Mike Conley and Al Horford Near NBA’s 20-Season Milestone With Nearly $600 Million in Career Earnings

NBA free agency is moving at full speed, with players across the league either extending their stays or starting fresh elsewhere. The offseason has already delivered major movement, including trades involving former Finals MVPs Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jaylen Brown, who are now settling in with new franchises.

In the middle of all that roster activity, two veterans have reached a milestone reserved for only a select few. Mike Conley Jr. and Al Horford are set to become the 13th and 14th players in NBA history to appear in 20 seasons.

Their paths have been linked for nearly two decades. Horford’s Florida Gators beat Conley’s Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2007 NCAA title game, and just months later, the two were taken one selection apart in the 2007 NBA Draft. Since then, both have built long, steady and highly productive professional careers.

Horford is continuing his journey on a two-year contract with the Golden State Warriors. Conley, meanwhile, recently reached agreement on a one-year deal with the Boston Celtics.

Mike Conley (L) and Al Horford (Christopher Evans/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)

Their longevity places them in elite company with icons such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki. LeBron James remains in a category of his own, as he prepares for a record-setting 24th NBA season.

While Horford and Conley have often been key figures rather than the undisputed top stars on their teams, both have carved out valuable roles for most of their careers. That consistency has also translated into substantial earnings over nearly two decades in the league.

Al Horford’s Long And Lucrative Career

Horford is a five-time All-Star and reached the All-NBA Third Team in 2011. He was a key piece of the Atlanta Hawks teams that saw success in the 2010s, success that was routinely thwarted by LeBron James’ Heat or Cavaliers teams in the playoffs, before heading to Boston.

He also spent a season apiece with the Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City Thunder before returning to the Celtics in 2021.

It was that second stint in Boston where Horford earned his lone NBA title, hitting several big shots for the champion Celtics in 2024. After the next season, Horford joined the Golden State Warriors.

He currently has made slightly less money than Conley, though his next deal will knock him over the $300 million threshold. Horford will have about $304.8 million in career earnings by the time his latest deal ends.

Mike Conley’s Nearly $300 Million NBA Career

Meanwhile, Conley once had the richest contract in NBA history. The Memphis Grizzlies re-signed him to a five-year, $153 million deal in 2016. Today’s top contracts are double that, with money flying around the NBA as the salary cap continues to increase.

Prior to Boston, Conley spent 12 seasons in Memphis and four apiece with the Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves. He was an All-Star in 2021 and, perhaps more impressively, has never received a technical foul across 1,226 regular-season and 83 playoff games.

What a calm soul!

Counting his next contract, Conley will have made nearly $300 million in career earnings.

The 2007 Draft Class Is Still Going

Horford and Conley are two of four players from the 2007 NBA Draft who remain active. Kevin Durant and Jeff Green are also still in the NBA, though they’ve both missed entire seasons due to injuries or medical conditions.

It’s an impressive showing of longevity. And it turns out you can make quite a bit of money over 20 seasons.

To put Mike Conley and Al Horford’s longevity in perspective, both players now rank among the 30 highest-earning NBA players of all time. They are not quite in the top 20, but they are right on the doorstep. Horford currently ranks #29 and Conley ranks #30 in career NBA earnings through the 2026-27 season. Together, the two 2007 draft classmates have earned more than $592 million in NBA salary alone.