How the NBA’s best players spent their first paycheck

LeBron James 

James was raised by a single mother and faced poverty growing up, so it’s no surprise that he’s notoriously cheap even as a billionaire today. His first massive payday came when he signed a seven-year, $87 million endorsement deal with Nike right before the 2003 NBA Draft. 

“LeBron received his first endorsement check… [he] took that multimillion-dollar Nike check, deposited it and came out with maybe $2,000 in cash,” Chris Dennis, James’ former PR manager, told ESPN. “He never spent or indulged in a frivolous manner when the money came. He did take his closest friend to an amusement park but didn’t immediately purchase any new cars or homes.”