Steph Curry and Klay Thompson went off the beaten path when it came to their kicks.
The Splash Brothers have shoe-endorsement deals with Under Armour and Anta, respectively, and their respective successes with the Warriors have, at the very least, made fans realize that yes, those companies do make basketball shoes. Curry and Thompson pull in plenty of pretty pennies for their sneaker choices but, as Kurt Badenhausen's story for Forbes on Tuesday showed, it's still Michael Jordan's world and everyone else in the NBA is just living in it.
While Curry ($20 million a year, per Forbes) and Thompson ($9 million) make a lot on their current shoe deals, they both pale in comparison to Jordan ($130 million). Jordan, currently the Charlotte Hornets' chairman, has not played in an NBA game since April 16, 2003.
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The closest shoe endorsee to Jordan is LeBron James ($32 million), and the Los Angeles Lakers star is further away from His Airness' shoe crown than his claim as the greatest basketball of all time. In fact, the next six-closest earners -- James, Kevin Durant ($26 million), Curry, Kobe Bryant ($16 million), James Harden ($14 million) and Zion Williamson ($13 million) -- combine to make $9 million fewer per year from their sneaker deals than Jordan.
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Being behind Jordan is not all bad -- or, bad at all, frankly -- for them, considering the sums we're talking about here. But it's a reminder that the stardom of full-blown superstars like Curry and Thompson still pales in comparison to Jordan.
Everyone else still is just trying to be like Mike.