The NBA’s Top Scorers Earn A Depressingly High Amount Per Point

As painful as it may be to acknowledge how easily pro athletes can make a regular person’s lifetime earnings while barely breaking a sweat, let’s face it — we’ll always be morbidly curious. Hence why we have statistical breakdowns like this: what the NBA’s highest-scoring players were paid per point during the recently concluded 2023-24 regular season.

According to Sportingpedia, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards pocketed the least per point among the Top 10 at US$6,606 (AU$10,300), making him the best “value-for-money” scorer on this ranked list. On the other end of the spectrum, Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry pocketed the most for a point at US$26,542 (AU$41,380).

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“Ant-Man’s case catches the attention, as he is not only the youngest of the crop at 22 years old, but also the lowest paid,” reads the analysis.

“Obviously, inexperience is not a flaw, and it has not stopped Edwards from draining buckets, but it affects his wealth, as he is the only elite scorer being paid less than US$10,000 (AU$15,600) per point.”

The rationale continues: “It all will change for him next season, as his rookie deal expires. He has already agreed to a super-max rookie extension, which begins in the 2024-25 season, worth an estimated US$204 million (AU$318 million) over five years.”

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It’s also worth noting there were plenty of well-paid shooters who narrowly missed the cut for the Top 10.

All-time points leader LeBron James, for one, managed to cash in approximately US$26,130 (AU$40,740) per point — US$47.61 million (AU$74.25 million) divided across 1,822. Then there’s Kyrie Irving, who cost the Dallas Mavericks a tad more than King James at US$26,150 (AU$40,780) per point — US$38.89 million (AU$60.65 million) divided across 1,487.

Check out the infographic detailing what the NBA’s highest-scoring players were paid per point during the 2023-24 regular season below. NOTE: All sums listed below = USD.