What is the lowest salary in the NBA?
Though you might believe that everybody who plays in the NBA is making millions per year, it’s actually not the case. How much you ask? Let’s find out.
In the world of professional sports, the tendency is to believe that all players are making the big bucks. While they’re not making pocket change, it might surprise you to see the difference between the players who are good enough to play for a living, and those who are truly elite.
The minimum wage in the NBA
When we get past the various taxes, the cap hit, and the dead cap value of the two-year contract that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James recently signed, the NBA’s all-time scoring leader earns an annual average salary of $49,511,644. Now, while it’s clear that the average player in the NBA is not poor, it’s important to understand that James is special and so he is paid as such. There are, however, a number of players in the league who may not be household names who are leading their teams to glory, or themselves to individual accolades, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth a lucrative contract. With that in mind, we come to the question of the NBA’s minimum wage.
Currently, the minimum salary for players signing contracts in the 2023-2024 NBA season amounts to more than $1.1 million. It’s worth noting, that this is the first time that the minimum salary has exceeded the one million dollar mark. Indeed, during the 2021-22 season, the minimum salary in the league was estimated at a little more than $925k.
So, who are the lowest-paid players in the NBA?
Prior to the start of the 2023-24 NBA regular season, most contracts were secured and with that, we all knew, as did they, what kind of money they’d be earning. What may have surprised some - certainly fans - was the size of the salary, or lack thereof, when it came to some. For starters, there was Mouhamed Gyueye, who was the 39th pick overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. Drafted by the Charlotte Hornets, Gyueye saw his rights traded to the Boston Celtics who in turn sent him to the Atlanta Hawks. In the end, the Senegalese prospect signed a four-year $7.64 million rookie contract with the Hawks i.e., he will earn $1,119,563 this upcoming season.
Interestingly, another perfect example is Jordan Walsh who was selected just ahead of the aforementioned Gyueye as the 38th overall pick. The Sacramento Kings who selected him immediately traded him before he was actually picked up by the Boston Celtics. As things stand now, Walsh is on a four-year, $7.64 million rookie contract. The Arkansas prospect will pocket $1,119,563 this season. There are of course many others including Hunter Tyson of the Denver Nuggets and Trayce Jackson of the Golden State Warriors, both of whom will make just over $1 million a season, but the point of this is to give you perspective on the idea that not all players in the NBA are ‘making bank’ when compared to the league’s top tier talent.