Who is the highest-paid NBA player? Highest NBA salaries, biggest wages by team

With the NBA firmly established arsenic 1 of the world’s astir lucrative sporting competitions, subordinate salaries person soared to unprecedented levels successful caller years. Each offseason brings a caller question of record-breaking contracts, with franchises anxious to unafraid the services of their marquee stars.

These staggering deals person propelled galore NBA players into the precocious echelons of planetary sporting wealth, with immoderate present rivaling athletes from football, boxing, and Formula 1 successful presumption of yearly earnings. The league’s popularity and ever-increasing media rights deals guarantee that salaries proceed to rise, making the NBA a magnet for elite endowment from astir the world.

For the 2025-26 campaign, the NBA’s wage headdress has been acceptable astatine an eye-watering $154.647 million—an all-time precocious for the league. Several apical stars present bid yearly salaries successful excess of $50 million, a staggering leap from the $23.5 cardinal earned by the precocious Kobe Bryant arsenic the league’s highest-paid subordinate successful 2014-15. This melodramatic emergence reflects not lone the NBA’s fiscal maturation but besides the expanding worth of prima powerfulness and planetary appeal.

While the highest-paid players successful the NBA are usually the league’s elite superstars, their tremendous salaries are a testament to some their on-court excellence and their off-court marketability. Endorsements, societal media influence, and planetary designation each play a important relation successful shaping modern NBA earnings. The league’s biggest names person go not lone hoops icons but besides planetary brands, driving merchandise income and attracting millions of fans worldwide.

Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look astatine the players that presently apical the net illustration successful the NBA below.

WHO IS THE HIGHEST-PAID NBA PLAYER?

Topping the database of the NBA’s highest-paid players for the 2025-26 play is nary different than Stephen Curry, wide regarded arsenic the top three-point shooter successful hoops history.

Curry’s glittering resume features 4 NBA championships, 2 Most Valuable Player awards, an Olympic golden medal, a Finals MVP honour, and 11 All-Star selections.

Curry’s enactment has been instrumental successful Golden State’s sustained success, and his record-breaking salary—reportedly successful the portion of $59.6m—underscores his immense worth to the franchise.

In August 2021, Curry agreed a four-year, $215m declaration hold with the Warriors, soon earlier claiming his 4th NBA title. That woody made him the archetypal subordinate successful league past to motion 2 contracts successful excess of $200m.

The aboriginal Hall of Famer has since extended his declaration by an further year, ensuring his legendary tenure successful the Bay Area volition proceed done astatine slightest the 2026-27 campaign.

WHO ARE THE TOP 10 HIGHEST-PAID PLAYERS IN THE NBA?

Stephen Curry retains his presumption arsenic the NBA’s highest-paid subordinate for the 2025-26 season, earning an eye-watering $59.6 million.

Jaylen Brown occupies 2nd connected the database astatine $56.5 million—a fig that places the Boston Celtics helping conscionable up of Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic. The 2 erstwhile MVPs are tied for third, each pocketing $55.2 cardinal this campaign.

Jayson Tatum and Jimmy Butler stock 5th spot, each earning $54,126,450—even arsenic some person missed important portions of the 2025-26 play owed to injury.

Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo are tied for seventh, earning $54,126,380 apiece—just fractionally down Butler and Tatum.

Kevin Durant rounds retired the apical 10 astatine $53.2 cardinal successful the last twelvemonth of his existent contract. The seasoned guardant is acceptable to articulation the Houston Rockets adjacent play connected a caller two-year woody worthy $43.9 cardinal per year.

Devin Booker completes the apical ten, earning $53.1 cardinal for the 2025-26 campaign.

Top 10 highest-earners successful the NBA for 2025-26

1. Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors) - $59,606,817

2. Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics) - $56,557,532

3. Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets) - $55,224,526

= Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers) - $55,224,526

5. Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics) - $54,126,450

= Jimmy Butler (Golden State Warriors) - $54,126,450

7. Anthony Davis (Dallas Mavericks) - $54,126,380

= Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks) - $54,126,380

9. Kevin Durant (Houston Rockets) - $53,282,608

10. Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns) - $53,142,264

WHO ARE THE HIGHEST-PAID NBA PLAYERS BY TEAM?

Among each the highest earners by squad for the 2025-26 campaign, Chicago Bulls defender Josh Giddey is the lowest astatine astir $25 million—the archetypal twelvemonth of his four-year, $100 cardinal contract. Atlanta’s CJ McCollum ($30,666,666) and Portland’s Jrue Holiday ($32,400,000) follow, with Dallas’s Khris Middleton earning $33,296,296 arsenic the Mavericks’ apical earner aft Anthony Davis’s mid-season determination to Washington.

Other squad leaders earning nether $40 cardinal see Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball ($37,958,760), San Antonio’s De’Aaron Fox and Miami’s Bam Adebayo (both $37,096,620), Orlando’s Franz Wagner and Toronto’s Scottie Barnes (both $38,661,750), Brooklyn’s Michael Porter Jr. and Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (both $38,333,050), arsenic good arsenic Memphis’s Ja Morant and New Orleans’s Zion Williamson (both $39,446,090).

It is worthy noting that Gilgeous-Alexander’s existent wage importantly understates his aboriginal earnings—the Thunder star’s six-year, $365.46 cardinal supermax hold volition not statesman successful afloat until the 2027-28 season, astatine which constituent helium is acceptable to go the NBA’s highest-paid subordinate connected an yearly basis.

Highest-paid NBA players by team

• Atlanta Hawks — CJ McCollum — $30,666,666 
• Boston Celtics — Jayson Tatum — $54,126,450 
• Brooklyn Nets — Michael Porter Jr. — $38,333,050
• Charlotte Hornets — LaMelo Ball — $37,958,760
• Chicago Bulls — Josh Giddey — ~$25,000,000 
• Cleveland Cavaliers — Donovan Mitchell / Evan Mobley (tied) — $46,394,100 
• Dallas Mavericks — Khris Middleton — $33,296,296 
• Denver Nuggets — Nikola Jokic — $55,224,526
• Detroit Pistons — Cade Cunningham — $46,394,100
• Golden State Warriors — Stephen Curry — $59,606,817
• Houston Rockets — Kevin Durant — $53,282,608
• Indiana Pacers — Tyrese Haliburton / Pascal Siakam (tied) — $45,550,512
• Los Angeles Clippers — Kawhi Leonard — $50,000,000
• Los Angeles Lakers — LeBron James — $52,627,153
• Memphis Grizzlies — Ja Morant — $39,446,090 
• Miami Heat — Bam Adebayo — $37,096,620
• Milwaukee Bucks — Giannis Antetokounmpo — $54,126,450
• Minnesota Timberwolves — Anthony Edwards — $45,550,512
• New Orleans Pelicans — Zion Williamson — $39,446,090
• New York Knicks — Karl-Anthony Towns — $53,142,264
• Oklahoma City Thunder — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — $38,333,050
• Orlando Magic — Franz Wagner — $38,661,750
• Philadelphia 76ers — Joel Embiid — $55,224,526
• Phoenix Suns — Devin Booker — $53,124,264
• Portland Trail Blazers — Jrue Holiday — $32,400,000
• Sacramento Kings — Zach LaVine — $47,499,660
• San Antonio Spurs — De'Aaron Fox — $37,096,620
• Toronto Raptors — Scottie Barnes — $38,661,750
• Utah Jazz — Lauri Markkanen — $46,394,100
• Washington Wizards — Anthony Davis — $54,126,380