$62,587,158. That is Stephen Curry’s salary for the 2026-27 NBA season, according to Basketball-Reference’s contract table. No player has been paid more for one season. It is also 37.9% of the league’s $164.961 million salary cap, more than the 35% the collective bargaining agreement allows a new max contract to start at.
Below is the full top 25, plus what the table says about how NBA money is shared out. We counted all 461 contracts in Basketball-Reference’s table as it stood on October 28, 2026. Every salary here is the figure printed there, and every percentage is our own arithmetic.
The top 25 NBA salaries in 2026-27
| Rank | Player | Team | 2026-27 salary | Share of cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stephen Curry | Warriors | $62,587,158 | 37.9% |
| 2 | Nikola Jokić | Nuggets | $59,033,114 | 35.8% |
| 3 | Jayson Tatum | Celtics | $58,456,566 | 35.4% |
| 3 | Anthony Davis | Wizards | $58,456,566 | 35.4% |
| 3 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | Heat | $58,456,566 | 35.4% |
| 6 | Joel Embiid | 76ers | $58,100,000 | 35.2% |
| 7 | Jaylen Brown | 76ers | $57,078,728 | 34.6% |
| 7 | Devin Booker | Suns | $57,078,728 | 34.6% |
| 7 | Karl-Anthony Towns | Knicks | $57,078,728 | 34.6% |
| 10 | Jimmy Butler | Warriors | $56,832,773 | 34.5% |
| 11 | Paul George | Celtics | $54,126,380 | 32.8% |
| 12 | Kawhi Leonard | Raptors | $50,300,000 | 30.5% |
| 13 | Donovan Mitchell | Cavaliers | $50,105,628 | 30.4% |
| 13 | Cade Cunningham | Pistons | $50,105,628 | 30.4% |
| 13 | Evan Mobley | Cavaliers | $50,105,628 | 30.4% |
| 13 | Jamal Murray | Nuggets | $50,105,628 | 30.4% |
| 17 | De’Aaron Fox | Spurs | $49,800,000 | 30.2% |
| 17 | Bam Adebayo | Heat | $49,800,000 | 30.2% |
| 17 | Luka Dončić | Lakers | $49,800,000 | 30.2% |
| 20 | Trae Young | Wizards | $49,488,300 | 30.0% |
| 21 | Jaren Jackson Jr. | Jazz | $49,000,000 | 29.7% |
| 22 | Zach LaVine | Kings | $48,967,380 | 29.7% |
| 23 | Anthony Edwards | Timberwolves | $48,924,624 | 29.7% |
| 23 | Tyrese Haliburton | Pacers | $48,924,624 | 29.7% |
| 23 | Pascal Siakam | Pacers | $48,924,624 | 29.7% |
Share of cap = 2026-27 salary ÷ $164,961,000, the cap the NBA set on June 30, 2026.
Ties are not a coincidence. Max contracts are written as a percentage of the cap in the year they start, with the same raises each year. So players who signed comparable deals in the same summer land on identical numbers. Tatum, Davis and Antetokounmpo are each paid exactly $58,456,566.
Five things the full table shows
1. Sixteen players clear $50 million. We counted 16 players at $50 million or more, 44 at $40 million or more and 67 at $30 million or more. Only one, Curry, is above $60 million. Next season that changes: Basketball-Reference already lists ten players above $60 million for 2027-28, led by Jokić at $62.8 million. Curry is not one of them: his salary drops to $55.7 million.
2. The top 25 earn 22% of the league’s payroll. The 461 contracts in the table add up to $6.04 billion for 2026-27. The ten biggest take 9.7% of that, the top 25 take 22.0% and the top 50 take 39.0%.
3. The typical NBA player makes $6.75 million. The median salary in the table is $6,754,800. The mean is $13.1 million, almost twice as high, because the top of the scale pulls it up. Ninety-three contracts pay under $2.5 million.
4. The two-time MVP ranks 39th. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won his second straight MVP in 2026 and is paid $40,806,150 this season, 39th in the league. He is still on the five-year rookie extension he signed in 2021. His record four-year, $285 million extension, agreed on July 1, 2025, starts next season at $61,005,000. It is the clearest example in the league of salary lagging behind performance. It runs both ways: Victor Wembanyama is paid $16.9 million on his rookie scale this year, and his five-year, $252 million extension jumps him to $43.5 million in 2027-28.
5. The richest player in the league is 305th. LeBron James is paid $3,876,529 by the Philadelphia 76ers, 305th of 461. That is the two-year, roughly $8 million deal we covered when he signed it in July. His income has hardly moved, because almost none of it is salary.
Salary is not earnings
Forbes publishes the other version of this list. Its 2026 ranking of the highest-paid NBA players, by Brett Knight and republished by Yahoo Sports on October 20, adds an estimate of each player’s off-court income (endorsements, licensing, appearances and businesses) to his 2026-27 salary. Taxes and agents’ fees are not deducted.
| Forbes rank | Player | Total | Salary | Off-court (estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stephen Curry | $203.6M | $62.6M | $141M |
| 2 | Kevin Durant | $104.9M | $43.9M | $61M |
| 3 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | $103.5M | $58.5M | $45M |
| 4 | LeBron James | $93.9M | $3.9M | $90M |
| 5 | Anthony Edwards | $87.9M | $48.9M | $39M |
| 6 | Jayson Tatum | $86.5M | $58.5M | $28M |
| 7 | Jimmy Butler | $70.8M | $56.8M | $14M |
| 7 | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | $70.8M | $40.8M | $30M |
| 9 | Devin Booker | $68.1M | $57.1M | $11M |
| 10 | Joel Embiid | $68.0M | $58.0M | $10M |
Read the two lists together and the gaps are the point. Curry’s off-court estimate is more than twice his salary, driven by the reported 10-year, $400 million Li-Ning partnership he signed in June. Forbes calls him the first active NBA player to earn more than $200 million in a year. Anthony Edwards is 23rd by salary and fifth in Forbes. Nikola Jokić, second by salary, is not in Forbes’ top ten at all. With a $59.0 million salary and a $68.0 million cutoff, that puts Forbes’ estimate of his off-court income below $9 million.
Methodology
- Source. Every salary comes from the Players table on Basketball-Reference’s NBA contracts page, which the site marked as updated on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.
- Season. “2026-27 salary” is the first salary column in that table. It is what the player is owed for the 2026-27 season, not a contract’s average annual value.
- Counting. We parsed all 461 rows in the table. The totals, medians, shares and threshold counts above are our own arithmetic on those rows. Two-way and other contracts not in the table are not counted.
- Cap share. Each salary is divided by the $164,961,000 cap the NBA announced on June 30, 2026 (our cap explainer has the full thresholds).
- Earnings. Forbes’ figures are Forbes’ estimates. We quote them as published and attribute them.
The bottom line
The NBA’s pay scale is set by a formula, and the formula lags. That is why the best player in the league, by two straight MVP votes, ranks 39th by salary while the league’s all-time leading scorer is on a near-minimum deal. Next season’s table already shows the gap closing: Gilgeous-Alexander’s $61 million arrives in 2027-28, along with nine other $60 million salaries. To see how all of this adds up at the team level, including who is paying the luxury tax, read our 2026-27 NBA team payroll rankings.
More from Absolute Baller:
- NBA Salary Cap 2026-27 Explained: $164.961M Cap, Two Aprons
- NBA Team Payrolls 2026-27: Who Pays the Luxury Tax
- Stephen Curry Net Worth 2026
- Nikola Jokić Turned Down $278M — He Wants $359.5M Instead
- 2026’s Biggest Sports Contracts, Ranked
- The World’s 10 Highest-Paid Athletes in 2026
Frequently Asked
Who is the highest-paid NBA player in 2026-27?
Stephen Curry. His 2026-27 salary with the Golden State Warriors is $62,587,158, according to Basketball-Reference's contract table, making him the first NBA player paid more than $60 million for a single season. Nikola Jokić is second at $59,033,114.
How many NBA players make $50 million a year?
Sixteen players have a 2026-27 salary of $50 million or more, according to our count of Basketball-Reference's contract table on October 28, 2026. Forty-four make $40 million or more, and 67 make $30 million or more.
Why is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander not the highest-paid NBA player?
His current deal is the five-year rookie extension he signed in 2021, which pays him $40,806,150 in 2026-27, 39th in the league. The record four-year, $285 million extension he agreed to on July 1, 2025 starts in 2027-28, when Basketball-Reference lists his salary at $61,005,000. Counting endorsements, Forbes ranks him tied for seventh among NBA earners in 2026 at $70.8 million.
How much is LeBron James paid in 2026-27?
LeBron James is paid $3,876,529 by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2026-27, per Basketball-Reference, which ranks 305th of the 461 contracts in its table. Forbes still estimates his total 2026 earnings at $93.9 million, because $90 million of it comes from off-court business.
What percentage of the salary cap does the highest-paid NBA player take?
Stephen Curry's $62.6 million salary equals 37.9% of the NBA's 2026-27 salary cap of $164.961 million. That is above the 35% maximum tier for 10-year veterans because his salary comes from an extension signed under an earlier cap, with annual raises built in.