Lebron James 11-year streak in the NBA ends with Stephen Curry earning the top spot

The NBA returns today, just over four months after the Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals. Last season featured a rather unusual moment, as of the top 15 highest paid NBA players for the 2023-24 season, only one (Rudy Gobert) reached the conference finals. But even stranger was seeing Stephen Curry, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant on vacation so early in the season, considering their status in the league.

This season will see something that hasn’t happened since the 2012-13 season with Kobe Bryant: someone not named LeBron James will be the new highest-paid player this season, and that someone is his friend Stephen Curry. They will once again be the two highest-paid players in the NBA this season, but the usual order of the pairing has been reversed, with Curry set to earn an estimated $155.8 million and James $133.7 million from salaries and off-court income.

Overall, the league’s top 15 players will earn a combined $1.13 billion in salaries and endorsements, up 11% from last year, according to Sportico. Giannis Antetokounmpo ($103.8 million), Kevin Durant ($97.9 million) and Damian Lillard ($66.8 million) round out the top five. Curry will have the highest salary in the NBA for the eighth consecutive year; his contract with Golden State Warriors is worth $55.8 million this season.

This offseason, he agreed to a one-year contract extension with the Warriors, set to earn the two-time NBA MVP $62.6 million in the 2026-27 season, pushing his total career earnings from salaries and endorsements beyond $1 billion. With countless achievements and honors, Curry, who played a crucial role in helping the U.S. secure gold in Paris, has solidified his legacy in the NBA. Now at 36, we’ll see how much more Curry has to offer and whether he can lead this refreshed team back to the Finals.