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It is a common mistake to think that Michael Jordan was always the highest-paid player in the NBA during his days with the Chicago Bulls. That ended up becoming the case, but that didn’t happen until his last two seasons in Windy City. For years Jordan was drastically underpaid as he had to abide by the terms of an eight-year deal he signed before the 1988-1989 NBA season worth around $ 25 million, as the owner Bulls coach Jerry Reinsdorf was not the type to restructure deals.
Admittedly, Michael Jordan was making a lot more money than anyone else off the court, which is one reason why he’s worth more than $ 2 billion today. However, it’s interesting to go back and look at some of the guys who made more money than His Airness in their day. With The last Dance Getting very close to discussing the record 1995-1996 season in which the Bulls were 72-10 in the regular season and 87-13 overall while earning their fourth NBA title, I decided to go back and see the highest wages that year. . season and what I saw was absolutely amazing.
Michael Jordan was ranked 32nd on the NBA salary in 1995-1996.
In 1995-1996, Michael Jordan earned his fourth NBA MVP and led the Chicago Bulls to a 72-10 record, at that time the best regular season record in NBA history. The team then went 15-3 in the playoffs and beat the Seattle Supersonics in the NBA Finals, giving the Bulls an 87-13 overall record for the year and a fourth NBA crown. Jordan had another brilliant season, earning an eighth touchdown title with 30.4 points per game, while also adding 6.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists. And he did all of this while earning just $ 3.85 million on the court, good for 32nd place in the NBA in salary. Now take a look at the list of 31 players who made more money than Michael Jordan that year, a list obtained from the great people at HoopsHype.com.
- Patrick Ewing: $ 18,724,000
- Clyde Drexler: $ 9,810,000
- David Robinson: $ 7,700,000
- Chris Webber: $ 7,000,000
- Joe Dumars: $ 6,881,000
- Danny Manning: $ 6,833,000
- Green A.C.: $ 6,473,000
- Shaquille O’Neal: $ 5,700,000
- Derrick Coleman: $ 5,476,000
- Sean Elliott: $ 5,333,000
- Hakeem Olajuwon: $ 5,305,000
- Anfernee Hardaway: $ 5,230,000
- James Worthy: $ 5,150,000
- Detlef Schrempf: $ 5,000,000
- Sam Bowie: $ 4,800,000
- Charles Barkley: $ 4,760,000
- Brad Daugherty: $ 4,700,000
- Danny Ferry: $ 4,643,000
- Alonzo Duel: $ 4,560,000
- Clarence Weatherspoon: $ 4,500,000
- Tom Gugliotta: $ 4,500,000
- Shawn Bradley: $ 4,320,000
- Larry Johnson: $ 4,295,000
- Brian Shaw: $ 4,250,000
- John Williams: $ 4,151,000
- Dale Davis: $ 4,050,000
- Grant Hill: $ 4,050,000
- Benoit Benjamin: $ 3,975,000
- Sam Perkins: $ 3,967,000
- Christian Laettner: $ 3,910,000
- Kenny Anderson: $ 3,898,000
And then you have Michael Jordan at $ 3,850,000, which was actually only $ 50,000 ahead of number 33 on the list, Chris Dudley, who is ridiculous.
It’s crazy to think that Sam Bowie made more money than Michael Jordan in 1995-1996
Trust me, I could write 31 different articles that have problems with each name in the list above. At least some were really worth what they received and no one can be blamed for receiving the payment. But Shawn Bradley? Benoit Benjamin? Danny Ferry? Clarence Weatherspoon? Sam Perkins? Come now. But there’s one name on that list that stands out more than the rest at # 15, Sam Bowie. Yes, the same Sam Bowie who was taken just before Michael Jordan in the famous 1984 NBA draft.
In reality, both players led ahead of Jordan appear on this list. Hakeem Olajuwon, who was No. 1 overall in 1984, was 11th on the list with $ 5.305 million, which still seems low for a two-time NBA champion, two-time NBA Finals MVP and MVP. from the 1994 NBA. But Sam Bowie at number 15? Are you kidding me? And you want to know the craziest part of that? Bowie had already retired after another injury-ridden season in 1994-1995 for the Los Angeles Lakers. Such is the beauty of guaranteed contracts. But just think about it. Sam Bowie, who did not play a single minute in 1995-1996, made nearly a million dollars more that season than Michael Jordan.
MJ finally got its maturity from 1996-1998
While Michael Jordan was number 32 on the NBA salary list in 1995-1996, he eventually reached number 1 in 1996-1997 by a wide margin. His former agent David Falk made a deal that almost saw Jordan sign with the New York Knicks, essentially forcing Jerry Reinsdorf and the Chicago Bulls to pay. MJ earned $ 30.14 million that season and $ 33.14 during the 1997-1998 “The Last Dance” season, which would have placed him at n. # 10 on the salary list in 2019-2020.
