The 10 Highest Paid NBA Players For The 2023-24 Season

For the first time in the history of the league, an NBA player is set to take home over $50 million for the 2023-24 season. The league has become richer off of its television deals, which has boosted the salary cap, allowing players to be paid like never before.

In 2020-21, there were just three players making north of $40 million for the year, with the highest being Chris Paul at $41.3 million. But today, there are 18 players that are eclipsing the $40 million threshold, and the salaries should only increase as time goes along.

Which NBA Players Will Take Home The Most Money This Year?

So which guys are taking home the most money this year? Here are the 10 highest paid NBA players in terms of total cash for the 2023-24 season:

1. Stephen Curry – Golden State Warriors

$51,915,615

Curry is in the second-season of a four-year extension that pays him a whopping $215 million+ over the duration. He is worth every penny to the Warriors as he continues his brilliant career, but he’ll be nearing the $60 million mark during the 2025-26 season when he is 37 years old.

2. LeBron James – Los Angeles Lakers

$47,607,350

The highest earning NBA player of all time, James comes in at second on the list, about $4 million behind Curry. His deal is for two years, and has a player option for year two, which he will almost certainly opt in to. His salary for 2024-25 will be over $51 million, which will tie him with Embiid and Jokic for the second-most take home money behind Curry.

3. (Tie) Nikola Jokić – Denver Nuggets

$47,607,350

Some believe that he should be the reigning three-time MVP, but there is no denying that Nikola Jokić is perhaps the most dominant player in the sport. He began the year as the favorite to win the most valuable award again, and his team is poised to defend it’s NBA championship. He is in the first season of a five-year extension.

4. (Tie) Joel Embiid – Philadelphia 76ers

$47,607,350

The player that won the MVP award over Jokic last season was Joel Embiid, and the two share identical take home salaries for the year. There are questions about Embiid’s future with the 76ers, but he himself is in the first year of a four-year extension. In 2026-27, Embiid is scheduled to make nearly $60 million.

5. Bradley Beal – Phoenix Suns

$46,741,590

One of the issues that the Wizards had last off-season while looking to trade Bradley Beal was getting someone to take his contract off of their hands. The Suns were willing to do it, adding to their already expensive payroll. Beal has yet to play a game this season through the first three for Phoenix.

6. Kevin Durant – Phoenix Suns

$46,407,433

Making roughly $33,000 less than his teammate, Kevin Durant, comes in at #6. He is in the second season of a four-year deal that he signed with the Brooklyn Nets, which takes him until the age of 37. He is one of three Suns players in the top-25. as Devin Booker will take home the 23rd most amount of money in the NBA this season.

7. (Tie) Damian Lillard – Milwaukee Bucks

$45,640,084

Damian Lillard is the newest member of the Bucks, and the second time Milwaukee shows up in the top-10. The Trail Blazers wanted to move off of his contract in order to begin rebuilding, and the Bucks will take on the $45 million+ that he is scheduled to take home both this year and next.

8. (Tie) Paul George – Los Angeles Clippers

$45,640,084

There were talks in the off-season about whether (or when) the Clippers might move on from Paul George or Kawhi Leonard, or both. George has one of the more expensive contracts in the league, and the team will have to shed his salary if they ever hope to rebuild. The experiment of bringing in the two superstars has been something of a failure, and the time to move on could be on the horizon.

9. (Tie) Kawhi Leonard – Los Angeles Clippers

$45,640,084

The other half of the failed duo, Leonard, will make the same money as George this year. But do either deserve the big pay day given how much time they have missed, and how little time they have spent on the court together? They both have one year left on their deals after this season, meaning that LA could be looking to make one or two finals runs at an NBA championship before starting a rebuild.

10. (Tie) Giannis Antetokounmpo – Milwaukee Bucks

$45,640,084

The second Bucks player on the list, the Greek Freak makes just as much as his Dame Time teammate. He has two years left on his current deal, but just solidified his long-term commitment to the city by inking a three year extension to take him through the 2027-28 season. The final year of his deal will see Antetokounmpo take home a whopping $66 million+.