NBA Player Salaries List Top Earners in 2025
The NBA player salaries list for 2025 shows Stephen Curry as the highest paid player with a salary of about $55.8 million for the 2024-25 season, according to Forbes. The list includes several players earning over $40 million, led by Curry, Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Kevin Durant, reflecting the league's growing salary cap and max contract rules.
The 2025 NBA player salaries list ranks players by base salary, excluding most endorsements and off-court income. The salary cap for the 2024-25 season is set at approximately $140.6 million, with the luxury tax threshold around $178 million, and the highest earners are typically veteran stars on max or near-max deals with long-tenured teams.
Highest Paid NBA Players 2025 and Contract Details
Stephen Curry leads the NBA player salaries list with a 2024-25 salary of about $55.8 million, followed by Joel Embiid at roughly $51.4 million and Nikola Jokic at around $51.4 million as well. These figures come from guaranteed money in the 2024-25 season and do not include performance bonuses or equity deals.
Other top earners include Giannis Antetokounmpo at approximately $54.1 million, Kevin Durant at around $51.2 million, and Jayson Tatum at about $54.1 million, with many of these contracts spanning multiple years and including player options or team options that affect future NBA player salaries list updates. Salary figures are based on base pay reported by teams and the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, and they can be verified through team salary filings and league sources such as NBA Salaries.
NBA Salary Cap, Luxury Tax, and How Player Pay Is Structured
The NBA salary cap for the 2024-25 season is roughly $140.6 million, and teams that exceed the luxury tax threshold of about $178 million face escalating financial penalties under the collective bargaining agreement. The salary cap is calculated as a percentage of basketball-related income, and the NBA player salaries list reflects base salaries that are guaranteed under standard contracts, including rookie deals, veteran minimums, and max contracts.
Most high earners on the NBA player salaries list are on max or near-max contracts that use a tiered percentage of the salary cap, with players who have 10 or more years of experience eligible for higher maximum salaries. Teams also use mechanisms such as sign-and-trade deals, extensions, and supermax contracts to retain stars, and detailed contract breakdowns are available through team salary reports and league databases like Spotrac NBA Salaries.