Stephen Curry is the highest-paid NBA player in the 2026-27 season, with a Golden State Warriors salary of about $62.6 million. This ranking orders NBA players by their salary for the current 2026-27 season, the number teams actually pay this year, rather than by contract averages. Endorsements are left out of the figure and covered separately where they are well documented.
The ten names are packed into a band just $6 million wide, between Jimmy Butler at about $56.8 million and Curry at the top. Three players earn the identical maximum salary of about $58.46 million.
| Rank | Name | Team | 2026-27 salary (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Jimmy Butler | Golden State Warriors | about $56.8 million |
| 9 | Karl-Anthony Towns | New York Knicks | about $57.1 million |
| 8 | Devin Booker | Phoenix Suns | about $57.1 million |
| 7 | Jaylen Brown | Philadelphia 76ers | about $57.7 million |
| 6 | Joel Embiid | Philadelphia 76ers | about $58 million |
| 5 | Anthony Davis | Washington Wizards | $58.46 million |
| 4 | Jayson Tatum | Boston Celtics | $58.46 million |
| 3 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | Miami Heat | $58.46 million |
| 2 | Nikola Jokic | Denver Nuggets | about $59 million |
| 1 | Stephen Curry | Golden State Warriors | about $62.6 million |
10. Jimmy Butler: $56.8 million
Jimmy Butler went 30th overall in 2011, the final pick of the first round, and spent years being underestimated. Chicago, Minnesota, Philadelphia and Miami all got a version of him before Golden State traded for him in February 2025.
The trade came with a two-year, $111 million extension, and this season is the second year of it. Off the court he runs Bigface, a coffee brand that started as a joke in the 2020 bubble and became a business.
His spot is the 2026-27 salary on that extension, as listed in October 2026 salary tables.
9. Karl-Anthony Towns: $57.1 million
The first pick of the 2015 draft signed a five-year, $220 million supermax with Minnesota in 2022. Two years later the Timberwolves traded him to New York, where he arrived with all of that contract intact.
He is tied with Booker on salary this season. The Knicks face a decision on what comes next, and one estimate puts the floor for any new deal near $55 million a year.
Two separate salary lists give the same figure for this season under the 2022 supermax.
8. Devin Booker: $57.1 million
Devin Booker is the rare modern star who has spent his entire career with the team that drafted him. Phoenix took him 13th in 2015, and he has been the face of the franchise through coaching changes and several blockbuster trades around him.
His current salary comes from his supermax extension, and the Suns have since extended him again into the 2029-30 season. He also has a Nike signature shoe, one of a small number of active players with that status.
Our number is this season’s pay, which ties Towns to the dollar.
7. Jaylen Brown: $57.7 million
Brown signed what was then the richest contract in NBA history in July 2023, five years and $304 million with Boston. A year later he was Finals MVP. Now he plays for Philadelphia after a trade from Boston, carrying that same contract down the road.
He is one of two 76ers in the top ten, which makes Philadelphia’s payroll one of the heaviest in the league at the top.
Three salary lists published between August and October 2026 agree on roughly $57.7 million for this season.
6. Joel Embiid: $58 million
The 2023 MVP signed a three-year, $193 million extension with Philadelphia in September 2024, and 2026-27 is the first season of that new money. Embiid has spent his whole career with the 76ers, who drafted him third overall in 2014.
Salary sources list his pay at between about $57.7 million and $58 million this season depending on the source, a small gap we flag rather than paper over.
We used the higher figure from the league’s salary table, with the lower one in our notes.
5. Anthony Davis: $58.46 million
Anthony Davis is on his third team since early 2025. The Lakers sent him to Dallas in the trade for Luka Doncic, and he has since landed in Washington, where the Wizards are building around him and Trae Young.
His three-year, $186 million extension from 2023 pays him the maximum this season. The 2012 first overall pick also won a title with the Lakers in 2020.
His salary matches Tatum’s and Antetokounmpo’s exactly; we list the three as tied, ordered by career honors.
4. Jayson Tatum: $58.46 million
In July 2024, Jayson Tatum signed a five-year, $314 million supermax with Boston, at the time the largest contract in league history. It followed the Celtics’ 2024 championship.
He is now the clear centre of Boston’s roster after the Jaylen Brown trade. Tatum also has his own signature shoe with Jordan Brand.
Every source we checked puts him at the shared maximum for this season.
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo: $58.46 million
The biggest move of the 2026 offseason sent Giannis Antetokounmpo from Milwaukee to Miami, where he joins Bam Adebayo. He arrived with a three-year, $186 million extension signed in 2023.
A two-time MVP and the 2021 Finals MVP, he went 15th in 2013 out of the Greek second division. His Nike signature line, the Zoom Freak, is one of the steadiest endorsement deals in the sport.
Three salary sources list him at the same figure as Davis and Tatum.
2. Nikola Jokic: $59 million
A second-round pick, 41st in 2014, announced during a commercial break, Nikola Jokic now earns more than every player in the league but one. The five-year supermax he signed in 2022 was the richest deal in league history at the time.
He has won three MVP awards and the 2023 championship with Denver. Off the court he spends money on harness racing horses back in Serbia rather than chasing endorsement deals.
Every list we opened shows about $59 million for him this season, all of it from the 2022 supermax.
1. Stephen Curry: $62.6 million
Stephen Curry is the first NBA player to earn more than $60 million in a single season. In August 2024 the Warriors added a one-year, $62.6 million extension for 2026-27 to the four-year, $215 million deal he signed in 2021.
The seventh pick in 2009 has spent his whole career in Golden State, winning four titles and two MVP awards. He has also built a business outside basketball, including the production company Unanimous Media.
The $62.6 million comes straight from that extension, confirmed in the league’s salary table and two other October 2026 lists.
Just outside the top 10
- Paul George, Boston Celtics: about $54.1 million in 2026-27.
- Kawhi Leonard, Toronto Raptors: about $50.3 million.
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder: his four-year, $285 million supermax extension only begins in 2027-28, when it will pay about $71 million a year, the highest average in NBA history.
- LeBron James, Philadelphia 76ers: after about $53 million in his final Lakers season, he reportedly took roughly $8 million over two seasons to join Philadelphia for a record 24th season.
How NBA max money works
NBA pay at the top is set by formula. A maximum contract is a fixed share of the salary cap, and the share grows with experience: 25 percent for players with fewer than seven years in the league, 30 percent for seven to nine years, and 35 percent for ten years or more. Supermax deals let teams offer the 35 percent tier earlier to players who win MVP or make All-NBA teams.
That is why so many salaries on this list land within cents of each other. Curry and Jokic sit above the pack because of when their deals were signed and the annual raises built into them.
What the highest-paid NBA players have in common
- The max sets a ceiling. NBA salaries are capped as a percentage of the salary cap, which is why three players earn the identical $58.46 million and the whole top ten sits within about $6 million.
- Trades no longer change the money. Giannis, Davis, Brown, Towns and Butler all now play for teams other than the ones that signed them. The contracts travel with the player.
- Draft slot matters little. The list includes a second-round pick at number two, a 15th pick at number three and a 30th pick at number ten.
- The next jump is already signed. Gilgeous-Alexander’s extension will push the top salary past $70 million in 2027-28, so this list will look very different in a year.
FAQ
Who is the highest-paid NBA player in 2026-27?
Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, at about $62.6 million for the 2026-27 season.
Who has the biggest NBA contract by annual value?
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s four-year, $285 million extension with Oklahoma City, which begins in 2027-28 and averages about $71 million a year.
How much does the 10th highest-paid NBA player make?
Jimmy Butler earns about $56.8 million with the Golden State Warriors in 2026-27.
Why do several players earn exactly the same salary?
Maximum contracts are set as a percentage of the salary cap, so players signed to the same tier of max deal often earn identical amounts.
How much is LeBron James paid in 2026-27?
He reportedly signed with the Philadelphia 76ers for about $8 million over two seasons, far below his previous salary.
Do these figures include endorsements?
No. The ranking uses NBA salary only. Shoe deals and other endorsements, such as Antetokounmpo’s Nike line or Tatum’s Jordan Brand shoe, are extra.
How we ranked pay
Our rankings are based on public contract reporting, team and school disclosures, and salary databases, all compiled in an internal pay model. Unless we say otherwise, we rank by the average annual value of each current contract and leave endorsements out of the number. Figures are approximate and can change quickly as new deals are signed.
Keep reading
- Earned income vs capital gains: why high salaries pay more tax
- How rich people get paid forever
- 15 things that change once you get rich
Last updated: November 2026.
