Forbes 2018: 10 Highest Paid NBA Players in 2018

Former OKC teammates from 2012, all rank in Top 5 earners in the sport of Basketball.
Former OKC teammates from 2012, all rank among the Top 5 earners in the sport of Basketball.

Yesterday, on the 5th of June, Forbes released their annual 100 Highest Paid Athletes List and there's plenty to discuss from a basketball standpoint.

This year, there were 40 Basketball (all NBA) athletes in the Top 100 as compared to 32 in last year's list. There were plenty of players who soared off and took huge leaps in the standings, courtesy of huge new deals they signed in the summer of 2017 - Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, and Blake Griffin are few of the top names to have done so.

So without further ado, let's get to the list of Top 10 highest paid NBA players:

Note: The earnings below span June 1, 2017 through June 1, 2018 and include salaries, bonuses, prize money, endorsements, licensing and appearance fees. Courtesy: Forbes.

If you wish to see the Top 10 highest paid players just based on endorsements, click here.

#10 Anthony Davis [Overall: #34]

Portland Trail Blazers v New Orleans Pelicans
Anthony Davis

Earnings: $34.9 million [Salary: $23.9 million; Endorsements: $11 million]

Anthony Davis - the face of the New Orleans Pelicans.

Currently, in his second season of a 5-year $127.2 million dollar deal, Davis had arguably his greatest season not only individually but also from a team perspective. He made it to the All-Star Team, All-NBA First Team and NBA's All-Defensive First Team while leading the Pelicans to the second round of the Playoffs, their most successful campaign in 7 years.

Each year up until 2021, his salary increases by a million each year and given his market value, it shouldn't be a surprise that his earnings through endorsements also see an increase. He should be a regular on this list for the upcoming years, with the fact that he has become eligible for the 35% Supermax extension in the summer of 2019.

#9 Blake Griffin [Overall: #30]

Memphis Grizzlies v Detroit Pistons
Blake Griffin

Earnings: $35.5 million [Salary: $29.5 million; Endorsements: $6 million]

Blake Griffin was supposed to be the franchise cornerstone of the LA Clippers, but an injury at the end of last year prompted the organization to look for other options. In the 2017 summer, Griffin and the Clippers agreed to a huge 5-year $171.2 million dollar deal, one that would end in 2022 when he is 32 years old.

Midway through the season, he got traded to the Detroit Pistons, far away from the spotlight of Los Angeles. It was a huge change, but it shouldn't matter to him because he will still have the money coming in for the next four years.

Despite his huge salary, he might see a dip in the standings next year, given his falling stock in the market with respect to endorsements and so forth.

#8 Giannis Antetokounmpo [Overall: #30]

Milwaukee Bucks v New York Knicks
Giannis Antetokounmpo

Earnings: $35.5 million [Salary: $22.5 million; Endorsements: $13 million]

After earning just over $8 million in his first four years, Giannis Antetokounmpo or the Greek Freak is one of the newcomers to this list after new 4-year $100 million dollars kicked in at the beginning of the 2017-18 season.

Quite like AD, Antetokounmpo has earned every penny of his contract. He received an All-Star selection this year and was named to the league's All-NBA Second Team.

Better learn how to pronounce his name right because he too is going to be on this list for long, given the fact that he is just 22 years old and both his sources (salary and endorsements) will see a huge rise in the coming years.

#7 Kyrie Irving [Overall: #29]

New Orleans Pelicans v Boston Celtics
Kyrie Irving

Earnings: $36.1 million [Salary: $19.1 million; Endorsements: $17 million]

Uncle Drew, or Kyrie Irving, surely earns far lesser than he deserves. Unfortunately, he got the short end of the stick, being in the middle of his extension contract when mega-deals were thrown out to lesser deserving players in the summer of 2016.

His signature sneaker line with Nike is among the most popular ones right now as a majority of the current players in the league, either wear the Kyrie 4s or the Kyrie 3s. So expect his next NIKE deal to help him receive much higher than it currently does. Also, the 2017-18 season was his penultimate season on his current deal which means he will be an unrestricted Free Agent in 2019.

#6 Damian Lillard [Overall: #24]

Portland Trail Blazers v New Orleans Pelicans
Damian Lillard

Earnings: $39.2 million [Salary: $26.2 million; Endorsements: $13 million]

Damian Lillard - the face of the Portland Trail Blazers.

His incredible talent on the court and his delightful demeanor off it has helped Lillard earn big both on and off the court. This past season was only his second year as part of the 5-year $139.8 million dollar deal he signed with the team in the summer of 2016.

It was Lillard who was Adidas' saving grace before James Harden stepped up after the brand pretty much lost its position in the league at one point. While Adidas is a huge part of Lillard's off-court earning, another pretty huge source is got to be his rapping, which has widely been recognized and appreciated by his peers in the basketball and rap industry.

#5 James Harden [Overall: #14]

Houston Rockets v Denver Nuggets
James Harden

Earnings: $46.4 million [Salary: $28.4 million; Endorsements: $18 million]

The next five players on this list are most definitely going to remain on the list but hold forth at least in the top 20 overall.

James Harden is only going to rise on these standings in the coming years. He just wrapped his second year as part of the 4-year $116 million dollar extension he signed with the Houston Rockets in the summer of 2016 but the franchise was adamant to lock him up long-term. Both parties agreed to another contract extension (5-year $169.3 million) a year later by letting go of the final year in his previous extension (2019-20), keeping him in Houston till 2023, when he will turn 32 years old.

While he racks up the big bucks for his on-court play, Harden has become the face of the Adidas sneaker line ever since he signed with them in the summer of 2015. He already has two signature shoes that have released with plans for more to come.

#4 Russell Westbrook [Overall: #13]

Oklahoma City Thunder v Utah Jazz - Game Six
Russell Westbrook

Earnings: $47.6 million [Salary: $28.6 million; Endorsements: $19 million]

Russell Westbrook might not have accomplished plenty from a team standpoint in the last couple of years but they have certainly been his career's two best years personally.

Both of the previous two seasons, he averaged a triple-double for the entire season. That's something the entire league combined has only achieved once - in 1962 via Oscar Robertson. Not to mention his MVP award for the crazy 42 triple-double season in 2017.

All of his high-octane energy led the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Playoffs despite losing Kevin Durant for nothing. Being a world-class talent that he is, there was no way, the Thunder wanted to let him go. They quickly signed him up to a 5-year $205 million dollar deal that forgoes the final year [2018-19] of his current extension and keeps him in OKC until 2023.

#3 Kevin Durant [Overall: #11]

2018 NBA Finals - Game Two
2018 NBA Finals - Game Two

Earnings: $57.3 million [Salary: $25.3 million; Endorsements: $32 million]

Kevin Durant, currently in the prime of his career, has been operating with the Golden State Warriors, the same way LeBron James was with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014,15 and 2016 - signing one-year deals each summer. James did it to keep his options open while Durant has done it to give the team flexibility with the salary cap.

The 2017-18 season, Durant earned $25.3 million in salary after receiving $26.5 million the previous season - his first with Golden State. He has reportedly declined his option for next season and hopes to sign more of a long-term contract with the team and doesn't intend to take any more discounts.

With Durant, we enter the realm of players that earn more by endorsements than their team salaries.

#2 Stephen Curry [Overall: #8]

Houston Rockets v Golden State Warriors - Game Four
2-time MVP Stephen Curry

Earnings: $76.9 million [Salary: $34.9 million; Endorsements: $42 million]

Finally, the league's greatest 3-point shooter ever is receiving his due. For the last couple of years, Stephen Curry's contract (4-years and $44 million) easily made him the most underpaid player in the league. It was signed as a generous offer by the Warriors considering the fact that Curry was still dealing with ankle issues.

However, those stopped within a year of the signing of this deal and in the three years since, Curry has won 2 MVP's (one unanimous), 2 NBA Championships and the regular-season record of 73 wins. When he was slated to become a free-agent in 2017, there was no doubt in anybody's mind that the Warriors would offer him the biggest possible share of their cap space as they can. Golden State did just that, signing the Chef to a 5-year $201 million deal, the largest in league history.

#1 LeBron James [Overall: #6]

2018 NBA Finals - Game Two
2018 NBA Finals - Game Two

Earnings: $85.5 million [Salary: $33.5 million; Endorsements: $52 million]

LeBron James is the King on and off the court. This past year, he earned more money from endorsements alone than Steph's huge contract. He almost single-handedly controls the economy of Cleveland and Ohio.

He'll turn 34 this December but don't expect him to fall off this pedestal anytime soon. He might not be the top earner by salaries in the next few years but his endorsements certainly push his value higher than anybody else in the league. A lot of that has got to do with his game.

Despite all the baggage he might bring to a locker room, he is still, in his 15th year, the league's best player. He's created such an empire for himself that even in the fag end of his playing career, where he might not be paid a lot by franchises, he will still rank among the top players on this list because of his impact.

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Edited by Amulya Shekhar