Highest-Paid NBA Players by Salary
On this page15
- 01Highest-paid NBA players for 2025–26 at a glance
- 02Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors) — about $59.6 million
- 03Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers) — about $55.2 million
- 04Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets) — about $55.2 million
- 05Kevin Durant (Houston Rockets) — about $54.7 million
- 06Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks) — $54,126,450
- 07Luka Doncic (Los Angeles Lakers) — $54,126,450
- 08Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics) — $54,126,450
- 09Anthony Davis (Dallas Mavericks) — $54,126,450
- 10Jimmy Butler (Golden State Warriors) — $54,126,450
- 11How we ranked the salaries
- 12Why the top salaries bunch at $54.1 million
- 13Salary is not net worth or total earnings
- 14Coaches are on a separate pay ladder
- 15The numbers only go up from here
Ranked strictly by reported base salary for the 2025-26 season — the number on the contract, not endorsements or net worth. Where players earn the identical figure, we break the tie by the accolades (MVP, All-NBA, title) that qualified them for a max deal, and we say so.
Highest-paid NBA players for 2025–26 at a glance
| Rank | Player | Team | 2025–26 base salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stephen Curry | Golden State Warriors | About $59.6M |
| 2 | Joel Embiid | Philadelphia 76ers | About $55.2M |
| 3 | Nikola Jokic | Denver Nuggets | About $55.2M |
| 4 | Kevin Durant | Houston Rockets | About $54.7M |
| T-5 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | Milwaukee Bucks | $54.13M |
| T-5 | Luka Doncic | Los Angeles Lakers | $54.13M |
- All-time high
Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors) — about $59.6 million
Curry's $59,606,817 is the largest single-season salary in NBA history. He was the first player to earn $40 million and $50 million in a season and is now the first past $59 million, the product of a one-year, $62.6 million extension he signed in August 2024 that runs through 2026-27.
He clears the field by roughly $4.4 million because his deal was layered on top of an existing max as a veteran extension, so his percentage of the cap runs higher than the standard 35 percent ceiling that bunches the players below him.
Team: Golden State · 2025-26 salary: $59.6M · Distinction: highest single-season salary ever
- Supermax MVP
Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers) — about $55.2 million
Embiid's $55,224,526 comes from the supermax he qualified for by winning the 2023 MVP, an award that unlocks the Designated Veteran tier no rival team can match. His figure is identical to Jokic's to the dollar because both signed the same class of extension.
He is listed ahead of Jokic here only by convention — the two salaries are exactly equal — but Embiid's placement rests on availability caveats: he has missed long stretches to injury, which is the risk a team accepts when it commits a supermax to one player.
Team: Philadelphia · 2025-26 salary: $55.2M · Qualifier: 2023 MVP supermax
- Three-time MVP
Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets) — about $55.2 million
Jokic earns the same $55,224,526 as Embiid but on a stronger résumé: three MVPs (2021, 2022, 2024) and the 2023 championship and Finals MVP. On production per dollar he is arguably the most justified supermax on this list.
The tie with Embiid is real, not a rounding quirk — both deals were written as the same share of the cap in the same window. What separates them off the page is durability: Jokic has anchored a title team while playing nearly every night.
Team: Denver · 2025-26 salary: $55.2M · Résumé: 3 MVPs, 2023 title
- Traded superstar
Kevin Durant (Houston Rockets) — about $54.7 million
Durant's $54,708,609 followed him to Houston, which acquired him in the 2025 offseason. A contract is a fixed obligation, so a trade moves the salary intact — the Rockets took on the full figure without renegotiating it.
He sits just above the $54.1 million tier because his extension was calculated off a slightly earlier cap year, leaving a small gap of a few hundred thousand dollars rather than any difference in status.
Team: Houston (traded 2025) · 2025-26 salary: $54.7M · Note: salary transferred in trade
- 35% max
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks) — $54,126,450
Giannis headlines the five-way tie at exactly $54,126,450, a figure that is precisely 35 percent of the 2025-26 salary cap. He earned that ceiling with two MVPs, a Defensive Player of the Year award, and the 2021 title.
Everyone in this tier is paid the same because they all signed 35 percent maximums against the same cap; the dollar figures are identical to the cent. We list Giannis first among them on the strength of that MVP-plus-championship résumé.
Team: Milwaukee · 2025-26 salary: $54.1M · Share of cap: exactly 35%
- 35% max
Luka Doncic (Los Angeles Lakers) — $54,126,450
Doncic earns the identical $54,126,450 after the February 2025 trade that sent him from Dallas to the Lakers — one of the most surprising deals in recent memory, given his five All-NBA First Team selections and 2024 Finals run.
His salary did not change a dollar in the move; only the jersey did. He ranks within this tie above Davis and Butler on the weight of those All-NBA honors, which is the same class of accolade that qualified him for the max in the first place.
Team: LA Lakers (traded 2025) · 2025-26 salary: $54.1M · Honors: 5x All-NBA First Team
- 35% max
Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics) — $54,126,450
Tatum's $54,126,450 rewards the 2024 championship he led Boston to, plus repeated All-NBA First Team selections that made him supermax-eligible early. Among this tier he is the most recent title-winner.
His figure matches Giannis, Doncic, Davis, and Butler exactly for the same reason theirs do: it is 35 percent of the cap. The order within the tie is a judgment call on accolades, not a difference in pay.
Team: Boston · 2025-26 salary: $54.1M · Peak: 2024 NBA champion
- 35% max
Anthony Davis (Dallas Mavericks) — $54,126,450
Davis was the centerpiece Dallas received for Doncic, and his $54,126,450 crossed over in that same trade. He is a 2020 champion and perennial All-Defensive selection, which is what put him on a 35 percent max in the first place.
He places behind Doncic within the tie because his recent seasons have been shortened by injury, while the salary itself is a dead heat with the four others at exactly 35 percent of the cap.
Team: Dallas (traded 2025) · 2025-26 salary: $54.1M · Résumé: 2020 champion
- 35% max
Jimmy Butler (Golden State Warriors) — $54,126,450
Butler rounds out the five-way tie at $54,126,450 after his February 2025 trade to Golden State, where he now shares a payroll with Curry. His max reflects two Finals appearances and a reputation as a playoff riser rather than a regular-season stat leader.
He sits last in this tier because, unlike the four above him, he has not won a title or an MVP — the exact salary is the same, but the hardware that usually anchors a supermax is thinner.
Team: Golden State (traded 2025) · 2025-26 salary: $54.1M · Note: no title or MVP
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- Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors) — about $59.6 million
- Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers) — about $55.2 million
- Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets) — about $55.2 million
- Kevin Durant (Houston Rockets) — about $54.7 million
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks) — $54,126,450
- Luka Doncic (Los Angeles Lakers) — $54,126,450
- Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics) — $54,126,450
- Anthony Davis (Dallas Mavericks) — $54,126,450
- Jimmy Butler (Golden State Warriors) — $54,126,450
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How everyone ranked them
Built from reader rankings using position-based points.
The cards above rank the NBA’s biggest 2025-26 salaries in order. The sections below explain how we built the list, why five stars earn the exact same paycheck, and why a salary ranking looks nothing like a net-worth ranking.
How we ranked the salaries
This is a base-salary ranking for the 2025-26 season: the guaranteed money a team pays a player to play, taken from reported contract figures. It excludes endorsements, appearance fees, and business income, which is where the largest fortunes are actually built.
Where players earn the identical figure — and five of them do, to the dollar — we order the tie by the accolades that qualified each one for a maximum contract: MVPs, All-NBA selections, and championships. That order is a judgment call, not a difference in pay, and we flag it as such in each card.
Why the top salaries bunch at $54.1 million
Five players — Antetokounmpo, Doncic, Tatum, Davis, and Butler — earn exactly $54,126,450. That is not a coincidence: it is precisely 35 percent of the 2025-26 salary cap of $154.647 million. A qualifying veteran maximum is defined as a fixed share of the cap, so everyone at that tier lands on the same number.
Maximum salaries scale with how long a player has been in the league:
| Years of service | Max share of cap | Approx. 2025-26 max |
|---|---|---|
| 0–6 seasons | 25% | ~$38.7 million |
| 7–9 seasons | 30% | ~$46.4 million |
| 10+ / supermax | 35% | $54.1 million |
Curry sits above the 35 percent line because his current deal was layered on as a veteran extension, and Embiid and Jokic edge slightly past it on the specific cap year their supermaxes were calculated against. The gaps at the very top are contract mechanics, not a pecking order of talent.
Salary is not net worth or total earnings
This list counts one thing: the paycheck. It leaves out the shoe deals and equity stakes where the real money lives. On total 2025-26 earnings, LeBron James reportedly leads the league at around $132 million — roughly $80 million of it off the court — even though his $52.6 million salary ranks outside the top 12.
That gap is why we keep the lists separate. For what these players are worth once you add up everything they own, our ranking of the richest NBA players tells a different story, with retired stars and business owners climbing above active salary leaders. Salary measures your paycheck today; net worth measures what you built and kept.
Coaches are on a separate pay ladder
Players are not the only ones on eight-figure NBA deals. The top head coaches now earn salaries that would have looked like star-player money a generation ago, though they still sit below the supermax tier. Our page on the highest-paid NBA coaches breaks down who leads the sideline pay chart and why elite coaching became so expensive.
Want to test how well you actually know the league’s stars? Try our Guess the NFL Player game for a daily sports guessing challenge, then come back for the money rankings.
The numbers only go up from here
Every salary here is a moving target. Player pay is pegged to a share of league revenue, so when a new national media agreement kicks in and the cap jumps, the maximum salary jumps with it. The NBA’s 11-year media deal worth roughly $76 billion, which began with the 2025-26 season, is already pushing projected caps higher, which points toward top salaries above $60 million a year before the decade is out. The order may reshuffle, but the logic — a fixed share of a growing cap — stays the same.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the highest-paid NBA player in 2025-26?+
Stephen Curry, at about $59.6 million with the Golden State Warriors. That is the largest single-season salary in league history, and it comes from a one-year, $62.6 million extension he signed in August 2024 that keeps him in Golden State through 2026-27. Curry was already the first player to earn $40 million and $50 million in a season, so this figure continues a pattern he started.
Why do so many players earn the exact same $54.1 million?+
Because $54,126,450 is precisely 35 percent of the 2025-26 salary cap of $154.6 million, the ceiling for a qualifying veteran max. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Davis, and Jimmy Butler all signed 35 percent maximums against the same cap, so their salaries land on the identical dollar figure. The number is a formula, not a coincidence, which is why the top of the list bunches so tightly.
Is the highest-paid player also the highest earner overall?+
No. Salary is only the on-court paycheck. Once you add endorsements, LeBron James leads the NBA in total earnings, reportedly around $132 million for 2025-26, thanks to roughly $80 million in off-court income despite a salary that ranks outside the top 12. Curry also earns tens of millions in endorsements on top of his league-leading salary, so the total-income list looks different from the salary list.
What is a supermax contract in the NBA?+
A supermax, formally the Designated Veteran Extension, lets a team pay a qualifying star up to 35 percent of the salary cap — more than any rival team can offer. To qualify, a player generally needs an All-NBA selection, an MVP, or Defensive Player of the Year in a set window. It is why names like Embiid, Jokic, and Giannis cluster at the very top, and why several of them earn the identical figure.
How high is the NBA salary cap and how does it set the max?+
The 2025-26 salary cap is $154.647 million. Maximum salaries are a percentage of that number based on years of service: 25 percent for players with up to six seasons, 30 percent for seven to nine, and 35 percent for ten-plus or supermax-qualified stars. Thirty-five percent of this cap works out to $54,126,450, which is exactly what the five tied players earn. As the cap rises, every max figure rises with it.
Why did Durant, Doncic, and Davis change teams but keep the same salary?+
A signed NBA contract is a fixed obligation that transfers in a trade — the acquiring team takes on the exact salary owed, and the player cannot renegotiate it mid-deal. Kevin Durant's $54.7 million moved to Houston, Luka Doncic's $54.1 million moved to the Lakers, and Anthony Davis's identical figure moved to Dallas, all in 2025 trades. The jersey changes; the number on the contract does not.
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