North Carolina’s basketball program has produced a long line of NBA stars who have been paid handsomely at the next level.
The latest example is Caleb Wilson, taken fourth overall by the Chicago Bulls in this year’s draft. He signed a four-year, $48.5 million contract this offseason — a deal that would already push him past Ty Lawson ($43.1 million) for No. 12 on UNC’s career NBA earnings list before he plays a single game.
So who are the five highest-paid former Tar Heels based on their NBA career earnings? Here’s a spoiler: It isn’t Michael Jordan — he doesn’t even crack the top five. He is still the richest former Tar Heel, but not because of his NBA salary.
5. PF Marvin Williams
NBA career earnings: $122,709,628 (15 seasons)
Adjusted for inflation: ~$174,666,000
As one of the NBA’s early true stretch-4s, Marvin Williams retired in 2020 after a productive 15-year career. Although he never fully met expectations as the No. 2 pick in a loaded 2005 NBA Draft that produced five All-Stars, Williams still earned more than $100 million as a valuable rotation big.
Nearly 44% of his career income came in his final three seasons, when he made $54.5 million. Williams remains the highest-drafted Tar Heel since Brad Daugherty went No. 1 overall in 1986.
Williams was a key member for North Carolina’s 2005 national championship team, where he was the sixth man and made the famous go-ahead put-back and-1 shot against Duke at the Dean Dome.
4. PF Antawn Jamison
NBA career earnings: $139,225,261 (16 seasons)
Adjusted for inflation: $230,177,000
Antawn Jamison is one of just four Tar Heels to earn consensus National Player of the Year honors, joining Phil Ford (1977–78), Michael Jordan (1983–84), and Tyler Hansbrough (2007–08). He is the only member of that group who never appeared in an NCAA title game, even though he reached two Final Fours.
Jamison averaged more than 20 points per game in five of his 16 NBA seasons and made two All-Star teams with the Washington Wizards. During his lone season with the Dallas Mavericks in 2003–04, he captured the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award.
3. PF Rasheed Wallace
NBA career earnings: $150,980,511 (17 seasons)
Adjusted for inflation: ~$267,610,000
Rasheed Wallace had a successful 16-year NBA career, making four All-Star teams and playing an instrumental role in the Detroit Pistons’ 2004 championship run.
However, he is best known for drawing the ire of referees. He recorded 317 technical fouls, the third most in NBA history, behind Karl Malone and Charles Barkley. In the 2000-01 season, he set a single-season record with 41 technical fouls in 80 games, surpassing the mark of 38 he had established the year before.
In 2003-04, Wallace earned $26.72 million ($46.8 million adjusted for inflation), the highest single-season payday for any former Tar Heel other than Michael Jordan.
2. SG Vince Carter
NBA career earnings: $171,885,974 (22 seasons)
Adjusted for inflation: ~$275,531,000
Vince Carter, long No. 1 on this list until this past season, played a then-NBA-record 22 seasons, a mark LeBron James passed in his 23rd year. Carter is still the only player to appear in four different decades.
He played 1,541 games, fourth most in league history, and scored 25,728 points, ranking 24th all time and second among former Tar Heels behind Michael Jordan. His honors include eight straight All-Star nods, two All-NBA selections, Rookie of the Year and a Slam Dunk Contest title.
1. SF Harrison Barnes
NBA career earnings: $224,120,874 (14 seasons)
Adjusted for inflation: ~$276,598,000
Harrison Barnes finished the last season of a three-year, $54 million contract with the San Antonio Spurs, a deal that pushed him to the top of the list of former North Carolina players in career NBA earnings, both in raw dollars and when adjusted for inflation.
He has since agreed to a one-year, $8 million contract to return to the Spurs for his 15th NBA season.
Barnes is still the highest-rated North Carolina signee of the modern recruiting era, which dates to 2000, and in the NBA he has averaged 13.6 points and 4.6 rebounds over 1,070 career games.
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: Top five highest-paid former UNC basketball players in NBA history
