Each player in the NBA will soon receive a licensing check for $25,000, which is from things such as jersey sales largely of the star players.

"Thanks, Kobe Bryant. Thanks, LeBron James," Luke Walton said, laughing. "You open the mail and have a check you don't even count on, that's beautiful."

Derek Fisher, the president of the players' association, said dues were raised from $5,000 to $10,000 per player.

He said players were aware that Kevin Garnett, Bryant, James and Allen Iverson had the top four selling jerseys last season, respectively, but still were a part of the union.

"The good part about it I think -- at least for most guys -- is that it's evenly distributed," Fisher said. "If it wasn't evenly distributed, you'd have some guys who would probably get zero. We recognize that our star players, they carry the load, in terms of the face of our game and the jersey sales that go on. So we're appreciative of the fact that they're in it too."