Who Has The Biggest NBA Contract?

We all know that NBA players make a lot of money, but just who has the biggest contract? Check out our list of the top 10 highest-paid NBA players to find out.

The NBA’s Highest-Paid Players

The 2019-20 NBA season is underway, and with it, some of the biggest contracts in league history. Who are the highest-paid NBA players? Who has the biggest NBA contract? We’re glad you asked!

LeBron James

LeBron James is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in NBA history. At 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 m) and 250 pounds (113 kg), he has played the small forward and power forward positions. LeBron James was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers out of high school with the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft. He played his first professional season in 2003–04, becoming the first teenager in league history to be named NBA Rookie of the Year. By his second season, he had become a starter and helped lead his team to their first playoff appearance since 1998. LeBron James has been a member of the USA men’s national basketball team, winning gold medals in the 2008 Summer Olympics, 2012 Summer Olympics, and 2014 FIBA World Cup.

Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for the University of Texas, and was selected as the second overall pick by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 2007 NBA draft. He played nine seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder organization before signing with the Golden State Warriors in 2016, winning back-to-back championships in 2017 and 2018. After his second title with the Warriors, he injured his Achilles tendon which caused him to miss most of the 2019 NBA Finals and all of the 2019–20 season. In 2020, he signed with the Brooklyn Nets.

Durant has won two NBA championships, an NBA Most Valuable Player Award, four NBA scoring titles, two Olympic gold medals, and a FIBA World Cup gold medal. He has also been selected to nine All-NBA teams and ten NBA All-Star teams. Durant was a heavily recruited high school prospect who was widely regarded as one of the top players in his class. He played one season of college basketball for the University of Texas before being selected by Seattle with the second overall pick in 2007.

In his first season with Oklahoma City, Durant helped lead his team to 55 wins and won Rookie of the Year honors. The following year he raised his scoring average to 25.3 points per game (ppg) and led Oklahoma City to its first playoff berth since moving from Seattle in 2008. He continued improving his play over subsequent seasons and helped lead Oklahoma City to four straight Northwest Division titles between 2010 and 2013; each year Durant was named divisional Player of the Year. In 2012–13 Durant averaged 28.1 ppg while leading Oklahoma City to a 60–22 record; at age 25 he became only the fourth player since 1985–86 (Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant) to average 28 points per game while shooting 50–40–90 from the field over an entire season (field goal shooting percentages rounded up or down).

Russell Westbrook

Westbrook, who is widely considered one of the best point guards in the league, is in the midst of a five-year, $205 million contract extension with the Thunder that he signed in 2017. That pact, which runs through 2022-23, makes him the highest-paid player in the NBA.

In addition to his base salary, Westbrook will earn nearly $47 million in endorsement income this season, according to Forbes. He has endorsement deals with Nike (NKE), 2K Sports and Panini America, among others.

The NBA’s Highest-Paid Teams

In the NBA, the team with the most expensive contract isn’t always the one with the best record. In fact, in many cases, it’s the opposite. Here are the NBA’s highest-paid teams, according to Forbes.

The Golden State Warriors

The Warriors have had a payroll over $100 million in each of the last three seasons. In 2018-19, their total salaries and benefits were an NBA-record $149 million. The Warriors’ current roster features nine players with salaries of at least $10 million.

The Warriors’ highest-paid player is Stephen Curry, who signed a five-year, $201 million extension in 2017. Curry’s annual salary of $34.7 million is the highest in NBA history. Kevin Durant is the Warriors’ second-highest paid player, with an annual salary of $30 million. Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala are all making at least $17 million this season.

The Warriors’ luxury tax bill for the 2018-19 season is an estimated $37.2 million. The team is paying a luxury tax for the sixth consecutive season and will owe an additional $12 million in escrow withholdings to the NBA this season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers have the highest-paid team in the NBA. Their total team salary for the 2019-2020 season is $141,835,250. The Cavs are led by forward Kevin Love, who has a contract worth $120 million over four years. Other top earners on the team include guard Kyrie Irving ($17 million) and center Tristan Thompson ($16.5 million).

The Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets currently have the highest paid team in the NBA. They are led by superstar James Harden, who is in the first year of a four-year, $160 million contract extension. The Rockets also have big contracts for Chris Paul, Eric Gordon, and Ryan Anderson. All told, the Rockets are paying their players nearly $140 million this season.

The NBA’s Highest-Paid Coaches

In the NBA, the coach with the most wins doesn’t always take home the biggest paycheck. Several factors contribute to a coach’s salary, including the size of the market, the winning percentage, and the number of years with the team. So, who are the NBA’s highest-paid coaches?

Doc Rivers

Rivers is in his 21st season as an NBA head coach, and he has never been afraid to speak his mind. After leading the Boston Celtics to the NBA title in 2008, Rivers didn’t shy away from saying that he believed he was the best coach in the league. He backed up those words by winning a second title in 2010.

Rivers is now the highest-paid coach in the NBA, thanks to a five-year contract extension he signed with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2017. The extension is worth $50 million, which means Rivers will make an average of $10 million per season through the 2021-22 campaign.

Rivers’ annual salary puts him ahead of Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs ($11 million), who was previously the highest-paid coach in the NBA. Popovich has won five NBA titles with the Spurs, but he has never made more than $10 million in a single season.

Gregg Popovich

Gregg Popovich is an American basketball coach who is currently the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is also the former head coach of the United States men’s national basketball team, whom he led to the gold medal at the 2014 FIBA World Cup. Popovich has been described as one of the greatest and most respected coaches in NBA history.

On May 5, 2014, Popovich agreed to a five-year contract extension with the Spurs. The contract extension is worth $40 million and will keep Popovich with the Spurs through 2019. This made him the highest-paid coach in the NBA at that time.

Steve Kerr

Steve Kerr is an American professional basketball head coach of the Golden State Warriors in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is also a former player. Kerr helped the Chicago Bulls win three NBA championships during his playing career, was a member of the United States national team that won a gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics, and served as general manager of the Phoenix Suns from 2007 to 2010. He is renowned for his shooting ability and holds several NBA shooting records.

On May 14, 2014, the Warriors hired Kerr to replace Mark Jackson as head coach. On June 4, 2015, he led the Warriors to a record-setting regular season with 67 wins and was named NBA Coach of the Year. The Warriors went on to win the 2015 NBA Finals, making Kerr just the fourth rookie coach in NBA history to win a championship. On April 13, 2016, he set an NBA record for most wins in a season by a rookie coach when he notched his 73rd win against his former team, the Suns.