As the 2025–26 NBA season tips off, the teams pushing up against – or blowing past – the salary cap share one clear goal: bringing home the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
In today’s league, you have to spend big to win big. After a busy offseason filled with free-agent signings and lucrative contract extensions, it’s time to break down which franchises have loaded up their payrolls in pursuit of a championship.
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Highest NBA Payrolls in 2025-26
Let’s take a look at which NBA teams have the highest payroll being put towards attracting and keeping the league’s top talent on their roster.
Seven of the top 10 teams in active payroll were playoff teams last season. And in an era of parity, any team willing to spend some money has a shot at a title.
Leading the way are the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Cavs enter as heavy favorites to represent the conference in the Finals alongside Eastern Conference competitor New York Knicks (seventh on this list), and after two straight trips to the Western Conference finals, the Timberwolves are hoping the third time’s the charm to compete in the Finals.
With the injury to Jayson Tatum and the trades of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis, the Boston Celtics will turn to Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and recently re-signed Sam Hauser to lead a very different looking team as far as they can in the 2025-26 campaign.
Also landing in the top 10 for total payroll are the Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings — three teams that missed the playoffs last season.This season, each franchise is taking a different approach in hopes of making a turnaround.
For Dallas, the post–Luka Dončić era begins with a reshaped roster built around Anthony Davis and No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, signaling a new direction. Phoenix, on the other hand, finds itself in financial purgatory, with much of its cap space tied up in the salaries of players who are no longer on the roster, leaving the team somewhat depleted. Meanwhile, Sacramento is looking to recapture the momentum that carried it to the postseason two years ago and translate its spending into wins.
2025-26 NBA Team Payrolls, Ranked
Here’s a look at every NBA team and their active payroll as of the start of the 2025 season, sorted from highest to lowest.
| Rank | Team | Active Players | 2025–26 Payrolls | 2025–26 Active Player Payrolls |
| 1 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 17 | $242,361,804 | $228,159,488 |
| 2 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 18 | $237,379,633 | $202,580,977 |
| 3 | Golden State Warriors | 16 | $234,449,689 | $205,341,467 |
| 4 | Dallas Mavericks | 19 | $220,553,136 | $201,537,232 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Lakers | 18 | $210,894,723 | $194,820,805 |
| 6 | Phoenix Suns | 18 | $210,147,015 | $164,723,837 |
| 7 | New York Knicks | 18 | $209,146,572 | $204,106,498 |
| 8 | Sacramento Kings | 15 | $208,397,804 | $182,211,994 |
| 9 | Boston Celtics | 18 | $206,622,531 | $199,981,489 |
| 10 | Denver Nuggets | 17 | $204,123,197 | $188,297,059 |
| 11 | Los Angeles Clippers | 17 | $203,604,340 | $194,667,024 |
| 12 | New Orleans Pelicans | 18 | $203,377,835 | $183,652,233 |
| 13 | Washington Wizards | 20 | $201,418,963 | $137,704,001 |
| 14 | Houston Rockets | 15 | $201,330,454 | $194,689,412 |
| 15 | Philadelphia 76ers | 17 | $201,026,989 | $194,633,727 |
| 16 | Orlando Magic | 19 | $199,864,494 | $193,471,232 |
| 17 | Toronto Raptors | 19 | $198,697,987 | $190,701,713 |
| 18 | Miami Heat | 19 | $197,533,487 | $186,052,117 |
| 19 | Portland Trail Blazers | 16 | $197,113,678 | $160,556,802 |
| 20 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 19 | $188,926,058 | $186,877,564 |
| 21 | Atlanta Hawks | 17 | $186,569,737 | $179,928,695 |
| 22 | Indiana Pacers | 18 | $186,178,253 | $181,833,485 |
| 23 | San Antonio Spurs | 18 | $179,938,561 | $179,938,561 |
| 24 | Chicago Bulls | 15 | $178,868,402 | $174,275,854 |
| 25 | Charlotte Hornets | 19 | $175,744,261 | $170,737,307 |
| 26 | Milwaukee Bucks | 17 | $174,082,288 | $150,899,018 |
| 27 | Detroit Pistons | 17 | $173,936,660 | $166,736,660 |
| 28 | Memphis Grizzlies | 18 | $171,507,315 | $167,343,265 |
| 29 | Utah Jazz | 16 | $144,085,751 | $133,434,190 |
| 30 | Brooklyn Nets | 16 | $142,213,902 | $135,369,268 |
NBA Payrolls: Highest Spending on Top 3 Players
Building a championship roster in the NBA starts with a strong core. For most franchises, the top three players are the engine that drives success. The team goes as far as they can take them.
But under the league’s new collective bargaining agreement – and with luxury tax penalties becoming increasingly severe – teams face a tough challenge: balancing star power and depth of rotation players.
The Philadelphia 76ers top the list in payroll concentration, with stars Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey. After a disappointing 2024-25 season that saw them miss the playoffs, they might need to try a different process.
Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics each have 68% of their total active payroll tied up in their top three players. The Warriors are betting heavily on Steph Curry — the league’s highest-paid player — and Jimmy Butler, who ranks sixth in salary. Their 2025–26 campaign will depend on whether this veteran duo can propel Golden State back into title contention.
The Celtics, meanwhile, are investing heavily in a new team dynamic built around Jaylen Brown and Derrick White. Jayson Tatum, the team’s highest paid player, is expected to miss a significant portion of the season due to injury. By the time he returns, Boston’s playoff hopes could already be in jeopardy, putting added pressure on Brown and White to keep the team competitive.
Discover how much each NBA team is spending on its top three players – and what percentage of the team’s total active payroll that represents – heading into the 2025–26 season.
| Rank | Team | Top 3 Active | Top 3 % of Total Active Payroll |
| 1 | Philadelphia 76ers | $144,849,376 | 74% |
| 2 | Golden State Warriors | $139,626,124 | 68% |
| 3 | Boston Celtics | $135,368,714 | 68% |
| 4 | Cleveland Cavaliers | $132,234,290 | 58% |
| 5 | New York Knicks | $127,655,231 | 63% |
| 6 | Denver Nuggets | $124,460,081 | 66% |
| 7 | Los Angeles Lakers | $116,886,072 | 60% |
| 8 | Los Angeles Clippers | $115,762,693 | 59% |
| 9 | Sacramento Kings | $114,585,660 | 63% |
| 10 | Houston Rockets | $113,653,563 | 58% |
| 11 | Minnesota Timberwolves | $111,414,710 | 55% |
| 12 | Orlando Magic | $110,387,420 | 57% |
| 13 | Toronto Raptors | $109,256,988 | 57% |
| 14 | Indiana Pacers | $109,203,024 | 60% |
| 15 | Phoenix Suns | $107,850,873 | 65% |
| 16 | Dallas Mavericks | $107,359,119 | 53% |
| 17 | Atlanta Hawks | $106,731,367 | 59% |
| 18 | New Orleans Pelicans | $102,095,408 | 56% |
| 19 | Milwaukee Bucks | $101,855,306 | 67% |
| 20 | Miami Heat | $96,319,835 | 52% |
| 21 | Memphis Grizzlies | $96,067,590 | 57% |
| 22 | Detroit Pistons | $89,862,938 | 54% |
| 23 | Oklahoma City Thunder | $85,055,272 | 46% |
| 24 | San Antonio Spurs | $83,096,620 | 46% |
| 25 | Charlotte Hornets | $81,933,760 | 48% |
| 26 | Brooklyn Nets | $79,185,322 | 58% |
| 27 | Portland Trail Blazers | $78,775,001 | 49% |
| 28 | Washington Wizards | $77,937,962 | 57% |
| 29 | Utah Jazz | $74,988,612 | 56% |
| 30 | Chicago Bulls | $64,561,977 | 37% |
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And there you have it! From the top spenders to the biggest savers, these are the NBA Payrolls for the 2025-26 season. Speaking of…
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Frequently Asked Questions
What NBA team is spending the most in the 2025-26 season?
The Cleveland Cavaliers enter the 2025-26 season with the most total cap allocations on their active roster with $228 million.
What NBA team allots the highest percentage of active payroll to the top three players in 2025?
The Philadelphia 76ers top the list in payroll concentration, with stars Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey combined taking home $145 million, or 74% of active payroll.
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