Top 10 highest-paid NBA players as per annual average salary for the 2024-25 season
The NBA has consistently increased player salaries in recent years, and much of the credit goes to the upcoming new media rights deal. It is set to increase the league’s revenue from around $2.67 billion per year to around $6 billion per year, and the ramifications will also be felt by the league’s huge number of superstars.
Some teams have already handed out major contracts to the star players in free agency. Let's look at the highest-paid players in the NBA for the 2024-25 season, according to Spotrac.
Highest-paid players in the NBA for the 2024-25 season
#1. Stephen Curry - $55.7 million (Golden State Warriors)
Stephen Curry’s incredible legacy with the Golden State Warriors has resulted in four NBA championships. Curry is one of the best players in the league’s history and easily the best three-point shooter.
Curry is a legacy figure for the Warriors and continues to be rewarded with a huge salary. He signed a $222,000,864 deal in 2021 and is set to earn $55,761,216 in the coming season.
#2. Joel Embiid - $51.4 million (Philadelphia 76ers)
Joel Embiid has had his fair share of injury troubles during his now almost-veteran career. The 2023 MVP is a 7-time All-Star and one of the most lethal players in the league on his day.
The 76ers continue to have faith in the process, and Embiid signed a four-year, $213.8 million deal in 2022. That puts his salary for the upcoming campaign at $51,415,938, placing him among the league’s highest earners.
#3. Nikola Jokic - $51.4 million (Denver Nuggets)
The 2023 NBA Finals MVP and the current reigning MVP, Nikola Jokic, were also rewarded big bucks in 2022. He is set to enter the third year of a five-year contract that he signed at the end of the 2022-23 campaign, which is worth $276.1 million.
The Nuggets star responded by leading his team to the 2023 NBA championship, and the contract itself is enough to make him the third-highest-paid player in the league for the upcoming season.
#4. Bradley Beal - $50.2 million (Phoenix Suns)
Bradley Beal, one of the most lethal scorers in the league, is still seeing out the five-year, $251 million deal he signed with the Washington Wizards in 2021. It puts his annual salary at just over $50 million.
Beal’s time at the Suns has not gotten off to the best of starts, but the fact that the Suns are set to keep hold of all their major stars means plenty of scope for redemption in the coming time.
#5. LeBron James - $49.9 million (LA Lakers)
Perhaps the most amusing aspect of this list remains the fact that LeBron James, at the age of 39, still ranks among the league's highest-paid players. As per reports, James has agreed to sign a two-year, $104 million deal with the Lakers, and his salary for the 2024-25 season is slightly below $50 million.
#6. Kevin Durant - $49.8 million (Phoenix Suns)
Kevin Durant suffered a postseason loss at the hands of Anthony Edwards' Minnesota Timberwolves, and his Suns career is yet to take off in the ways fans would have expected. He is still on the same 4-year deal he signed with the Brooklyn Nets in 2021.
He is set to earn $49.8 million next season as a result of the $194 million deal that he signed with the Nets. Fans will hope Durant can lead their team to glory in the next campaign.
#7. Devin Booker - $49.2 million (Phoenix Suns)
Devin Booker has already established himself as one of the league’s brightest stars. Booker will earn around $49.2 million with the 4-year, $220,441,984 contract he signed in 2022.
The deal was signed after Booker played a major role in leading the Suns to the NBA Finals.
#8. Jaylen Brown - $49.2 million (Boston Celtics)
The 2024 NBA Finals MVP will earn around $49.2 million with the 5-year, $285,393,640 contract he signed with the Boston Celtics last year.
#9. Karl-Anthony Towns - $49.2 million (Minnesota Timberwolves)
Karl-Anthony Towns, alongside Anthony Edwards, led a valiant Minnesota Timberwolves to the Western Conference Finals this term, where the Dallas Mavericks beat them. It came after the organization had already put their faith in the center, and he will earn $49,205,800 next season.
Towns signed a 4-year, $220,441,984 contract in 2022 and is the most expensive player in franchise history.
#10. Kawhi Leonard - $49.2 million (LA Clippers)
The LA Clippers signed Kawhi Leonard on a $152 million, three-year deal earlier this year. That puts his salary at around $49.2 million.
Leonard will be hoping to move past the consistent injury troubles that have plagued his career since the ACL tear in 2021.