The Boston Celtics were a green team this season — in more ways than one.
Forbes on Tuesday released its always-enlightening list of the world’s 100 highest-paid athletes, headed unsurprisingly by boxer Floyd “Money” Mayweather and soccer stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
But the most-represented league on the list actually is the NBA, which employs 40 of the globe’s highest-paid athletes.
And three are right here in Boston: point guard Kyrie Irving (29th, $36.1 million per year), forward Gordon Hayward (46th, $30.8 million) and big man Al Horford (51st, $29.8 million).
A note: Those numbers calculate total earnings as a sum of salary/winnings and endorsements. Irving, for example, has a $19.1 million annual salary but makes $17 million annually in endorsements.
The Celtics boasting such high-end talent seemed improbable just three years ago, when their highest-earning player was David Lee. Then president of basketball operations Danny Ainge signed Horford and Hayward to maximum contracts in back-to-back offseasons before luring Irving in a blockbuster trade last summer.
That spending looks like it’s paying off, as the C’s have reached the Eastern Conference finals in consecutive seasons and appear positioned for another deep playoff run next campaign.
Boston isn’t the only team with a trio of deep-pocketed stars, of course. The Golden State Warriors have three players in the top 50, including two in the top 11 — Stephen Curry (8th), Kevin Durant (11th) and Klay Thompson (44th) — while the Oklahoma City Thunder’s “Big Three” of Russell Westbrook (13th), Carmelo Anthony (38th) and Paul George (57th) all make the top 60.
