page_title: Highest-paid NBA players by season
section_title: 2015–2016
hierarchical_section_title: Highest-paid NBA players by season / 2010s / 2015–2016
caption_attribution_description: English: Kobe Bryant 61 point game against the New York Knicks
context_page_description: The highest-paid NBA players by season has recently eclipsed $40 million. Larry Bird was the first player to earn $5 million or more with a salary of $7,070,000 in the 1991-92 season. Magic Johnson became the first player to earn $10 million or more in the 94-95 season with a salary of $14,660,000. Patrick Ewing became the first player to earn $15 million or more in the 95-96 season with a salary of $18,724,000. Michael Jordan was the first NBA player to sign a contract worth over $20 million and in fact it exceeded $30 million as well in a season; this was a record he had held for 15 years. During the 1997–98 season, Jordan earned $33,140,000, which still stands as the most any NBA player has earned on a 1-year contract. Jordan also holds the record for the second largest 1-year contract at $30,140,000 in the 1996-97 season. Kobe Bryant became just the second player to reach this milestone when the 2013–14 season began. LeBron James became the third in the 2016–17 season.
caption: Kobe Bryant, who spent his entire 20-year career in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform, was the highest-paid player in the league from the 2009–10 until his retirement at the conclusion of the 2015–16 season.
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