During his time in the NBA, Shaquille O’Neal was not known for leaving money on the table during negotiations to help his teams out. Unlike the Dirk Nowitzkis of the world, O’Neal wasn’t one to give his teams discounts, instead choosing to make every penny possible, which he was well within his rights to do, as he pretty much always lived up to his max contracts.
Well, our research confirms the idea that O’Neal drove a hard bargain during his time in the NBA, as we found that the Big Aristotle owned the biggest share of team payrolls in the NBA over the past 40 years, even after we factored in the first four seasons of his career in which he was on his rookie-scale contract, and the last campaign of his career when he was on a minimum deal.
Regardless,
you can easily make the argument that O’Neal was worth every dollar since the big man had one of the most illustrious careers in NBA history, one headlined by his winning four NBA championships, three Finals MVPs, one regular-season MVP and his making 15 All-Star appearances and 14 All-NBA teams.
According to our research, other NBA stars come close to O’Neal in this exercise, namely David Robinson and Michael Jordan, who took up large shares of their teams’ payrolls throughout their careers. Jordan actually finished No. 3 on this list, but that’s largely because of the two final years of his deal with the Bulls.
Below, check out the NBA players who took the largest share of team payrolls throughout their careers.
1. Shaquille O'Neal
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 29.20 percent
- Biggest share: 46.53 percent in 2004-05 with Miami
- Career earnings: $292,198,327
2. David Robinson
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 27.16 percent
- Biggest share: 33.98 percent in 1998-99 with San Antonio
- Career earnings: $114,448,123
3. Michael Jordan
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 26.25 percent
- Biggest share: 54.03 percent in 1997-98 with Chicago
- Career earnings: $86,760,000
4. Kevin Garnett
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 24.83 percent
- Biggest share: 42.34 percent in 2002-03 with Minnesota
- Career earnings: $343,862,398
5. Kobe Bryant
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 23.87 percent
- Biggest share: 35.76 percent in 2013-14 with the Lakers
- Career earnings: $328,237,108
6. LeBron James
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 23.44 percent
- Biggest share: 33.25 percent in 2018-19 with the Lakers
- Career earnings: $583,949,426
7. Patrick Ewing
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 22.95 percent
- Biggest share: 43.21 percent in 1995-96 with New York
- Career earnings: $112,693,120
8. Kevin Durant
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 22.59 percent
- Biggest share: 31.29 percent in 2019-20 with Brooklyn
- Career earnings: $511,827,648
9. Hakeem Olajuwon
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 22.54 percent
- Biggest share: 42.72 percent in 1998-99 with Houston
- Career earnings: $102,998,594
10. Karl Malone
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 22.50 percent
- Biggest share: 37.79 percent in 2002-03 with Utah
- Career earnings: $101,723,378
11. Stephen Curry
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 21.95 percent
- Biggest share: 31.22 percent in 2024-25 with Golden State
- Career earnings: $473,212,715
12. John Wall
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 21.52 percent
- Biggest share: 34.41 percent in 2022-23 with Houston
- Career earnings: $276,580,866
13. Ralph Sampson
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 21.14 percent
- Biggest share: 23.43 percent in 1990-91 with Sacramento
- Career earnings: $7,620,000
14. James Harden
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 21.02 percent
- Biggest share: 29.82 percent in 2019-20 with Houston
- Career earnings: $413,556,967
15. Joel Embiid
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 20.86 percent
- Biggest share: 28.63 percent in 2023-24 with Philadelphia
- Career earnings: $321,938,890
16. Anthony Davis
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 20.85 percent
- Biggest share: 32.57 percent in 2025-26 with Washington
- Career earnings: $365,647,598
17. Chris Webber
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 20.79 percent
- Biggest share: 31.50 percent in 1995-96 with Washington
- Career earnings: $178,230,697
18. Paul George
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 20.60 percent
- Biggest share: 26.56 percent in 2025-26 with Philadelphia
- Career earnings: $407,966,827
19. Gordon Hayward
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 20.38 percent
- Biggest share: 27.77 percent in 2019-20 with Boston
- Career earnings: $272,742,175
20. Nikola Jokic
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 20.34 percent
- Biggest share: 28.82 percent in 2025-26 with Denver
- Career earnings: $304,984,295
21. Jimmy Butler
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 19.99 percent
- Biggest share: 26.39 percent in 2025-26 with Golden State
- Career earnings: $366,809,715
22. Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 19.80 percent
- Biggest share: 29.99 percent in 2025-26 with Milwaukee
- Career earnings: $339,006,742
23. Kawhi Leonard
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 19.60 percent
- Biggest share: 28.03 percent in 2024-25 with the Clippers
- Career earnings: $378,471,638
24. Tim Duncan
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 19.39 percent
- Biggest share: 30.28 percent in 2008-09 with San Antonio
- Career earnings: $245,964,351
25. Karl-Anthony Towns
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 19.27 percent
- Biggest share: 25.72 percent in 2024-25 with New York
- Career earnings: $286,321,099
26. Bryant Reeves
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 19.06 percent
- Biggest share: 23.15 percent in 1999-00 with Vancouver
- Career earnings: $55,638,898
27. Damian Lillard
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 19.00 percent
- Biggest share: 31.53 percent in 2021-22 with Portland
- Career earnings: $366,619,366
28. Gilbert Arenas
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 18.89 percent
- Biggest share: 28.18 percent in 2013-14 with Orlando
- Career earnings: $163,061,257
29. Rudy Gobert
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 18.52 percent
- Biggest share: 26.18 percent in 2022-23 with Minnesota
- Career earnings: $296,348,195
30. Chris Bosh
- Share of his teams’ payroll: 18.48 percent
- Biggest share: 25.88 percent in 2015-16 with Miami
- Career earnings: $242,110,053
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This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Breaking the bank: The NBA players who took the largest share of team payrolls
