Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Average NBA Salary In 2025 – How Much Do NBA Players Make?

Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world, and certainly the most popular worldwide of North America’s big four sports. From high school basketball to March Madness to the NBA, America loves its hoops, and so does the rest of the world. Leagues and teams across Europe and Asia are growing, and some of the NBA’s biggest stars have come from overseas.

The NBA’s surging popularity and star power have done wonders for the popularity of the game, and the league has big earnings to show for it. The average NBA franchise is now worth $1.3 billion, with the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, and Golden State Warriors all topping $2.5 billion in value. The value is also reflected in its players’ salaries, as NBA players outearn their counterparts from other sports.

Average Salary for NBA Players In 2025 – $9.6 Million

The NBA has a cap-based system that they use for the players’ salaries. Each season, the league sets a minimum and maximum spending cap, which determines how much they’re allowed to play their athletes.

For the 2022-23 season, the salary cap is set at $123.66 million, which is a 10% increase from last year’s $112.4 million salary cap. However, this is only a “soft cap”; there are certain exceptions written into the CBA, which allow teams to spend above this amount, one example being the mid-level exception (MLE)

With the MLE, NBA teams can go beyond the salary cap to sign free agents. Currently, there are three types of mid-level exceptions: the non-taxpayer mid-level exception for teams under the $10.49 million luxury tax limit, the room exception for teams under the soft cap ($5.4 million), and the taxpayer mid-level exception for teams above the $6.48 million tax limit.

There’s also a “salary floor”, which determines the minimum amount that must be spent on the team payroll. As of 2025, it’s set at $111.30 million—approximately 90 percent of the cap.

For the 2022-23 season, the average salary for an NBA player is $9.6 million. This figure is based on 453 signings and excludes 10-day and two-way contracts.

For the 2023-24 season, the NBA’s salary cap is projected to be $134 million, which is $10.4 higher than the current season.

The Highest Paid NBA Players In 2025

Currently, 32.5 percent of players make above the league average while 14.1 percent earn more than $20 million. At the end of the day, it not only depends on the annual cap limits but on each player’s service and experience in the league as well.

For those who are wondering, here are some of the top earners in the NBA.

1. Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors) – $48 Million

Stephen Curry is often regarded as one of the best basketball players of all time. A nine-time All-NBA selection and nine-time NBA All-Star, he has won four NBA championships and has been named the Most Valuable Player by the league twice.

He currently plays as a point guard for the Golden State Warriors.

2. Russell Westbrook (Los Angeles Lakers) – $47 Million

Russell Westbrook is a nine-time NBA All-Star and is one of only two players to have averaged a triple-double in the history of the NBA. He currently plays as a point guard for the Los Angeles Clippers.

3. Lebron James (Los Angeles Lakes) – $44.5 Million

Lebron James is the all-time top scorer in NBA history and has been selected to the All-NBA Team 19 times. He currently players as a power forward for the Los Angeles Lakers.

4. Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards) – $43.3 Million

Bradley Beal is a three-time NBA All-Star who was picked by the Wizards during the 2012 draft. He currently plays as a shooting guard for the Washington Wizards.

5. Kevin Durant (Phoenix Suns) – $42.9 Million

Kevin Durant is a 13-time NBA-All Star and has won two NBA Championships and four scoring titles. He currently plays as a power forward for the Phoenix Suns.

How to Become an NBA player

There are a few requirements to become an NBA player. First and foremost, you must be in great physical shape. You should also have strong playing skills, ones that’ll distinguish yourself from the rest of the pack. For example,you can bring speed to the field if you’re particularly fast.

You also want to play as many basketball tournaments as possible, both in high school and college as that’s where the league tends to scout new talent. For example, you can participate in AAU leagues. You also want to make the most of regional tournaments.

nba draft

Each summer, the NBA also holds an annual draft during which the league’s franchises choose and select new players for their teams from hundreds of candidates. To be eligible, a player must be at least 19 years old and have been removed from their high school graduating class for at least one year.

Automatic eligibility may also apply if an individual meets the following criteria:

  • The individual has played college basketball for four years
  • Players who graduated from a U.S. high school but did not attend a U.S. college are eligible four years after their high school graduation
  • The individual has played for a professional basketball team outside of the NBA
  •  International atheletes are automatically eligible if they are over the age of 22

Early entry aka “one and done” is another possibility; it refers to those who have obtained eligibility by playing college basketball for a year prior to leaving school. For this, the individual must be at least 19 years old and one year removed from high school.

If an individual has not attended college, they may still be eligible if they make an early entrant status request. They must also fill out the NBA draft application.

Height and weight matters as well. To give you an idea, the average NBA player is 6’7 and weighs 220 pounds. While it isn’t a requirement per se, being tall does offer a number of advantages in the sport such as the ability to reach higher into the air. Having said that, they’re also more susceptible to injury.

nba height

That’s not to say that you must be tall to succeed in the NBA. Take Isaiah Thomas, for example, despite being 5 foot 9, he is a two-time NBA All-Star and has been named to the All-NBA Second Team. Muggsy Bogues is another example. At 5 feet 3 inches, he is the shortest player to have ever played in the NBA.

How Many People Make It to the NBA?

According to a study conducted by the NCAA, 18,800 out of 540,700 high school basketball players go on to play at the collegiate level. If you do the math, that’s 3.5 percent. From there, only 1.2 percent of the collegiate players make the jump to professional basketball with the NBA.

Ronnie Gordon
Ronnie Gordon
A tech-savvy freelance writer who enjoys music, personal finance, and competitive gaming.
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