Los Angeles Lakers' superstar LeBron James leads a group of 35 NBA players on the Forbes' recently released list of the highest-paid athletes in the world. This is the sixth straight year he leads the group of NBA players on the list.
The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic is seen on the earnings of athletes from all sports except American Football, given their season only restarts after the summer.
Basketball is the sport with the most number of athletes on this list with 35, the same number as in 2019. American Football ranks second with 31, up from 19 on last year's list, while Soccer ranks third with 19 athletes, up from 12 in 2019.
Here's the list of the top 10 NBA players on the Forbes list:
| NBA Ranking | Athlete | Forbes' Ranking | Pay | Salary/Winnings | Endorsements |
| #1 | LeBron James | #5 | $88.2m | $28.2m | $60m |
| #2 | Stephen Curry | #6 | $74.4m | $30.4m | $44m |
| #3 | Kevin Durant | #7 | $63.9m | $28.9m | $35m |
| #4 | Russell Westbrook | #12 | $56m | $29m | $27m |
| #5 | James Harden | #17 | $47.8m | $28.8m | $19m |
| #6 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | #18 | $47.6m | $19.6m | $28m |
| #7 | Kyrie Irving | #24 | $41.9m | $23.9m | $18m |
| #8 | Klay Thompson | #28 | $38.8m | $24.8m | $14m |
| #9 | Damian Lillard | #30 | $37m | $22.5m | $14.5m |
| #10 | Chris Paul | #35 | $35m | $29m | $6m |
Purely by endorsements, James' earnings of $60 million is tied for second with Tiger Woods ($60m) across all sports, only behind Roger Federer's earnings of $100m. Meanwhile, among the NBA players, Stephen Curry is the highest-paid player purely based on earnings by salary.
Other notable NBA players on the Fobes' list include Paul George, Blake Griffin, John Wall Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis, and reigning NBA Champion Kyle Lowry.
Possibly, the most surprising appearance on the list is of rookie Zion Williamson. He ranks 57th overall and 20th among the NBA players with endorsements earnings worth $20m and $7.3m from his contract with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Note: Virat Kohli is the only Indian & only Cricketer on the list at 66th.
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