The 25 highest-paid NBA players of all time

Thanks to the NBA’s skyrocketing TV contracts and smaller rosters, a basketball career can be quite lucrative compared to other major sports.

This is especially true for the stars of today and the athletes who played a large chunk of their careers between the late 1990s and the 2011 lockout. Those years led to some large contracts for players we might not consider among the all-time greats.

Here is a look at the 25 players who have made at least $165 million, according to data collected from Spotrac and Basketball-Reference:

25. Elton Brand — $165.9 million

Foto: sourceGetty Images

Seasons: 17

Highest single-season salary: $17.1 million

Championships: 0

All-Star Games: 2

NBA First-team All-NBA: 0

24. Russell Westbrook ― $166.9 million

Foto: sourceAP Photo/Sue Ogrocki

Seasons: 11

Highest single-season salary: $35.7 million

Championships: 0

All-Star Games: 7

NBA First-team All-NBA: 2

23. Jermaine O'Neal ― $167.6 million

Foto: sourceScott Halleran/Getty Images

Seasons: 18

Highest single-season salary: $23.0 million

Championships: 0

All-Star Games: 6

NBA First-team All-NBA: 0

22. LaMarcus Aldridge ― $168.7 million

Foto: sourceEric Gay/AP

Seasons: 13

Highest single-season salary: $22.3 million

Championships: 0

All-Star Games: 6

NBA First-team All-NBA: 0

21. Vince Carter ― $169.5 million

Foto: sourceKevin C. Cox/Getty Image

Seasons: 21

Highest single-season salary: $17.5 million

Championships: 0

All-Star Games: 8

NBA First-team All-NBA: 0

20. Chris Webber ― $178.2 million

Foto: sourceLisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images

Seasons: 15

Highest single-season salary: $19.1 million

Championships: 0

All-Star Games: 5

NBA First-team All-NBA: 1

19. Ray Allen ― $184.4 million

Foto: sourceGetty Images

Seasons: 18

Highest single-season salary: $18.8 million

Championships: 2

All-Star Games: 10

NBA First-team All-NBA: 0

18. Tyson Chandler ― $185.2 million

Foto: sourceMark J. Terrill/AP

Seasons: 18

Highest single-season salary: $14.8 million

Championships: 1

All-Star Games: 1

NBA First-team All-NBA: 0

17. Kevin Durant ― $187.2 million

Foto: sourceGregory Shamus/Getty Images

Seasons: 12

Highest single-season salary: $30.0 million

Championships: 2

All-Star Games: 9

NBA First-team All-NBA: 6

16. Jason Kidd ― $187.7 million

Foto: sourceChristian Petersen/Getty Images

Seasons: 19

Highest single-season salary: $21.4 million

Championships: 1

All-Star Games: 10

NBA First-team All-NBA: 5

15. Paul Pierce ― $195.1 million

Foto: sourceElsa/Getty Images

Seasons: 19

Highest single-season salary: $19.8 million

Championships: 1

All-Star Games: 10

NBA First-team All-NBA: 0

14. Dwyane Wade ― $196.4 million

Foto: sourceRob Foldy/Getty Images

Seasons: 16

Highest single-season salary: $23.2 million

Championships: 3

All-Star Games: 12

NBA First-team All-NBA: 2

13. Zach Randolph ― $196.6 million

Foto: sourceEthan Miller/Getty Images

Seasons: 18

Highest single-season salary: $17.8 million

Championships: 0

All-Star Games: 2

NBA First-team All-NBA: 0

12. Chris Bosh — $212.2 million

Foto: sourceWilfredo Lee/AP

Seasons: 13

Highest single-season salary: $23.7 million

Championships: 2

All-Star Games: 11

NBA First-team All-NBA: 0

11. Joe Johnson — $214.0 million

Foto: sourceHannah Foslien/Getty Images

Seasons: 17

Highest single-season salary: $24.9 million

Championships: 0

All-Star Games: 7

NBA First-team All-NBA: 0

10. Pau Gasol — $215.0 million

Foto: sourceRob Carr/Getty Images

Seasons: 18

Highest single-season salary: $19.3 million

Championships: 2

All-Star Games: 6

NBA First-team All-NBA: 0

9. Chris Paul ― $222.5 million

Foto: sourceMichael Wyke/AP

Seasons: 13

Highest single-season salary: $35.7 million

Championships: 0

All-Star Games: 9

NBA First-team All-NBA: 4

8. Dwight Howard — $234.5 million

Foto: sourceRob Carr/Getty Images

Seasons: 15

Highest single-season salary: $23.2 million

Championships: 0

All-Star Games: 8

NBA First-team All-NBA: 5

7. Carmelo Anthony ― $238.3 million

Foto: sourceMary Altaffer/AP

Seasons: 16

Highest single-season salary: $26.2 million

Championships: 0

All-Star Games: 10

NBA First-team All-NBA: 0

6. Tim Duncan ― $240.1 million

Foto: sourcePatrick Smith/Getty

Seasons: 19

Highest single-season salary: $22.2 million

Championships: 5

All-Star Games: 15

NBA First-team All-NBA: 10

5. Dirk Nowitzki ― $251.6 million

Foto: sourceTom Pennington/Getty Images

Seasons: 21

Highest single-season salary: $25.0 million

Championships: 1

All-Star Games: 13

NBA First-team All-NBA: 4

4. LeBron James ― $269.5 million

Foto: sourceRonald Cortes/Getty Images

Seasons: 16

Highest single-season salary: $35.7 million

Championships: 3

All-Star Games: 14

NBA First-team All-NBA: 12

3. Shaquille O'Neal ― $286.3 million

Foto: sourceEliot J. Schechter/Getty Images

Seasons: 19

Highest single-season salary: $27.7 million

Championships: 4

All-Star Games: 15

NBA First-team All-NBA: 8

2. Kobe Bryant ― $323.3 million

Foto: sourceEzra Shaw/Getty Images

Seasons: 20

Highest single-season salary: $30.5 million

Championships: 5

All-Star Games: 18

NBA First-team All-NBA: 11

1. Kevin Garnett ― $334.3 million

Foto: Kevin Garnett has a lot to smile about.sourceAP

4Seasons: 21

Highest single-season salary: $28 million

Championships: 1

All-Star Games: 15

NBA First-team All-NBA: 4

Now check out the house Michael Jordan can't get rid of.

Foto: sourceConcierge Auctions; Stephan Savoia/AP