Forbes released their annual 100 highest paid athletes list. The list totaled 40 NBA players, including four from the OKC Thunder.
Forbes has released their annual 100 highest paid athletes list, which includes four members of the OKC Thunder, the most from one NBA team. Followed by Washington, Boston, Golden State, and Memphis with three players each.
Russell Westbrook 13th, Carmelo Anthony 38th, Paul George 57th, and Steven Adams 86th were the four Thunder players named on the list.
It’s impressive for a small market such as Oklahoma City to have four Thunder players make the Forbes list. Much like the ESPN World Fame list Westbrook and Anthony were named to last month, such honors should be applauded.
Other highlights from the list
The list included 40 NBA players overall, up from 32 in 2017. In contrast, the NFL (18), MLB (14), and NHL (zero) had 32 athletes combined.
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In regard to the NHL not having any athletes make Forbes list their salaries pay substantially less than the other three major sports. The highest paid NHL players last season were Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews of the Blackhawks each made 13,800,000 million. Furthermore, only 11 NHL players made 10 million or more during the 2017-18 season.
NHL salary numbers via Business Insider report
Top 10 NBA players on the list
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First: LeBron James, sixth overall
The full list can be viewed here
Moreover, among the top-10 NBA players on the list, none of them are members of the Lakers, Clippers, Bulls, Nets, or Knicks. Those five teams reside in the three largest media markets in the NBA. Furthermore, Only the Clippers and Lakers had players make the Forbes list period.
The Thunder, Grizzlies, Pelicans, and Bucks reside in the four smallest media markets in the NBA. Those four teams had a combined 10 players named to the Forbes list. Due to the power of social media which gives an athlete the ability to market themselves anywhere, large markets no longer rule the NBA.
Media market size via Sports Media Watch
Small markets having more star power than large markets is beneficial, whether you are a fan of the OKC Thunder or any other small market franchise. A fact these franchises might want to utilize in their free agency pitches.