, and scored 16 points
- Jordan’s rookie year point averaged 28.2 ppg on 51.5% shooting. After he joins the Bulls, the team won 35% more games compared to their previous three years of winning
- Next season 1985–86 started poorly for Jordan. He was injured in the third game and missed 64 games. Jordan returned in the playoff season and set a still unbreakable record of 63 points in 2 games against Boston Celtics
- In the 1986-87 season, Jordan pulled the best scoring season of the year. He scored 3,000 points in a season, averaging a league-high 37.1 ppg on 48.2% shooting, and became the only person to do that other than Wilt Chamberlain
- In the next season, Jordan’s average score was averaging 35.0 ppg on 53.5% shooting. He won his Most Valuable Player award that year
- The 1989-90 season was the rising time of the Bulls. And in the next season, Jordan helped the team to finish the game in first place in their division for the first time in sixteen years. They set a record of winning 61 matches in the regular season
- In 1993, Jordan said he is going to retire after his father was murdered by two teenagers in street. He shocked everyone by joining a minor league MLB team
- In 1995 Jordan left baseball and returned to the NBA. His first game was against Indiana Pacers, scoring 19 points. The game has the highest Nielsen rating since 1975 for any regular season game
Fun Fact and Controversy
- Jordan loves to smoke and does it a lot. In an interview with Cigar Aficionado magazine, he said that he smokes 6 cigars a day
- Jordan’s face is very popular in internet memes. While giving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Obama jokingly said that we are giving this cause Jordan is more than just an internet meme
- In 2016 Jordan won a case against a Chinese company that was using his brand value without his permission. The Chinese company was using Jordan’s Chinese name and brand logo
- Jordan is very famous for two things besides being a billionaire NBA player, he has a huge addiction to gambling and golfing
2. LeBron James
LeBron James is an active legendary player of the NBA. He is the only player who is carrying the outstanding legacy of Jordan. James won the NBA championship 4 times, became the NBA’s Most Valuable Player four times, is 18 times NBA All-Star player, and has so many other achievements.
| Name | LeBron Raymone James Sr. |
| Date of Birth | December 30, 1984 |
| Birth Place | Akron, Ohio |
| Current Age | 38 |
| Occupation | Small Forward/ Power Forward |
| Career | 2003-Present |
| Net Worth | 1.2 Billion Dollars |
| Height | 6’9” |
| Weight | 113 kj |
| Eye Color | Black |
| Gender | Male |
NBA Career
| Points | 37965 |
| Rebounds | 10464 |
| Assists | 10254 |
LeBron James’ Net Worth, Income, Assets, Business
- LeBron James became the first active NBA player to join the billionaire group in early 2022 according to Forbes
- In 2022 August, LeBron James agreed to extend his deal for two more seasons with Los Angeles Lakers for $97.1 million. He became the highest-paid player in the history of the NBA among both active and inactive players
- With the new deal, James is gonna make $528.9 million guaranteed from his NBA career
- From James’ last contract with the Lakers he made $44.5 million in the 2022-23 season. And in the upcoming season, James will receive around $46.7 million from the team
- James started his career in 2003, he was the top pick and earned 4 million dollars in his rookie season. Compared to today’s top pick it’s less, now top pick made around 10 million dollars
- From his career in Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and Los Angeles Lakers James’ earned nearly 400 million dollars. And made 900 million dollars from endorsements and other business ventures
- James signed a 97 million dollar worth deal with Nike right after finishing his high school career. In 2015 December they extend it to a lifetime contract from which James will expect to receive 1 billion dollars
- James uses Instagram and per sponsored post, he made $428,000
- James used to have an endorsement deal with McDonald’s, it ended in 2017, and James gave up $15 million. Instead of renewing the contract he signed up with Blaze Pizza, he is also one of the founding investors of the company too
- In 2021, James did the same again by leaving Coca-Cola and Sprite endorsements for rival Pepsico and its Mountain Dew brand.
- James owns a 2 percent share ownership of English Premier League club Liverpool which he bought for $6.5 million
- He bought a home in Coconut Grove after joining Miami Heat for 9 million dollars and later sold it for 4 million dollars in profit. And in his hometown, James owns a 30,000-square-foot compound
- James owns several cars, including Porches, Rolls-Royce Phantom and Ferrari. But he drives mostly a Kia, which is not the Kia we use, it’s a custom K900 luxury sedan
Career
- James was the overall picked by his hometown team Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2003 NBA draft. His final score average was 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game. He became the first Cavalier to win the Rookie of the year
- James brought the victory for East with 29 points at the 2006 All-Star Game and became the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player
- In the 2008-9 season, James became only the fourth postmerger player to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks in a single season
- He finished the postseason with a career playoff-high of 35.3 points per game and averaged 38.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 8 assists per game
- In the 2009-10 season, James had to play the point guard temporarily because of a series of injuries to players in the Cavaliers’ backcourt
- In 2010, James became a free agent and join with Miami. Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade also join Heat with James
- In the 2012-13 season, James’ score averaged 29.7 points and 7.8 assists per game. That time Miami started the season with a 27-game winning streak, which is the third longest in NBA history
- At the end of the 2021-22 season, James total scored 37,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, and 10,000 assists
Interesting Fact and Controversy
- James spends a lot of money, of course, he will cause he is a billionaire. But despite all that, he was once called the cheapest guy in NBA by Dwyane Wade. In response to that, James said, “It just so, so, so, so falsely true”
- Here is the thing you probably don’t know, James never uses his if there is any internet. He said, “No, no way I’m gonna do that. I’m not turning on data roaming, I still got Pandora with commercials, so I’m not buying any apps”
- When Pandora heard about it, they offered James a free premium ID
- James faces huge controversy when using cryotherapy to relieve pain and enhance muscle recovery
- James’s dream is to play with his son as Lebron Jr. is turning into quite the ballplayer himself
Conclusion
Nobody becomes a billionaire overnight. They had to put a lot of work into this. Michael Jordan and LeBron James are the roles of many NBA players cause of their brilliant performances and huge successes. Soon Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Junior Bridgeman, and many others will also write their name on the NBA billionaire player list.
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