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NBA players often not only collect a princely salary, no, the advertising revenue is not bad either and in some cases even exceeds the earnings for the performances on the basketball court.
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Sportico have compiled the top 15 earners in terms of combined earnings. Also included: three Clippers, three Lakers and a player in the top 10 who is not yet 32 years old.
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15th place: LUKA DONCIC (Dallas Mavericks) – $45.6 million (salary: 37.1 million, advertising: 8.5 million)
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14th place: ANTHONY DAVIS (Los Angeles Lakers) – $47 million (salary: $38 million, advertising: $9 million)
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13th place: KAWHI LEONARD (LA Clippers) – $47.5 million (salary: $42.5 million, advertising: $5 million)
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12th: KYRIE IRVING (Brooklyn Nets) – $47.5M (Salary: 36.5M, Ad: 11M)
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11th place: BRADLEY BEAL (Washington Wizards) – $47.8 million (salary: 43.3 million, advertising: 4.5 million)
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10th place: JOHN WALL (LA Clippers) – $47.9M (Salary: 47.4M, Ad: 0.5M)
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9th place: PAUL GEORGE (LA Clippers) – $51 million (salary: $42.5 million, advertising: $8.5 million)
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8th place: JAMES HARDEN (Philadelphia 76ers) – $52 million (salary: 33 million, advertising: 19 million)
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7th place: DAMIAN LILLARD (Portland Trail Blazers) – $59.5 million (salary: $42.5 million, advertising: $17 million)
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6th place: KLAY THOMPSON (Golden State Warriors) – $61.6 million (salary: $40.6 million, advertising: $21 million)
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5th place: RUSSELL WESTBROOK (Los Angeles Lakers) – $72.1 million (salary: 47.1 million, advertising: 25 million)
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4th place: GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO (Milwaukee Bucks) – $86.5 million (Salary: $42.5M, Advertising: $44M)
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3rd place: KEVIN DURANT (Brooklyn Nets) – $91 million (Salary: $43M, Ads: $48M); Sponsoring with Nike, NBA 2K, Coinbase, Dapper Labs, Call of Duty, Weedmaps and FanDuel, among others.
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2nd place: STEPHEN CURRY (Golden State Warriors) – $93.1 million (48.1M, advertising: 45M). The most important sponsor is Under Armour, where the Splash Brother even has its own collection.
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1st place: LEBRON JAMES (Los Angeles Lakers) – $119.5 million (salary: 44.5 million, advertising: 75 million)
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The King’s biggest wallet-breaker is its partnership with Nike, which accounts for about 40 percent of its advertising revenue. There are also contracts with AT&T, Beats, GMC, PepsiCo and Crypto.com, among others.
