19 NBA Players who made Forbes’ 2024 highest paid athletes list, listed

19 NBA players made it onto Forbes' list of the highest-paid athletes of 2024. Between endorsement deals, increasingly large contracts, and growing interest in the NBA around the world. This year, NBA players made up one-fifth of the list of highest-paid players, with LeBron James leading the way. James made a combined $128.2 million according to Forbes, with $80 million coming off the field.

Followed closely behind him in second place was none other than The Greek Freak himself, Giannis Anteokounmpo. According to Forbes, Giannis' off-field earnings also notably eclipsed his on-field earnings for a total of $111 million flat. Both NBA players ranked in the top five of the top 100 athletes.

From here we then see a switch, with the remaining 17 players making more on the court than they do off the court. This is seen in Steph Curry, who finished third among players, but ninth overall on the list. The Golden State Warriors star reportedly made $102 million total, with $52 million on-court and $50 off.

Sitting just outside of the top ten on the list is generational scoring talent Kevin Durant, who made a total of $93.3 million, with $47.8 million of his earnings from his NBA contract. There's then a significant drop off, with the remaining NBA players all falling outside of the top 20 of Forbes' highest-paid athletes.

Check out the full list below:

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RANK ON TOP 100 LIST	NAME	TOTAL EARNINGS	NBA Earnings	OFF-COURT Earnings
5	Giannis Antetokounmpo	$111 M	$46 M	$65 M
9	Stephen Curry	$102 M	$52 M	$50 M
12	Kevin Durant	$93.3 M	$47.8 M	$45.5 M
25	Klay Thompson	$62.3 M	$43.3 M	$19 M
26	Damian Lillard	$61.9 M	$45.9 M	$16 M
30	Joel Embiid	$57.7 M	$47.7 M	$10 M
31	Jimmy Butler	$57.5 M	$45.5 M	$12 M
32	Nikola Jokic	$56.1 M	$48.1 M	$8 M
33	James Harden	$55.8 M	$35.8 M	$20 M
34	Luka Doncic	$55.1 M	$40.1 M	$15 M
35	Bradley Beal	$54.3 M	$46.8 M	$7.5 M
37	Kawhi Leonard	$53.7 M	$45.7 M	$8 M
39	Paul George	$52.7 M	$45.7 M	$7 M
44	Trae Young	$47.3 M	$40.3 M	$7 M
47	Anthony Davis	$46.2 M	$41.2 M	$5 M
48	Zion Williamson	$46.1 M	$34.1 M	$12 M
49	Jayson Tatum	$45.9 M	$32.9 M	$13 M
50	Devin Booker	$45.2 M	$36.2 M	$9 M

Looking at NBA players who could land on the Forbes 2025 Highest Paid Athletes list

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While 19 NBA players making it onto Forbes' list of top 100 highest-paid athletes in 2024 was impressive, that number seems likely to climb. With an ever-increasing cap that's projected to be just over 3.5% higher than what it was this season, contract values are going up.

This means that a number of players who didn't feature on this year's list, could wind up landing on next year's list. When looking at the highest-paid NBA players, the list nearly mirrors the list created by Forbes of the top 100 highest-paid athletes.

Here, we can see that there are a few players who are on the cusp of cracking the list. These include:

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Rudy Gobert, who is set to make $43.8 million next season, which would put him just behind Devin Booker on the potential list.

Zach LaVine, who will make $43,031,940 next season.

Trae Young,who will make $43,031,940 next season.

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In the case of all three players they would make just under the $45 million made by Booker. However, it's important to note that players who landed higher on the list, such as Booker himself, will be making even more money next year, in his case, $49.3 million.

Given that, players like Gobert aren't likely to surpass those ahead of them when factoring in off-court earnings. They can, of course, find themselves as new additions on the list.

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