The Biggest NBA Salaries After College

Chris Altman Sports Betting Expert

4 minute read

Ever wondered how much NBA players are paid after college? A rookie salary may be more than you think, as top players can earn big wages even in their debut year – after all, salary inflation doesn’t just apply to simple office jobs.

But to find out just which players now have the biggest starting salaries, the team here at VegasInsider carried out our own research to really see how much the league has generated over the decades.

We looked at how the salaries for all the popular modern-day NBA rookies compared to some of the greatest players from the past – all who were drafted before 2014.

So, if you want to know how the salary of Zaccharie Risacher compares to that of Michael Jordan, or how Alex Sarr and Reed Sheppard’s salaries look when put against those of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, keep reading as we dive into the data to find out!

Modern-day NBA rookie salaries

The salaries of today’s NBA players are nothing if not impressive. As the league grows bigger, the rookie salaries do too. Let’s take a look at the top five, starting with the Hawks rookie earning the biggest salary:

1. Zaccharie Risacher

At number one is the French player Zaccharie Risacher, who hopes to do the Atlanta Hawks proud. He was selected first overall by the Hawks in the 2024 NBA draft, and is earning the top rookie annual salary ever at $12,569,040.

2. Victor Wembanyama

Victor Wembanyama (born in 2004) is considered one of the best basketball prospects of his generation, and was selected first overall by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2023 NBA draft. His salary that year was $12,160,680, putting him firmly at number two.

3. Alex Sarr

At number three we have another Frechman: Alex Sarr (born in 2005) of the Washington Wizards. Sarr played for the French youth national team and the Perth Wildcats of the Australian National Basketball League before being selected second overall by the Wizards in the 2024 NBA draft. His first year’s salary in 2024 is impressively set at $11,245,680.

4. Paolo Banchero

Next up in fourth place is Paolo Banchero (born in 2002), who in college was named Rookie of the Year in the ACC for 2022 when he played at Duke. He was paid $11,055,120 by the Orlando Magic for his rookie season in 2022-23, landing him the fourth slot overall.

5. Brandon Miller

Finally, at number five, it’s Brandon Miller (also born in 2002) of the Charlotte Hornets. A consensus five-star recruit out of high school, he earned $10,880,400 in 2023, his rookie year in Charlotte.

How does this compare to the debut salaries of NBA stars?

When you take general inflation levels of NBA salaries into account, Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls debut salary of $550,000 in 1984 is the equivalent of $10,781,806 in 2024.

Shockingly, this means that Michael Jordan wouldn’t even rank in the top five of today’s rookie salaries. He would actually be number six, bumping down Reed Sheppard of the Houston Rockets ($10,098,960) to number seven.

Meanwhile, Magic Johnson of the LA Lakers earned $460,000 in 1979, which is $8,024,842 in 2024, therefore putting him outside of the top ten.

Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics, on the other hand, had a higher rookie salary that Magic Johnson. Bird's salary of $650,000 in 1979, which adjusts to $11,339,451 in 2024 dollars, would actually place him fourth on our list.

As for the modern NBA legend LeBron James, he was paid $4,018,920 by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003. That 2003 rookie salary today would be $12,568,920, which would have made him the second-highest-paid rookie overall had he been drafted after 2014.

Rookies from the past decade and how they compare

Due to this inflation of salaries for NBA rookies over the past decade, there are very few pre-2014 players whose debut salaries would beat that of someone like Zaccharie Risacher. However, as we’ll show below, it’s not impossible:

1. Hakeem Olajuwon

Hakeem Olajuwon joined the Houston Rockets in 1984 with a salary of $780,000. When you adjust that for inflation, it becomes $15,290,561 in 2024. That would've made it the number one debut salary overall, and a staggering $2,721,521 above that of Risacher’s rookie year!

2. Patrick Ewing

Patrick Ewing of the New York Knicks earned $1,250,000 as a rookie in 1985. But when inflation is factored in, that’s $15,075,427 in 2024, putting him only slightly behind Olajuwon on our list.

3. Shaquille O’Neal 

Now a beloved sports analyst on Inside the NBA, Shaquille O’Neal joined Orlando Magic back in 1992 for a debut salary of $3,000,000, which in today’s money is $13,565,472. That’s almost a full million above Risacher’s rookie-year salary.

4. Yao Ming

Finally, even though Yao Ming’s debut salary would only just beat that of Zaccharie Risacher, he still earned $3,858,240 in 2002, which converts to $12,569,078 in 2024, exceeding Risacher’s starting salary by just $38!

So, there you have it; an insight into just how much inflation has changed the starting salaries of NBA rookies in the last few decades.

Who knows just how much more they might increase by in the coming years, but if you want to keep an eye on this alongside other similar sporting insights, then make sure you head over to Vegas Insider for all the latest news.

Methodology

In order to create our rankings, we sourced data for both rookies from the past decade and players from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. This dataset contained two rankings, one for the top three draft pick players since 1979, and one for NBA stars from more recent years, based on their debut season salaries.

The debut salaries for all those players were collected. Those of the former NBA stars were then converted into a modern-day figure using the percentage change of the average salaries for the top three draft picks, per year. The players were then ranked from highest to lowest, based on their salaries.

The factors used were draft players (the salary of each player in their debut season, according to basketball-reference) and NBA stars (the salary of each player in their debut season, adjusted for general inflation levels of NBA salaries, according to basketball-reference).

All data is correct as of 08/05/24. The ranking data shown is a compilation of multiple data sources and may not be representative of real life. All data is accurate with regard to the sources provided. 1986 used the fourth pick instead of the second; similarly, 1979 used the fifth pick instead of the second due to data availability.

Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/193467/total-league-revenue-of-the-nba-since-2005/

Chris Altman

Chris Altman is a sports betting writer and content expert with almost a decade of experience. He's covered everything, but his current focus is on reviewing sportsbooks and online casinos and keeping tabs on sports betting legislation. Chris has been with VegasInsider since 2019 and has freelanced in the sports betting content industry for years. More from Chris Altman