During his time in the NBA, Shaquille O’Neal was not known for leaving money on the table during negotiations to help his teams out. Unlike the Dirk Nowitzkis of the world, O’Neal wasn’t for giving his team handouts, instead choosing to make every penny possible, which he was well within his right to do, as he pretty much always lived up to his max contracts.
Well, our research confirms the idea that O’Neal drove a hard bargain during his time in the NBA, as we found that the Big Aristotle owned the biggest share of team payrolls in the NBA over the past 40 years, even after we factored in the first four seasons of his career in which he was on his rookie-scale contract, and the last campaign of his career when he was on a minimum deal.
Regardless, you can easily make the argument that O’Neal was worth every dollar since the big man had one of the most illustrious careers in NBA history, one headlined by his winning four NBA championships, three Finals MVPs, one regular-season MVP and his making 15 All-Star appearances and 14 All-NBA teams.
According to our research, other NBA stars come close to O’Neal in this exercise, namely David Robinson and Michael Jordan, who took up large shares of their teams’ payrolls throughout their careers. Jordan actually finished No. 3 on this list, but that’s largely because of the two final years of his deal with the Bulls, which were the biggest salaries in NBA history if we adjust to inflation.
Below, check out the NBA players who took the largest share of team payrolls throughout their careers.
Shaquille O’Neal
Brian Bahr/Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 29.20 percent
Biggest share: 46.53 percent in 2004-05 with Miami
Career earnings: $292,198,327
David Robinson
DAN LEVINE/AFP via Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 27.16 percent
Biggest share: 33.98 percent in 1998-99 with San Antonio
Career earnings: $114,448,123
Michael Jordan
Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 25.97 percent
Biggest share: 54.03 percent in 1997-98 with Chicago
Career earnings: $94,022,500
Kevin Garnett
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Share of his teams’ payroll: 24.83 percent
Biggest share: 42.34 percent in 2002-03 with Minnesota
Career earnings: $343,862,398
Kobe Bryant
Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 23.87 percent
Biggest share: 35.76 percent in 2013-14 with LA Lakers
Career earnings: $328,237,108
Ralph Sampson
Jonathan Daniel/ALLSPORT
Share of his teams’ payroll: 23.85 percent
Career earnings: $17,244,000
Patrick Ewing
RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports
Share of his teams’ payroll: 23.61 percent
Biggest share: 43.21 percent in 1995-96 with New York
Career earnings: $125,193,120
LeBron James
Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports
Share of his teams’ payroll: 23.16 percent
Biggest share: 33.25 percent in 2018- with LA Lakers
Career earnings: $531,322,273
Hakeem Olajuwon
Sporting News via Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 22.59 percent
Biggest share: 42.72 percent in 1998-99 with Houston
Career earnings: $110,291,426
Karl Malone
Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 22.24 percent
Biggest share: 37.79 percent in 2002-03 with Utah
Career earnings: $105,933,378
Kevin Durant
Sarah Stier/Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 22.13 percent
Biggest share: 31.29 percent in 2019-20 with Brooklyn
Career earnings: $457,119,040
John Wall
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Share of his teams’ payroll: 21.51 percent
Biggest share: 34.41 percent in 2022-23 with Houston
Career earnings: $276,580,866
James Harden
Rob Carr/Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 21.31 percent
Biggest share: 29.82 percent in 2019-20 with Houston
Career earnings: $374,374,274
Stephen Curry
John Hefti-Imagn Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 21.21 percent
Biggest share: 31.22 percent in 2024-25 with Golden State
Career earnings: $413,605,898
Chris Webber
Al Bello /Allsport
Share of his teams’ payroll: 20.79 percent
Biggest share: 31.50 percent in 1995-96 with Washington
Career earnings: $178,230,697
Damian Lillard
Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports
Share of his teams’ payroll: 20.78 percent
Biggest share: 31.53 percent in 2021-22 with Portland
Career earnings: $329,998,763
Gordon Hayward
Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Share of his teams’ payroll: 20.38 percent
Biggest share: 27.77 percent in 2019-20 with Boston
Career earnings: $272,742,175
Bradley Beal
Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Share of his teams’ payroll: 19.97 percent
Biggest share: 28.47 percent in 2022-23 with Washington
Career earnings: $319,772,793
Paul George
Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 19.95 percent
Biggest share: 26.48 percent in 2024-25 with Philadelphia
Career earnings: $356,300,737
Joel Embiid
Emilee Chinn/Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 19.77 percent
Biggest share: 28.63 percent in 2023-24 with Philadelphia
Career earnings: $266,714,364
Anthony Davis
Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 19.62 percent
Biggest share: 23.90 percent in 2023-24 with LA Lakers
Career earnings: $311,521,148
Chris Paul
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Share of his teams’ payroll: 19.50 percent
Biggest share: 32.10 percent in 2020-21 with Phoenix
Career earnings: $400,637,385
Tim Duncan
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 19.39 percent
Biggest share: 30.28 percent in 2008-09 with San Antonio
Career earnings: $245,964,351
Jimmy Butler
Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 19.19 percent
Biggest share: 26.17 percent in 2024-25 with Miami
Career earnings: $312,683,265
Nikola Jokic
Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 19.10 percent
Biggest share: 27.66 percent in 2024-25 with Denver
Career earnings: $249,759,769
Bryant Reeves
Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 19.06 percent
Biggest share: 23.15 percent in 1999-00 with Memphis
Career earnings: $55,638,898
Gilbert Arenas
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Share of his teams’ payroll: 18.89 percent
Biggest share: 28.18 percent in 2013-14 with Orlando
Career earnings: $163,061,257
Kawhi Leonard
Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 18.89 percent
Biggest share: 28.03 percent in 2024-25 with LA Clippers
Career earnings: $328,471,638
Rudy Gobert
Soobum Im-Imagn Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 18.61 percent
Biggest share: 26.18 percent in 2022-23 with Minnesota
Career earnings: $261,348,195
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 18.60 percent
Biggest share: 24.72 percent in 2024-25 with Milwaukee
Career earnings: $284,880,292
Chris Bosh
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Share of his teams’ payroll: 18.48 percent
Biggest share: 25.88 percent in 2015-16 with Miami
Career earnings: $242,110,053
Karl-Anthony Towns
Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 18.23 percent
Biggest share: 25.72 percent in 2024-25 with New York
Career earnings: $233,178,835
Kyrie Irving
Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports
Share of his teams’ payroll: 18.04 percent
Biggest share: 26.70 percent in 2019-20 with Brooklyn
Career earnings: $315,811,186
Isiah Thomas
Focus on Sport/Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 18.02 percent
Biggest share: 21.07 percent in 1990-91 with Detroit
Career earnings: $10,472,000
Tracy McGrady
Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
Share of his teams’ payroll: 17.93 percent
Biggest share: 27.79 percent in 2008-09 with Houston
Career earnings: $163,057,818
Allen Iverson
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 17.68 percent
Biggest share: 29.17 percent in 2008-09 with Detroit
Career earnings: $154,494,445
Tobias Harris
Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 17.57 percent
Biggest share: 25.20 percent in 2019-20 with Philadelphia
Career earnings: $276,450,726
Baron Davis
Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 17.18 percent
Biggest share: 26.45 percent in 2007-08 with Golden State
Career earnings: $147,692,983
