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Nigerian-Greek basketball star Giannis Antetokounmpo will earn about $108.5 million this NBA season, making him the league's second-highest-paid player behind Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry in his first year with the Miami Heat.
The total combines a playing salary of about $58.4 million for the 2026-27 season with roughly $50 million from endorsements and other business off the court, according to Sportico's annual ranking of the NBA's top earners, released this week. Antetokounmpo and Curry are the only players projected to make at least $100 million.
Curry leads the list at $122.6 million, including $60 million from sponsors and business interests. Kevin Durant is third with $93.9 million, made up of $43.9 million in salary and $50 million off the court.
LeBron James, who joined the Philadelphia 76ers this season on a deal worth about $8 million over two years, ranks fourth at $88.9 million. Only $3.9 million of that comes from his salary, with $85 million from endorsements and his business holdings. Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum is fifth at $78.5 million.
The 20 best-paid players will earn about $1.47 billion combined this season, and roughly 30% of that money comes from deals off the court.
A new team in Miami
The Milwaukee Bucks traded Antetokounmpo to the Heat in June in one of the largest deals in NBA history. Miami sent Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kasparas Jakucionis to Milwaukee, along with unprotected first-round draft picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2030 pick swap, a 2033 second-round pick and the No. 13 pick in this year's draft. Forward Bobby Portis moved to Miami with Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo, 31, spent 13 seasons with the Bucks after they drafted him in 2013. He played 895 regular-season games for the team, averaging 24.1 points, 9.9 rebounds and 5 assists. He is a two-time Most Valuable Player, a 10-time All-Star and a former Defensive Player of the Year, and he led Milwaukee to the 2021 championship, scoring 50 points in the deciding Game 6 to win the Finals MVP award. Injuries limited him to 36 games last season, when the Bucks finished 32-50.
His pay could rise sharply. He holds a $62.8 million player option for the 2027-28 season and becomes eligible on Jan. 6, 2027, to sign a four-year extension with Miami worth about $275 million. If he declines the option without signing a new deal, he can become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Nigerian roots
Antetokounmpo was born in Athens in December 1994 to Nigerian parents who had moved to Greece for work. He grew up in the city's Sepolia district, where he and his brothers sold goods on the street to help the family, and he did not hold Greek citizenship until 2013, shortly before the Bucks picked him 15th overall. He plays internationally for Greece.
Off the court, he has had a signature shoe line with Nike since 2019 and is a minority owner of baseball's Milwaukee Brewers, a stake he bought in 2023. Curry, 38, also carries the league's largest salary this season, at about $62.5 million.
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