Money in professional basketball has officially entered the stratosphere. If you’ve looked at a box score lately and wondered why a guy missing three-pointers is making more than a small country's GDP, you aren’t alone. The landscape of who gets paid the most in nba has shifted so fast that even die-hard fans are struggling to keep up with the math.
Honestly, we are past the era of "rich" players. We’re in the era of "generational wealth in a single afternoon" players.
The $60 Million Man: Steph Curry’s Historic Run
For the 2025-26 season, there is no debate about the top spot. Stephen Curry is the undisputed king of the mountain. He’s taking home $59,606,817 this year. That’s not a typo. He’s basically knocking on the door of $60 million for a single season of work.
Curry was the first guy to cross the $40 million mark. Then he was the first to hit $50 million. Now, thanks to a one-year extension he signed with the Golden State Warriors, he’s set to break the $60 million barrier in the 2026-27 season. People talk about his shooting, but his timing on contract negotiations might be his most underrated skill.
But it’s not just about the base salary. Curry’s total net worth has ballooned to roughly $240 million because of his "Thirty Ink" collective and that massive Under Armour deal. When you ask who gets paid the most in nba, Curry is the answer on the court, but he’s also a business mogul off of it.
The Big Men Earning Big Checks
Right on Curry’s heels is a pair of dominant centers who are making exactly the same amount of money. Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic are both pulling in $55,224,526 this season.
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It’s kinda funny how the league was supposed to be "positionless" or "small ball," yet the two highest-paid players after Steph are seven-footers. Both guys are on supermax deals, which is a specific type of contract only available to players who meet certain criteria, like winning MVP or making All-NBA teams.
- Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets): His 5-year, $276 million deal was a record-breaker when he signed it.
- Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers): His extension keeps him in Philly with a salary that climbs every single year.
Why Some "Average" Stars Make More Than Legends
This is where it gets weird. You’d think the best players always get the most money. Nope. Because of how the NBA salary cap works, the year you sign your contract is almost as important as how good you are.
Take a look at the $54 million club. There’s a massive logjam at **$54,126,450**. This group includes:
- Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics)
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)
- Anthony Davis (Dallas Mavericks—yep, he's in Dallas now)
- Jimmy Butler (Golden State Warriors)
Notice someone missing? LeBron James is actually "only" making $52,627,153 this year. The King is technically the 14th highest-paid player in the league by base salary. Of course, he makes roughly $85 million a year from endorsements, so don't feel too bad for him. But on the court, younger guys like Tatum and Brown are starting to surpass the legends in annual take-home pay because they signed their deals under a higher salary cap.
The Supermax Trap and Team Spending
The NBA set the salary cap for this season at $154.647 million. That sounds like a lot until you realize the Warriors are paying nearly $250 million in total allocations. When you have two guys like Curry and Butler on the same roster making $54M+, your "tax bill" becomes a nightmare.
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The "Second Apron" is the new boogeyman for NBA owners. If a team spends over $207.8 million, they lose their ability to make certain trades or sign mid-level players. This is why you see teams like the Timberwolves or Suns occasionally trading away good players just to avoid the financial "death penalty" of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
The Under-26 Wealth Club
It’s not just the vets. The "young" money is getting ridiculous too.
- Cade Cunningham and Evan Mobley are both making $46,394,100 this year.
- Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton are right behind them at $45,550,512.
Basically, if you are a franchise cornerstone and you’re under 25, you’re likely looking at a quarter-billion-dollar contract before you even hit your prime.
Total Career Earnings: The All-Time Leaders
If we stop looking at annual salary and look at who has made the most money ever, the list changes. LeBron James is the undisputed king here. By the time his current deal is up, he’ll have earned well over $500 million in basketball salary alone.
Kevin Durant is also in that elite tier. Even though he’s "only" 4th in annual salary this year ($54.7M with the Rockets), his career earnings are staggering. He’s built a portfolio that makes him one of the wealthiest athletes in history, period.
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The NBA's Middle Class is Disappearing
One thing most people get wrong about who gets paid the most in nba is thinking that everyone is getting rich. While the average salary is around $14.1 million, there’s a huge gap. You have the "Superstars" making $50M+, and then you have a lot of guys on "Minimum" contracts making around $2M to $3M.
The "middle class" players—the guys who used to make $15M to $20M—are being squeezed out because teams have to save money to pay their two or three superstars. It’s a "stars and scrubs" economy.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Analysts
If you're trying to track these numbers, remember that the "Cap Hit" is what matters for team building, but the "Base Salary" is what goes into the player's bank account. Here is what you should watch for over the next few months:
- All-NBA Selections: Keep an eye on guys like Anthony Edwards. If he makes another All-NBA team this season, he becomes eligible for a supermax that could start at over $67 million a year.
- The Trade Deadline: Teams near the "Second Apron" (like the Knicks or Timberwolves) might move expensive bench players to avoid huge tax penalties.
- Contract Incentives: Some players, like Domantas Sabonis, have "unlikely incentives" in their deals. If they win an award or reach a certain playoff round, they get an extra $2M to $3M that doesn't show up on the initial salary list.
To really understand the money, you have to look at the Bird Rights. If a team has a player's Bird Rights, they can exceed the salary cap to keep them. This is how the Celtics are able to pay both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum nearly $300 million each without the league stepping in to stop it.
The money isn't slowing down. With the new media rights deal kicking in, we are likely only three or four years away from seeing the first $80 million-a-year player.