Forward, Los Angeles Lakers

In his basketball attire, the 37-year-old was unable to get Lakers into playoff form during his injury-plagued 2021-22 season – not long removed from leading them to the 2020 NBA championship. But in his business suit, primarily as co-founder of SpringHill Co. (with Maverick Carter), James has a thriving media company now valued at $725 million. James, whose endorsement deals with Nike and Beats Electronics combined with salary brought him nearly $100 million in 2020 according to Forbes (the most by any NBA player), recently aligned with PepsiCo (and Mountain Dew’s new energy drink) after 18 years with Coca-Cola, specifically to focus on educational, social justice and community initiatives.

YEARS ON THE LA500: 5