It is harder to make these four NBA stars go bankrupt than to win 10 consecutive championships! James is on the list, Jordan leads the lead

Just recently, former NBA player Ariza officially announced that he had gone bankrupt. He entered the league in 2004 and had a long career of 18 years. Although he was not an All-Star player, he also played for many championship teams at his peak as a top 3D team. In addition, he successfully helped the Lakers win the championship in the 2009 playoffs. That year, he averaged 11.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.7 three-pointers per game.

With his outstanding performance and long enough career, Ariza only looked at the income from the court contract, and Ariza received a total salary of US$116 million. Even if he deducted taxes and needed expenses to his agents, he could get tens of millions of dollars. For most people in this world, this is an income that he would never dare to imagine. However, Ariza used his practical actions to prove that having money alone is not enough. After having money, he had to learn the importance of financial management. In addition to him, NBA players such as Joe Smith (the total salary of more than $60 million in his career) and Sean Camp (the total salary of more than $90 million in his career) can be said to have all gone bankrupt due to the same problems.

However, like the four NBA stars we introduced next, it is probably more difficult to see their bankruptcy than to win 10 consecutive championships. On the one hand, it is because their career income is also very rich, and on the other hand, they have not forgotten to use "money to make money" while spending. So let's take a look at who these players are!

4. Durant

As of now, Durant's total NBA career salary is US$511 million, which can rank 6th in NBA history. Durant averaged 26+ per game last season. Therefore, judging from his competitive state, his next contract is likely to be a maximum salary. Although Booker, George and Embiid's NBA income was better than Durant before, considering the off-field business value and income, Durant is still better even now. Durant, who has worked with Nike for a long time, has already released his sneakers to the 18th generation, and according to media reports, he also signed a lifetime contract with Nike very early.

In the commercial field, Durant not only has sneaker contracts. For example, he joined the Paris Saint-Germain Club as an investor this year. In addition, some well-known brands he has worked with include Gatorade, 2K, Google, Beats, etc. According to statistics, Durant has participated in the investment of more than 60 companies, and the returns received by these investments will also bring him huge income. Since Durant's investments all come from the companies he founded, even if he retires later, this will not affect his development in the business field at all, and maybe he can even become a more successful businessman.

3. Curry

In the early days of Curry's career, he was not very optimistic by the outside world. This is reflected in the fact that Nike and Adidas obviously did not pay much attention to him, so even if Curry was willing to cooperate with them, he would not get his own signature shoes. So after careful consideration, Curry chose Under Armour, who is more willing to invest in him. Now, this has become a win-win cooperation.

In his subsequent career, Curry played better and better. He won the honors of MVP, scoring champion, championship, etc. At the same time, he also signed historical records many times. The most important thing is that Curry used his unique playing style to change people's cognition and completely pushed the NBA to the peak of the small ball era. Because of the influence of Curry and the Warriors, we can see that even on the wild court, more and more people have begun to shoot three-pointers, and many young fans are scrambling to imitate Curry's own style of play. In this case, his commercial value will naturally rise.

So later Curry signed a lifelong contract with Under Armour, and Under Armour also created his own brand department, so he could directly sign contracts with other athletes, such as the Spurs Fox, which Curry recruited him. Of course, Curry's off-court revenue is much more than that. His off-court revenue last season even exceeded James, which is enough to prove his success in the business field.

2. James

As the richest player in active service, James is often even "didnapped" as the best businessman who plays the ball. However, it has to be said that in terms of making money, James, who only has a high school education, does have his own basketball talent that is no less than his own. Before entering the NBA, James dared to reject Reebok's sky-high checks, thus signing a $90 million sneaker contract with Nike, which has a more future. After that, the cooperation between the two parties has always been very pleasant, so James renewed his life contract with Nike early. According to rumors, the total value of this contract even exceeded 1 billion US dollars.

In terms of investment, James is also one of the most active players. His more successful cases are that he bought 10% of the shares of the Blaz Pizza brand for 1 million in 2012. At that time, the annual turnover of this pizza brand was only about $1 million. However, after James' investment, their turnover soared. By 2018, this brand became the second largest pizza chain in the United States, second only to Pizza Hut. According to media estimates, their market value is estimated to exceed $1 billion this year. It is worth mentioning that in order to invest in Blaze Pizza, James also rejected McDonald's's $15 million endorsement fee.

In addition, a long time ago, James revealed his idea of becoming an NBA boss, and his goal is to build a new team in Las Vegas next. However, according to NBA regulations, NBA players cannot hold shares in NBA teams, so James is not far from retirement..

1.Jordan

If James is the most successful businessman in the NBA, then Jordan is the most successful businessman in NBA history. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is the most successful businessman in the entire sports world. When Jordan first entered the league, Nike did not have its current status, but since they cooperated, Jordan has become better and better, while Nike is also constantly developing, and the signature shoes they created for Jordan have become one of the best-selling sneakers brands in the world. The

AJ series not only attracts customers who need to play, but also becomes an iconic brand in the fashion circle. Many people who don’t play still become their loyal fans. Due to Jordan’s importance to Nike, they will pay dividends to the former every year. Therefore, even if Jordan has completely retired from various fields, he can lead to at least tens of millions of dollars every year, and this does not include his other income.

When talking about Jordan's achievements in the investment field, we have to mention the case of him becoming the Hornets' boss in 2010. Before that, he was just the Hornets' boss, but this time he directly spent a lot of money to get about 65% of the shares. Later, since 2020, Jordan began to sell his team shares. At that time, the Hornets' market value was around US$1.5 billion, so he finally sold 20% of the shares and made $300 million.

At the same time, in the documentary about Jordan "The Last Dance", it introduced that his value was $2 billion at that time. Later, in 2023, the Hornets' market value increased significantly. In the end, Jordan chose to sell all his shares, which helped him cash out $3 billion, which once again reflects how exaggerated his business acumen is.