What Would Giannis Earn If He Played In Kareeem’s Era?

Before the end of the 2022 regular season, Giannis Antetokounmpo passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the Milwaukee Bucks’ all-time leading scorer. But, does this mean that Giannis is the best scorer to ever wear Buck’s uniform?

And if so, does that mean that Giannis would have out-paid Jabbar, if he outplayed him in the same span?

Before comparing them head-to-head, some clarification needs to be made about their career arches.

For one, Giannis needed 189 more games to surpass this mark, which is due in large part to Kareem’s dominance over his first three years, averaging 28.8 as a rookie before leading the league his second and third season, while Giannis continuously developed into the player he is today, averaging 12.2 in his first three years.

At the same time, however, Giannis’ first three years came before the age of 22, which was how old Kareem was when he began his career.

So, if we use “Stat Inflation” to put Giannis’s statistics to the equivalent of the league average in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, would he have the numbers to justify a similar paycheck?

In this hypothetical, Giannis would average 29.3 points per game over his career in the league average of the timespan, while Kareem would average 27.4 a contest.

Giannis would also have the advantage in assists per game with 5.6 to Kareem’s 4.3, but would trail significantly with 11.9 rebounds per game to Jabaar’s 14.4.

With Jabaar making reportedly $500,000 a year in his career with the Bucks, this would be the equivalent of $2.43 million after inflation.

By the comparison of Giannis’ heightened numbers in the span, he would find himself making closer to $535,000, or $2.6 million in today’s metrics.

Although Giannis has transitioned his game to the era he’s in, it is safe to say that the shooters’ league of today is not best suited for him.

So, if he were to play in an era like Kareem’s, he would be just as dominant as Abdul-Jabaar, and potentially top his numbers in the bank account as well.

But, Kareem has nothing to worry about, considering a majority of his earnings throughout his playing career came once he left Milwaukee to join the Los Angeles Lakers.