Which NBA star could make most money by posting on Instagram? New report takes a look
Sure, we all know that NBA superstars make bank thanks to their top-notch, on-the-court skills: You have the face of the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James, who signed a two-year, $85 million contract extension in 2020. Then there’s Dallas Mavericks prodigy Luka Doncic, who hinted that he might be signing a supermax extension worth over $200 million this summer.
While we know a lot of the big names like James and Doncic don’t need to make any more dough, especially when it comes to posting on social media, it’s still interesting to learn how much they can earn per post off-the-court.
In a new report by Bookies.com, the website revealed the top 20 richest NBA Instagram stars and how much each could possibly earn with their posts.
“Exploring each player’s Instagram activity, a new report by Bookies.com has managed to uncover the top 20 performers,” the news release said. “Attributing a score to each of their number of followers, engagement rate and the media valuation of the worth of each post, Bookies.com reveals basketball’s biggest social earners.”
It should be no shock that the top earner is James himself, who constantly delights his 85 million followers with entertaining videos of his personal life, allowing fans to get a glimpse into his life outside the arena.
How much could he make per post? A whopping $342,640, according to the release.
Following James, but not quite on the King’s heels, is Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry, who could be making $136,579 per post.
Other stars on the list include Doncic (at No. 17 with $22,861), Brooklyn Nets star James Harden (No. 6 with $46,039) and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (No. 9 with $35,836).
Making some serious cash on Instagram is nothing original – the Kardashians have been doing it for years. Hopperhq.com releases its annual “Instagram Rich List,” which is a list composed of who makes the most money on Instagram per post from information based off internal data, agency rate cards and public information, MarketWatch reported.
In 2020, Hopperhq reported that the top earner was Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson, who makes $1.05 million per post, followed by Kylie Jenner at $986,000 per post.
Here is the entire NBA Rich List:
| Rank | Player (Top 20) | Followers | Cost Per Post |
| 1 | LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers) | 85,660,232 | $342,640 |
| 2 | Steph Curry (Golden State Warriors) | 34,144,886 | $136,579 |
| 3 | Russell Westbrook (Washington Wizards) | 16,485.319 | $65,941 |
| 4 | Kyrie Irving (Brooklyn Nets) | 14,638,627 | $58,554 |
| 5 | Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets) | 11,892,606 | $47,570 |
| 6 | James Harden (Brooklyn Nets) | 11,509,836 | $46,039 |
| 7 | Chris Paul (Phoenix Suns) | 10,194,555 | $40,778 |
| 8 | Lonzo Ball (New Orleans Pelicans) | 9,723,515 | $38,894 |
| 9 | Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks) | 8,959,045 | $35,836 |
| 10 | Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers) | 8,912,609 | $35,650 |
| 11 | Paul George (Los Angeles Clippers) | 8,907,862 | $35,631 |
| 12 | Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors) | 8,876,072 | $36,504 |
| 13 | Carmelo Anthony (Portland Trail Blazers) | 7,439,862 | $29,759 |
| 14 | Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers) | 6,891,164 | $27,565 |
| 15 | Lamelo Ball (Charlotte Hornets) | 6,818,178 | $27,273 |
| 16 | Jimmy Butler (Miami Heat) | 6,133,991 | $24,536 |
| 17 | Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks) | 5,715,319 | $22,861 |
| 18 | Ben Simmons (Philadelphia 76ers) | 5,496,920 | $21,130 |
| 19 | J.R. Smith | 5,282,456 | $21,130 |
| 20 | Kyle Kuzma (Los Angeles Lakers) | 5,144,282 | $20,577 |
This story was originally published June 9, 2021 at 3:48 PM with the headline "Which NBA star could make most money by posting on Instagram? New report takes a look."