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How Much Do NBA Players Make?

If you have been keeping up with the NBA for a little while, you would know that these players get paid a LOT of money. It doesn’t seem to matter what position you play; chances are teams will shell out some major cash to add you on their roster. With the salary cap increasing each season, the average amount of money that players are making keeps on rising.

How Much Do NBA Players Make? The average NBA Salary for the 2020-21 season was $7million. The highest paid player was Steph Curry who made $46million, the lowest paid player was Mo Wagner of the Orlando Magic who earned “just” $222,000 for a full NBA season. All 3 of these numbers will likely continue to rise year on year as the NBA continues to generate more and more revenue and the salary cap rises.

Now that you are aware of the average salary of NBA players, what players make the most amount of money? Can taxes take up a large portion of that money?

NBA Players Could Face Heavy Taxes

For NBA stars it really just depends upon the state that the players are playing in as to how much tax they will face.. There are reports that mention that some states don’t enforce a tax on NBA players while others like California charge nearly 14 percent in annual tax rates. There have even been a few examples created back in 2019 that showcase where these players’ salaries go straight away due to taxes and other fees. If the average salary for a single season was $7 million, and a player was on any team except for the Toronto Raptors. They would be hit with a very rough federal income tax immediately. That tax could wipe away $2.5 million out of that seven straight away. Then, the state income taxes, jock taxes and agent fees will take about another million away from their salaries. In almost the blink of an eye, the player sees their contracts start out at $7 million, only to fly all the way down to $3.7 million. In particular Miami, Orlando and the Texas teams hold an advantage as there is no state tax applicable to players that sign there. Even after taxes NBA players are still making a very large amount of money just from their day job, let alone endorsements and other business deals, but it definitely isn’t as much as you think after seeing all of these wild headlines for contracts. Speaking of those headlines, what players make the most amount of money right now?

Biggest Contracts in the NBA Currently?

There is a growing number of players in the league that are picking up max contracts. I guess that is just something that happens when the amount of talent in the league rapidly increases over the years. Among all of the players in the league for this current season, none surpass Steph Curry. The legendary point guard for the Golden State Warriors will be making the most annual money in 2022, raking in $45 million. Surprisingly, there are a number of players directly behind him in these standings. James Harden, the shooting guard on the Philadelphia 76ers, is making $44 million this season. The next two players on this list are arguably the most shocking of them all. John Wall will be making the third highest amount of money this year due to the ridiculously large contract he signed a few years ago on the Washington Wizards. Wall is set to make the exact same amount of money as Harden. Then, about $100,000 below Wall comes Russell Westbrook. That’s right, Westbrook is coming off one of his worst seasons since joining the NBA yet he is being paid handsomely for it. Finally, we come to the fifth largest contract just to round it all out. Now, like Curry, this contract makes complete and total sense. Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets is right here with a salary of $42 million. Some of you may even be wondering, where is LeBron James? Well, James actually makes a little less money than all of those guys mentioned at $41 million. Over the course of the next few seasons, I think that there will for sure be another player at the top of this list. Giannis Antetokounmpo just signed a very large extension himself not too long ago. Luka Doncic could be on his way there as well.

How Much Do Players Make Per Game?

If we assume that all players are making approximately $7.5 million a year, then we can determine how much money the average NBA player rakes in. It has been mentioned that players in the league get paid on the 1st and the 15th of every month throughout the entire 82-game regular season. Using that league average salary, players would be receiving $91,463 per game that they play. Which means somebody can walk out onto the court and register 15 minutes of game time, yet walk away with nearly $100,000 in their pocket from the performance. When you look at some of the biggest known stars in the game, those numbers get even more ridiculous. Let’s head back to the guys we just mentioned who have the largest contracts in the league at the moment. Steph Currys makes roughly $558,304 in every single game that he plays. Russel Westbrook makes $539,000 himself, just under Curry. Harden is similarly right under Westbrook with $534,000. Then finally, we come to a really close fourth and fifth with LeBron James and Kevin Durant. The King is making $502,000 a game while Durant trails at $499,000. Now again, these players don’t have to perform up to a certain standard. It doesn’t even matter if they don’t play in the game due to injuries or they get benched. The player is still set to earn his contract money unless they are holding out from playing. Just look at John Wall, he hasn’t played all season and yet is set to bring in a total of $41 million at the end of the season.