Browsing: NBAs

Stephen Curry hasn’t just changed the way basketball is played — he has changed how itâ€s valued.

Spotrac released its updated list of the NBAâ€s highest career earners, and Curry currently sits third, behind Kevin Durant and LeBron James. Durant passed James for the top spot on Sunday after signing a two-year, $90 million extension with the Phoenix Suns, which includes a player option for the 2027–28 season.

Other members of the top 10 include Devin Booker, Paul George, Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid, Damian Lillard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jayson Tatum — a mix of established stars and younger faces quickly climbing the list.

That younger wave could soon reshape the standings entirely. With Booker, Gilgeous-Alexander and Tatum all still in their late-20s and already on max extensions, theyâ€re on pace to shatter the totals set by Curry, James and Durant as new TV deals and cap increases drive salaries even higher.

Curry, though, has been at the forefront of the leagueâ€s salary evolution. In 2017, he became the first player in NBA history to sign a $200 million contract, a five-year deal worth $201 million. Two years later, he became the first to make more than $40 million in a single season.

He topped that milestone again in 2021, signing a four-year, $215 million extension that made him the first player ever to sign multiple $200 million contracts. That deal helped him become the first to earn over $50 million in 2023–24, and by 2026–27, he is set to be the first player to surpass $60 million in a single season.

Over the past few years, Curry has climbed steadily up Spotracâ€s career earnings rankings. He first appeared in the top 10 at No. 7 through 2022–23, rose to No. 4 through 2023–24, and reached No. 3 this year, where he is expected to remain for the foreseeable future as his current deal runs through 2026–27.

Curryâ€s journey into the NBAâ€s top three career earners reflects more than a decade of sustained excellence — and positions him to stay there as new deals reshape the leagueâ€s financial landscape.

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Steph Curry finally might get what he has wanted during the 2025-26 NBA season.

The league’s new “Heave Rule” takes effect this season, which states that any shot taken at least 36 feet away within the final three seconds of the first three quarters will count as a team shot attempt — not an individual one.

The goal is to encourage players to take more long-distance, end-of-quarter shots without negatively impacting their personal shooting percentages. Curry, who has taken plenty of those types of shots over his career, has been on board.

“I used to be like the grumpy old guy sitting on the porch yelling at people who didnâ€t take that shot because they were afraid of what it does to their shooting percentage,” Curry said (h/t The San Francisco Standard’s Tim Kawakami).

Curry has no shortage of unimaginable half-court buzzer-beater shots, and now with the new rule, he might have some competition.

The rule states the play must have started in the backcourt for it to apply.

While Curry is a fan of the half-court heaves, he acknowledged that the technicalities of the new rule are a bit too complex for his liking.

“That’s too much to think about,” he said. “Just play basketball.”

In 1,026 career games through 16 seasons with Golden State, Curry has averaged 24.7 points on 47.1-percent shooting from the field and 42.3 percent from 3-point range.

It’s safe to say his shooting percentages haven’t been damaged by his many, many long treys.

“I could care less,” Curry said. “I get, what? 10 extra field goals maybe throughout a whole season.”

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The 2025-26 NBA season is here! Over the next few weeks, we’re examining the biggest questions, best- and worst-case scenarios, and win projections for all 30 franchises — from the still-rebuilding teams to the true title contenders.

2024-25 finish

• Record: 30-52 (11th in the East, missed playoffs)

Offseason moves

• Additions: Collin Murray-Boyles, Sandro Mamukelashvili

• Subtractions: Chris Boucher

(Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

The Big Question: What are the Raptors even doing?

For a while there in a post-championship haze it looked like the Raptors might embrace a traditional rebuild in the absence of Kawhi Leonard, tanking the 2020 season and scoring Scottie Barnes with the No. 4 overall pick. Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby all left from the rubble for little in return.

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What the Raptors did get from the New York Knicks for Anunoby was RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, to whom Toronto has committed a combined $269.5 million. Along with Barnes and Jakob Poeltl, who are also owed a combined $306.3 million, Barrett and Quickley have formed the foundation of a team that has won a total of 55 games over the past two seasons. They are building toward the middle of the pack.

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So, last season they traded for an injured Brandon Ingram, leaning further into mediocrity. When healthy, Ingram is a very good player, even an All-Star at his best, but he does not move Toronto’s needle much closer to championship contention. And they paid him as if he did, giving Ingram a $120 million extension.

This team has talent. The ceiling of that talent is a team that can make the playoffs and compete in a first-round series. Beyond that, though, there are no lofty expectations for them this year and beyond.

A harsh take but a fair one. One could make the argument that each of their five highest-paid players is not worth his contract. If when combined they are still a middling team, they certainly are not meeting their value as one of the league’s 10 highest payrolls that is being paid to vie for a conference finals.

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And what value do those players have on the trade market? It is hard to imagine a team believing it is a Barnes or Barrett or Ingram or Poeltl or Quickley away from a championship, especially at each price tag.

So, what are the Raptors doing? They have collected all this talent, letting good players walk for other players who have made them worse than they were when they were winning 50 games a year under Lowry and DeMar DeRozan’s stewardship. At least that team had reason to believe it was a piece away.

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This team does not have that. Toronto is several pieces away from relevancy, and it will be head coach Darko Rajaković’s job to convince his team otherwise. The NBA’s middle can be a dark place to be when one direction (the bottom) feels easier to attain than the other (the top). Rajaković must convince his charges that they are building toward something, not just the middle, even if intuition says otherwise.

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Do not get this analysis wrong. There is the very real possibility that the Raptors are greater than the sum of their parts, as those Lowry and DeRozan teams often were, especially in this Eastern Conference. It is just that the greatest sum of those parts is still several levels away from championship contention.

Best-case scenario

Ingram remains healthy and drives the offense from the bottom of the rankings. Barnes’ development pushes the roster further forward, and everyone starts to believe in the ability of this group. Gradey Dick improves in his third season, and this year’s first-round draft pick, Collin Murray-Boyles, is a revelation. The Raptors compete for a guaranteed playoff spot, and fans can believe in the future of this team again.

If everything falls apart

Barnes’ development continues to stagnate. Ingram’s impact is not what Toronto pictured when it traded for him, and the pick they dealt for him — the Indiana Pacers’ first-round selection in 2026 — yields real value. Meanwhile, the Raptors are bad enough to make the lottery but too good to secure an elite pick. They are stuck in the NBA’s middle, and that is not even enough to emerge from the play-in tournament.

2025-26 schedule

• Season opener: Oct. 22 at Atlanta

Believe in Rajaković’s ability to hold this team together, as he coaches for his job. Take the over.

More season previews

East: Atlanta Hawks • Boston Celtics • Brooklyn Nets • Charlotte Hornets • Chicago Bulls • Cleveland Cavaliers • Detroit Pistons • Indiana Pacers • Miami Heat • Milwaukee Bucks • New York Knicks • Orlando Magic • Philadelphia 76ers • Toronto Raptors • Washington Wizards

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West: Dallas Mavericks • Denver Nuggets • Golden State Warriors • Houston Rockets • Los Angeles Clippers • Los Angeles Lakers • Memphis Grizzlies • Minnesota Timberwolves • New Orleans Pelicans • Oklahoma City Thunder • Phoenix Suns • Portland Trail Blazers • Sacramento Kings • San Antonio Spurs • Utah Jazz

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