mobile app bar

“LeBron James made $96 million in the last 12 months”: Kevin Durant and the Lakers star rep the NBA in Forbes’ list of top 10 highest paid sportspersons

Amulya Shekhar
Published

"LeBron James made $96 million in the last 12 months": Kevin Durant and the Lakers star rep the NBA in Forbes' list of top 10 highest paid sportspersons

LeBron James and Kevin Durant have recently been featured in the latest Forbes list of top 10 highest-paid sportspersons for 2020.

Forbes released a list of the sporting world’s highest earners from May 2020 to April 2021 this week. UFC legend and double champion Conor McGregor headlines the list, having made $180 million in this period.

LeBron James came in 5th in this list with earnings of $96.5 million. Dak Prescott pipped the Lakers star for the top berth among American sportspersons, finishing 4th at $107.5 million.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo maintained their stronghold near the top. La Masia’s finest tallied $130 million pre-tax in this period, while Ronaldo reportedly earned $120 million.

Also Read: “Steph Curry and Klay Thompson could pass Kobe Bryant’s 81”: Damian Lillard reveals 5 players who could pass the Lakers legend’s career high

Can LeBron James and Kevin Durant climb up the standings this year?

Space Jam: A New Legacy will be hitting theaters worldwide in July this year. Now if the Lakers can make a run to the Finals for a second consecutive year, they could be facing the Brooklyn Nets.

This would make it an inter-city rivalry between the USA’s biggest cities, pitting arguably the NBA’s two best players against each other. Kevin Durant and LeBron James will undoubtedly have big roles to play if their teams are to make runs to the Finals.

The movie is timed perfectly for it to generate maximum interest because it’s releasing alongside the NBA playoffs. It will likely be a big payday for James either way, but postseason success will undoubtedly enhance interest in the movie. This basically would mean more moolah for James.


Kevin Durant, meanwhile, will be looking to add to his portfolio of startup investments through his firm ThirtyFive Ventures. His investment in Coinbase will also begin reaping higher dividends for him this year, given the meteoric recent rise of trading in cryptocurrency. KD invested an amount between $250k to $1 million, and Coinbase has since leaped to 53 times its 2016 valuation.

All in all, both James and KD have a great standing and future scope to increase their yearly revenue. Now whether or not that helps them climb up the standings the next year is best answered by waiting.

Also Read: “I’m really, really good at basketball”: James Harden flexes post-game after his stellar play alongside Kevin Durant in his return from injury against the Spurs

About the author

Amulya Shekhar

Amulya Shekhar

x-iconfacebook-iconlinkedin-icon

Amulya Shekhar is a sports junkie who thrives on the thrills and frills of live sports action across basketball, football (the American variant works too), parkour, adventure sports. He believes sports connect us to our best selves, and he hopes to help people experience sports more holistically.

Share this article