Top 10 Highest Paid NBA Players: Which Basketball Star Gets Paid the Most?

Highest Paid NBA Player

The NBA is one of the most popular sports leagues in the world. Stars have benefited from that success, with the league’s highest paid NBA players earning salaries that are among the highest in the professional sports world.

With the action on the hardwood here for another season, we’ve taken a deep dive into the current state of NBA salaries.

This includes the highest paid NBA player for the 2024/25 season, along with a breakdown of the richest NBA players in history.

Highest Paid NBA Player

Five NBA players will be paid over $50 million during the 2024/25 campaign, while three Phoenix Suns crack the top ten, and will take home paycheques totaling over $150 million.

However, it is three-time NBA MVP Nicola Jokic, one of the favorites to do it again at the best online sportsbooks, who currently sports the highest NBA contract, valued at over $276 million.

This positions him to soon join the ranks of the most-paid basketball players in history.

The list would have included Jayson Tatum’s new $315 million contract, but it is set to kick in next season with the Boston Celtics. This will be the largest contract in basketball history and soon make him one of the richest NBA players.

Rank	Name	Team	2024/25 Season Earnings	Total Contract Value
1	Stephen Curry	Golden State Warriors	$55,761,216	$215,353,664
2	Nikola Jokic	Denver Nuggets	$51,415,938	$276,122,630
3	Joel Embiid	Philadelphia 76ers	$51,415,938	$213,280,928
4	Kevin Durant	Phoenix Suns	$51,179,021	$194,219,320
5	Bradley Beal	Phoenix Suns	$50,203,930	$251,019,650
6	Jaylen Brown	Boston Celtics	$49,700,000	$285,393,640
7	Devin Booker	Phoenix Suns	$49,205,800	$220,441,984
8	Karl-Anthony Towns	Minnesota Timberwolves	$49,205,800	$220,441,984
9	Paul George	Philadelphia 76ers	$49,205,800	$211,584,940
10	Kawhi Leonard	LA Clippers	$49,205,800	$149,505,800

Source: Basketball Reference

Who is the Highest Paid NBA Player 2024/25?

Stephen Curry of Golden State tops the list as the highest paid NBA player for the 2024/2025 NBA season. Here’s a look at who joins the ‘Baby-Faced Assassin’ among the top paid players, along with some additional details about their current and future contract situations.

Note that the details outlined below are for each player’s current contract, along with additional information about contract extensions, where applicable.

1. Stephen Curry – Golden State Warriors – $215,350,000/ 4 years

Stephen Curry signed a four-year contract in August 2021 that pays him over $215 million, and which expires at the end of the 2025/2026 season.

However, the Warriors can rest easy about the future of the legendary scorer with the squad after Curry inked a one-year contract extension in August 2024 that will earn him a $62.59 million payday during the 2026/2027 season.

It means he will retain the title of highest NBA contract, for that year, anyway.

2. Nikola Jokic – Denver Nuggets – $276,122,630/ 5 years

It didn’t take long for Nikola Jokic to establish himself as one of the most talented NBA players of the 21st century, and the six-time NBA All-Star Serbian is getting paid like it.

‘The Joker’ will earn over $51 million in 2024/2025 and will see his salary eventually rise to over $62.8 million by the final season of his current five-year contract in 2027/2028. Currently, the biggest NBA contract until Tatum’s kicks in.

Jokic also has the possibility of a 15% bonus in the event he is traded by the Denver Nuggets.

Jokic has pushed the Nuggets into becoming perennial title contenders with the best NBA betting sites after Denver’s championship win in 2023.

3. Joel Embiid – Philadelphia 76ers – $213,280,928 / 4 years

Joel Embiid signed a four-year $213.28 million maximum contract extension with the Philadelphia 76ers back in August 2021.

It means that Embiid will be in the City of Brotherly Love through the 2026/2027 season, if he’s not traded.

Embiid will take home over $59 million during the final season of his current deal, but enjoys a player option that could see him opt out of the contract and become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2026.

Embiid might be a giant by the standards of a non-basketball playing civilian, but he’s far from one of the tallest players in the NBA ever.

4. Kevin Durant – Phoenix Suns – $194,219,320 / 4 years

The 2024/2025 season will mark the 19th NBA campaign for the legendary Kevin Durant, who has overcome several serious injuries in recent years to remain one of the most impactful and highest paid NBA players.

The ‘Slim Reaper’ will make over $51.1 million in the third season of the four-year, $194.22 million deal that he originally signed with the Brooklyn Nets in August 2021.

While Durant’s NBA future is uncertain beyond the end of his current deal in 2026, the 35-year-old is poised to remain a fixture on the list of NBA players with the highest career earnings for years to come.

5. Bradley Beal – Phoenix Suns – $50,203,930 / 5 years

Bradley Beal joins the ranks of NBA players making over $50 million in the 2024/2025 season.

The Phoenix Suns shooting guard will pull a salary of $50.2 million in the third season of the current five-year contract extension that is valued at over $251 million.

Beal has struggled to stay healthy in recent years, failing to play more than 60 games in each of the past five seasons.

He could elect to opt out of the final year of the deal, and forego a $57.1 million payday to test the waters of NBA free agency in the summer of 2026 – but this is unlikely.

Highest Career Earnings NBA

Biggest nba contract

Michael Jordan may be the greatest NBA player of all time, but he doesn’t have the highest NBA contract of all time.

When it comes to the NBA players with the highest career earnings, no one comes close to LeBron James.

The superstar turns 40 this season and has earned almost $480 million during an illustrious 21-season career.

LeBron tops a list of 10 NBA superstars, who have combined career earnings valued at over $3.5 billion, and that’s not including inflation.

Rank	Player	Career Earnings	NBA Seasons Active
1	LeBron James	$479.47 million	21
2	Kevin Durant	$396.71 million	17
3	Chris Paul	$389.91 million	19
4	Stephen Curry	$354.72 million	15
5	Russell Westbrook	$340.27 million	17
6	James Harden	$337.3 million	17
7	Kevin Garnett	$334.3 million	22
8	Kobe Bryant	$323.31 million	20
9	Paul George	$305.33 million	14
10	Shaquille O’Neal	$286.34 million	20

Source: Statista

The NBA player salaries are gigantic compared to others they share the court with. Find out what NBA referee salaries here.

What is the Average NBA Salary?

Paydays will take another jump in 2024/2025, with the average NBA salary standing at $11,910,649 – according to Basketball Reference.

There is no shortage of high paid superstars on maximum contracts, which are available to players who have played at least six seasons and come with an annual increase of up to 8%.

Overall, 65 players are set to make $25 million or more in 2024/2025. However, the minimum salary for players with no experience is pegged at $1,157,153.

For the bottom 67 players making less than $2.1 million, the median salary for the current season is $6,696,429.

NBA Max Salary

The value of NBA maximum contract extensions is dependent upon the player’s experience. And the more NBA experience a player has, the more he can make on a max contract.

According to researchers at Hoops Rumors, the max contract in 2024/2025 for players with six seasons of experience or less is $35,147,000.
A player with 10 or more years in the league can pull down a salary of $49,205,800.
However, as the highest paid NBA player shows, stars can earn more than this thanks to exemptions written into the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement

As well as handy exemptions, maximum contracts feature annual increases.

Players who sign max contracts with their own team enjoy annual increases of 8% while players who sign with a new team will get annual pay boosts of just 5%