The NBA has had some of the most prolific athletes playing the game of basketball like it is their very lives. From Michael Jordan to Magic Johnson to Patrick Ewing to Shaquille O’Neal, they became stars and legends of the game, and the league knew they had to keep them happy and how. The salaries for players like MJ and Johnson was definitely higher than their peers. And while that might seem pretty meagre compared to what the players get in today’s time, they had some pretty sweet deals in their hands.
Here are 10 most exceptional salaries that players were handed over the years during the 1990s
| Player (Season) | Salary at the Time | Percentage of NBA salary expenditure | Salary adjustment according to 2024-25 season |
| Michael Jordan (1996-97) | $30,140,000 | 3.75 | $196.6 million |
| Michael Jordan (1997-98) | $33,140,000 | 3.49 | $183.2 million |
| Patrick Ewing (1995-96) | $18,724,000 | 2.59 | $135.5 million |
| Magic Johnson (1994-95) | $14,660,000 | 2.45 | $128.4 million |
| Patrick Ewing (1997-98) | $20,500,000 | 2.16 | $113.3 million |
| Larry Bird (1991-92) | $7,070,000 | 1.91 | $100.3 million |
| Horace Grant (1996-97) | $14,857,000 | 1.85 | $96.9 million |
| Patrick Ewing (1998-99) | $18,500,000 | 1.73 | $90.7 million |
| Horace Grant (1997-98) | $14,285,714 | 1.51 | $79.0 million |
| Patrick Ewing (1990-91) | $4,250,000 | 1.45 | $75.9 million |
Michael Jordan takes the top spot for some of the biggest salaries received by any NBA player in a season during the 90s. His skills and exceptional talent on the court is something no one can deny. Other than him, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird also made the list. But the highlight was probably Patrick Ewing. While he might not have the top spot, but in the Top 10, Ewing has four spots from himself - the 1995-5 season, the 1997-98 season, the 1998-99 season, and also the 1990-91 season, all of which he spent with the New York Knicks, where he gave 15 years of his career, before leaving in 2000.
Their salary back then might seem quite small when compared to what the players are getting today, but if we really look into how much of NBA's salary expenditure they were hauling for themselves back then, it calculates a lot higher than what players make now, except maybe a few handful.
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