How Much Do NBA Basketball Players Make?

How much do NBA players make? It’s a question that’s often asked, and for good reason. NBA players are some of the highest-paid athletes in the world, and their salaries continue to rise each year.

So, how much do NBA players make? According to Forbes, the average NBA player earned $7.7 million in the 2018-19 season. The highest-paid player in the league was Stephen Curry, who earned an astonishing $37.46 million.

NBA Salaries

NBA players are among the highest-paid athletes in the world. The average NBA salary is $7.7 million per year. However, some of the league’s biggest stars can earn much more than that. For example, LeBron James is the highest-paid NBA player, earning $35.65 million per year. Kobe Bryant is second, earning $27.8 million per year.

NBA Salary Cap

The NBA salary cap is the limit to the total amount of money that NBA teams are allowed to spend on player salaries. The salary cap is set by the NBA Board of Governors and is based on a percentage of league revenue. For the 2019-20 season, the salary cap is $109 million.

There are a few exceptions to the salary cap, such as the Mid-Level Exception and theBi-Annual Exception, that allow teams to sign players for more money than the cap allows. But overall, the salary cap acts as a way to keep player salaries from getting out of control.

The NBA also has a luxury tax, which is an additional tax that teams have to pay if their team payroll exceeds a certain amount. The luxury tax threshold for the 2019-20 season is $132 million. So if a team has a payroll of $133 million, they would have to pay a luxury tax of $1 million.

NBA Rookie Salary Scale

The NBA rookie salary scale is a set of guidelines used to determine how much first-year players will be paid. It’s based on a percentage of the salary cap, which is the total amount of money that teams are allowed to spend on player salaries. The scale is designed to help control player costs and ensure that teams aren’t spending too much money on unproven players.

Rookies are paid significantly less than veterans, but they can still make a good living. The average salary for a rookie is just over $1 million, but the top rookies can make more than $5 million. The exact amount a player will make depends on where they were drafted and how many years they’ve been in the league.

First-round draft picks are typically the highest-paid rookies, with salaries starting at around $3 million. Second-round picks make less, and players drafted in later rounds typically make the league minimum salary, which is around $500,000.

Players can negotiate for higher salaries, but they are restricted by the rookie salary scale. If they want to make more money, they have to wait until their rookie contract expires and then sign a new deal with their team or another team as a free agent.

NBA Maximum Salaries

In the NBA, a player’s salary is determined by his or her years of experience and the amount of the salary cap. The NBA has a hard salary cap, meaning that teams are not allowed to exceed the salary cap. The salary cap for the 2019-20 season is $109 million.

The NBA has a maximum salary, which is the most a team can pay a player. For the 2019-20 season, the maximum salary is $32,642,000. The maximum salary decreases each year, and will be $25,468,000 for the 2020-21 season.

Players in the NBA are paid twice per month during the regular season, and once per month during the offseason. Basketball players typically earn 10% of their annual salaries during the NBA playoffs.

NBA Players’ Salaries

Depending on the NBA player’s experience, skill level, and market value, they can make a great salary. The average NBA player’s salary is $7.7 million. The minimum salary for an NBA player is $562,493. The maximum salary for an NBA player is $38.2 million. Obviously, there is a great range in what NBA players can make.

NBA All-Star Salaries

The average salary for an NBA player is $7.7 million per year, which is the highest of any major professional sport in the United States. The next highest average salary is for Major League Baseball, where the average player earns $4 million per year. The lowest average salary is for the NHL, where the average player earns $2.4 million per year.

The highest-paid player in the NBA is Kevin Durant, who signed a two-year contract with the Golden State Warriors in 2016 worth $54.3 million. The next highest-paid player is LeBron James, who signed a three-year contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 worth $51 million.

NBA MVP Salaries

Some NBA MVPs take home more than just the MVP trophy–they receive a significant raise in salary the following season. Here are the salaries of some recent NBA MVPs:

2017-2018 season:
James Harden–$28,290,690
Russell Westbrook–$26,540,100
LeBron James–$33,285,709

2016-2017 season:
Russell Westbrook–$26,154,673
James Harden–$26,540,100
LeBron James–$30,963,450

2015-2016 season:
Stephen Curry–$11,370,786
LeBron James–$23,490,490

NBA Finals MVP Salaries

Since the 1950 NBA Finals, 28 different players have been named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP), with only six of them being repeat winners. The first recipient was Lakers guard George Mikan, who helped lead his team to victory in the 1950 finals. He was followed by fellow Lakers player Jerry West, who won the award in 1972.

The highest-paid player in terms of salary is currently LeBron James, who makes $30 million per year with the Los Angeles Lakers. Kevin Durant is next on the list at $26 million, followed by Steph Curry at $24.8 million. All three of these players have won the Finals MVP award multiple times.

Kobe Bryant was the first player to ever be named Finals MVP three times in a row, doing so from 2000 to 2002. He is also the only player to win the award four times total. Other multiple-time winners include Magic Johnson (3), Tim Duncan (3), Shaquille O’Neal (3), Michael Jordan (2), and Hakeem Olajuwon (2).

The average salary for a Finals MVP winner is just over $6 million per year. The lowest-paid MVP winner in terms of salary is still Kobe Bryant, who made just $1 million in 2000 when he first won the award. The highest-paid MVP in terms of total earnings is LeBron James, who has made over $300 million in his career thus far.

How NBA Players’ Salaries are Calculated

NBA players’ salaries are calculated based on a number of factors, including the amount of money the team is generate, the team’s salary cap, the player’s previous salary, and the player’s performance. In addition, players can receive bonuses for playing well, making the All-Star team, or winning the championship.

NBA Salary Cap

The NBA has a salary cap that limits the amount of money that teams can spend on their players’ salaries. The salary cap for the 2019-20 season is $109 million. NBA teams can have up to 15 players on their roster, but only 12 of those players can be active for each game. So, if a team has 13 players under contract, one of them will not be able to play in each game.

NBA Rookie Salary Scale

The NBA’s Rookie Salary Scale was implemented in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association that was signed in July of 2017. The Rookie Salary Scale prevents rookies from being paid more than a set amount based on the draft pick they were selected with. The Rookie Salary Scale does not apply to second round draft picks, who are free to negotiate their own salaries.

The below chart shows the maximum amount each draft pick can make based on their selection in the first round of the NBA Draft, under the Rookie Salary Scale. Keep in mind that these are maximums, and many first round picks will sign for less money.

1st Pick: $7,258,640
2nd Pick: $6,718,360
3rd Pick: $6,178,080
4th Pick: $5,637,800
5th Pick: $5,097,520
6th Pick: $4,557,240
7th Pick: $4,016,960
8th Pick: $3,612,400
9th Pick: $3,365,120
10thPick: $3,194,560

NBA Maximum Salaries

The NBA has a salary cap that is set each season by the league. The salary cap is the maximum amount of money that a team can spend on player salaries for that season. For the 2019-20 season, the salary cap is $109.1 million.

Each team must have a minimum team salary, which is set at 90% of the salary cap. For the 2019-20 season, the minimum team salary is $98.2 million.

Players’ salaries are calculated using a formula that takes into account their years of service and the NBA’s salary cap. The minimum salary for players with 0-6 years of service is $898,310, while the maximum salary for players with 20 years of service or more is $37,457,154.