With the 2025 NBA season coming to a close, it’s worth looking back at the players who were paid the most. The list may surprise you, as MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and several other young stars’ contracts have yet to either be put on the table or don’t kick in until next season or beyond.
However, Gilgeous-Alexander was rewarded after his honorable season that led to an NBA championship for the Oklahoma City Thunder, receiving a record-breaking four-year, $285 million deal. The contract will kick in during the 2026-27 season with an average salary of $71 million — roughly $16 million more than the highest salary this past season.
Among this list there are a number of aging superstars on huge deals for their long-time teams — none more pronounced than the player who raked in the highest salary during the 2024-25 season.
1) Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors | $55,761,216
A two-time MVP and four-time NBA champion, Stephen Curry is the highest-paid player in the NBA despite being 37 years old. While he has shown signs of decline in recent seasons, he’s still regarded as the best shooter in the league and the engine behind the Golden State Warriors’ offense.
Two-time MVP Steph Curry has agreed on a four-year, $215M contract extension with the Golden State Warriors, making him the first player in history to sign two career $200 million-plus deals, his agent Jeff Austin of @OctagonBsktball tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 3, 2021
Curry signed a one-year, $62.5 million extension that will kick in during the 2026-27 season, making him the first player to earn more than $60 million in a single season.
T2) Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers | $51,415,938
Tied for second place is Joel Embiid, who was honored as the 2023 MVP and has long been one of the top players in the NBA. Embiid has a tremendous combination of skill and power, allowing him to score at will.
The only negative to him as a player is his lack of durability. Embiid has never played more than 68 games in a season for his career and played just a combined 58 games the past two seasons due to injuries, making this contract rather large for a player who struggles to stay available.
T2) Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets | $51,415,938
Somehow, Nikola Jokić makes his five-year, $276 million deal seem like a bargain, as his skill set allows every other player to thrive while playing alongside the Serbian superstar.
A three-time MVP, Jokić averaged a triple-double this season — 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 10.2 assists per game. He is considered by many as the best basketball player in the world.
4) Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns | $51,179,021
The 36-year-old Kevin Durant is still reeling in the checks as the NBA’s fourth-highest paid player despite being arguably the second option — behind Devin Booker — on a team that missed the play-in tournament this season.
Nevertheless, Durant is still easily one of the purest, most efficient scorers in the league. This past season, he averaged 26.6 points on 52.7% from the field, 43% from 3-point range, and 83.9% from the free-throw line.
5) Bradley Beal, Phoenix Suns | $50,203,930
In 2022, Bradley Beal signed a five-year, $251 million deal with the Washington Wizards. That soon fell through, though, and he was dealt to the Phoenix Suns in the summer of 2023, where his tenure has been a massive disappointment.
Along with being paid the fifth-highest salary, Beal has a no-trade clause. He has since dipped below 20 points per game over the past two seasons, making his contract one of the biggest albatrosses in the NBA.
6) Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers | $49,350,000
Kawhi Leonard is yet another star who is often injured, yet is able to reach a level that not many players in the NBA can. The first season of Leonard’s three-year, $149 million deal resulted in him playing in just 37 regular-season games, although he was healthy for seven of the Los Angeles Clippers’ playoff games (averaged 25.0 ppg), a massive step forward as he’s battled injuries.
Regardless, Leonard has molded himself into a tremendous scorer with killer instincts.
T7) Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns | $49,205,800
The third Sun on the list and one of four players being paid the exact same salary, Booker has played 10 NBA seasons and is still just 28 years old after going one-and-done out of Kentucky.
Booker has long established himself as one of the top two-guards in the league. He can score the ball at will while finding open looks for teammates and competing on the defensive end. Amidst a four-year, $220 million deal, he remains loyal to Phoenix.
T7) Paul George, Philadelphia 76ers | $49,205,800
Alongside Embiid, Paul George struggled mightily with injuries this season, appearing in just 41 games and scoring 16.2 points on average — his lowest output since the 2014-15 season.
A pure scorer by nature, George’s game should age better as he gets older. But approaching his age-35 season, this four-year, $211 million deal he signed last summer as a free agent looks much worse now than it did.
T7) Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks | $49,205,800
Undoubtedly one of the most talented and best shooting big men that the sport has ever seen, it’s unexplainable at times how Karl-Anthony Towns leaves teammates, coaches, and media members alike wanting more.
Karl-Anthony Towns trailing 3s pic.twitter.com/TXMnY1CCTM
— TownsMuse (@TownsMuse) June 8, 2025
The Minnesota Timberwolves wanted off Towns’ four-year, $220 million contract so much that they shipped him to the New York Knicks. Though he enjoyed a solid year stats-wise in New York, he faltered in the playoffs (as he’s done before), bringing into question if he should be paid this much.
T7) Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics | $49,205,800
The 2024 Finals MVP, Jaylen Brown is in the first year of his massive five-year, $285 million contract that he signed in 2023. Though a steep price for a player who’s arguably the second fiddle to fellow forward Jayson Tatum, the title speaks for itself, as does his three career All-Star appearances — a number that will likely grow.
11) Jimmy Butler III, Golden State Warriors | $48,798,677
Jimmy Butler III signed a three-year, $146 million deal with the Miami Heat, seemingly hoping to stay with the franchise for the rest of his career. Clearly, that did not happen as his months-long bickering match with the franchise resulted in a trade to the Warriors.
Butler was well worth the money in Golden State. The Warriors reached the second round of the playoffs and now appear to have a nucleus with Draymond Green behind Curry to give one more run at a title.
T12) Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks | $48,787,676
Giannis Antetokounmpo has long proven himself as one of the best players in the NBA, highlighted by him engineering the Milwaukee Bucks’ 2021 title run in which the two-time regular-season MVP also claimed Finals MVP.
In the middle of Antetokounmpo’s prime — having averaged 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game this season — his contract is a bargain despite nearing $50 million.
T12) Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks | $48,787,676
Damian Lillard’s four-year, $176 million contract with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2021 just so happened to be the same salary as his teammate’s in Milwaukee. Lillard was traded to the Bucks after seeking a trade in the summer of 2023. Though still a tremendous player, he hasn’t quite met expectations in Milwaukee and faces a long road to recovery after tearing his Achilles in the postseason.
14) LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers | $48,728,845
The 40-year-old LeBron James continues to defy Father Time and chug along to another dominant season. He averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 8.2 assists for the Los Angeles Lakers this season, elevating the play of everyone around him.
James’ two-year, $101 million deal has a player option for next season at $52 million if he decides to opt in. He could also opt out and re-sign for another one-plus-one deal, keeping his retirement plans open.
15) Zach LaVine, Sacramento Kings | $44,531,940
Zach LaVine’s five-year, $215 million contract had been a pain for the Chicago Bulls to attempt trading, as he’d seemingly been on the trade block since signing the deal. Chicago finally found a partner in the Sacramento Kings, who welcomed the outside shooting and dynamic off-the-dribble skill set that LaVine brings to the table.
However, it still remains one of the worst salary contract values in the NBA, as he hasn’t made an All-Star team since 2022.
16) Rudy Gobert, Minnesota Timberwolves | $43,827,587
Rudy Gobert’s four Defensive Player of the Year awards — tied for the most in NBA history — speak for themselves. He’s one of the best defensive cogs that the game has seen.
While Gobert doesn’t bring much to the table offensively, the Timberwolves finished last season as the fifth-ranked scoring defense, a direct representation of Gobert and proving that he was worthy of the five-year, $205 million deal the Utah Jazz gave him before dealing him to Minnesota.
17) Anthony Davis, Dallas Mavericks | $43,219,440
When Anthony Davis signed his five-year, $189 million contract with the Lakers in 2020, he didn’t believe that he’d end the final year as a member of the Dallas Mavericks. But that’s exactly what happened.
Davis was famously traded as part of the Luka Dončić deal. He now gives Dallas a terrific defensive presence down low and a versatile scorer at the pivot.
T18) Luka Dončić, Los Angeles Lakers | $43,031,940
Dallas’ management got out of paying Dončić a top-20 salary and injury risk by shipping him off to Los Angeles. The Lakers, meanwhile, were overjoyed to take his contract on and look poised to keep the five-time All-NBA first-team selection, crafty scorer, and flashy passer happy for years to come.
T18) Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks | $43,031,940
Though Trae Young is a four-time All-Star and has shooting skills that only a select few in the NBA can emulate, his five-year, $215 million contract is seen as rather large for a small guard who gets hunted on defense in the postseason. The Atlanta Hawks made the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021 but haven’t made it out of the first round since, raising questions about his future with the team.
20) Fred VanVleet, Houston Rockets | $42,846,615
When Fred VanVleet signed his three-year, $128 million deal with the Houston Rockets ahead of the 2023-24 season, it was widely regarded as an understandable overpay for an accomplished veteran point guard who can score the ball and run the offense for a young team yet to scratch the surface of its potential.
Nevertheless, VanVleet has been a perfect fit in Houston, offering those exact things, and looks poised to stay with the franchise for the future.
T21) Lauri Markkanen, Utah Jazz | $42,176,400
Undoubtedly, the top player on the rebuilding Jazz, Lauri Markkanen’s four-year, $195 million deal that he signed last summer raised some eyebrows as potentially a long-term commitment in Utah. A year later, he’s seen as a potential trade chip, as every team in the league could use a seven-foot wing who can shoot the 3 or break defenders down off the dribble.
T21) Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves | $42,176,400
In the second year of his five-year, $244 million deal that kicked in before last season, Anthony Edwards has far exceeded any previous expectations. The past two seasons have resulted in the Timberwolves overachieving in reaching the Western Conference Finals.
Anthony Edwards is the most EXCITING young star in the NBA 🔥 pic.twitter.com/jD8mRn6PwA
— 🐜🐺 (@HoodiiAnt_) June 14, 2025
Predicted to take up under 30% of Minnesota’s cap space for the final three years, it’s a major bargain deal for the Timberwolves despite the rather high number.
T23) Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers | $42,176,000
Like Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton has delivered tremendous returns on his five-year, $244 million rookie extension that began last season. He’s spearheaded the offense to two consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearances and an NBA Finals appearance this year. Though not as dynamic a scorer as many would like him to be, Haliburton makes the game easier for his teammates and is in complete control of the game at all times.
T23) Pascal Siakam, Indiana Pacers | $42,176,000
Lined up with Haliburton salary-wise, Pascal Siakam came over to the Indiana Pacers via trade from the Toronto Raptors and promptly signed a four-year, $188 million extension.
Siakam is an excellent fit for Indiana, offering them a go-to scorer on the wing when the game slows down and a versatile, lengthy defender who has done it all at the highest level (2019 NBA champion).
25) Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks | $41,000,000
The Mavericks took a massive leap of faith by trading for Kyrie Irving from the Brooklyn Nets in February 2023, as his reputation had taken a massive hit. But after half a season of showing he was a competent sidekick to Dončić, Dallas’ management rewarded him with a brand new three-year, $120 million deal. Now with the trade of Doncic, they’re even more all-in on the Irving business despite him tearing his Achilles to end his 2025 campaign.
