Is it worthy? With these three people alone, their salary will exceed 55 million next season, Curry will have the highest salary in his tenth year!

Since the NBA's commercial value has risen, players have also enjoyed the benefits of the times. In the past, superstars such as Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett could get a maximum salary of $25 million, at best, but now it is everywhere. It is difficult to sign an All-Star player at this salary level. Recently, the NBA has also counted the salary of players next season. What is surprising is that 11 people have annual salary of more than $53 million, of which 3 have even exceeded $55 million. Let’s take a look at who these three players are and whether they deserve this salary!

Third: Joel Embiid, last season's data: 23.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists, next season's salary: $55.3 million,

The third place is Joel Embiid. Last season's performance was obvious to all fans, and it can be said to be the worst season. As the MVP winner in 2023, Embiid has experienced a huge decline in less than two years. However, he also played an extremely critical role at the 2024 Paris Olympics and made great contributions to the US team's championship. But it seems that in the Olympics, he has tried his best and returned to the NBA stage and was directly plagued by injuries. In 82 regular season games, Embiid only played 19 games in total, and it is hard to believe that this is a superstar who only celebrated his 31st birthday in March. Moreover, even if he plays, it is difficult for him to perform his past performance. He can only contribute 23.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game, and his efficiency is even more terrible. Therefore, the fans were extremely disappointed. In the end, the 76ers became the last Eastern Conference favorite due to the injury situation of him, Paul George and others.

Next season, Embiid's salary will reach $55.3 million, which is the first time he has broken through the $55 million salary mark in his career. In addition, due to his three-year, $193 million early contract renewal with the team, his salary even reached an extremely terrifying $69.07 million in the 28-29 season, which is undoubtedly a big bet for the 76ers. According to the current 76ers team reporter, Embiid has been struggling to fight injuries since the announcement of the season's reimbursement. In order to help him recover, the 76ers have hired the most authoritative sports medicine experts and arranged for recovery according to his feelings. In the current situation, there is no way out for the team and Embiid personally. If he still cannot completely emerge from the shadow of injuries next season, Embiid's contract is likely to become a garbage contract. If he judges from his performance last season, he is definitely not worthy of such a high contract. Therefore, Embiid must work hard to prove his value again next season.

Second place: Nikola Jokic

Last season data: 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, 10.2 assists, 1.8 steals

Salary next season: $55.3 million, like Embiid, Jokic's salary next season will also reach $55.3 million, but the performance of the two in the last season was completely different. Although Shea Gilgers Alexander became the biggest winner last season, winning the regular season MVP, Western Conference Finals MVP and Finals MVP, and also won the NBA Best Player and Best Male Athlete in the ESPY annual ceremony not long ago, if you want to ask who is the strongest basketball player in the NBA today, most fans will probably still think it is Jokic. With the team's lineup not as good as the Thunder, Jokic played a stunning performance last season, averaging 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, 10.2 assists and 1.8 steals. He became the third in NBA history after Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook, and is also the only player who averaged a triple-double in the season as an inside player. Under his leadership, the Nuggets also achieved a record of 50 wins and 32 losses, and finally ranked fourth in the Western Conference.

In the playoffs, Jokic encountered huge restrictions whether facing the Clippers or later facing the Thunder, but even so, he still handed over luxurious data of 26.2 points, 12.7 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 0.9 blocks. What's even more amazing is that his shooting and three-point shooting percentages remained at 48.9% and 38% respectively. Except for the fact that his defensive ability may not be so outstanding, the rest are simply blind spots. In order to seize Jokic's peak, the Nuggets have also made some reinforcements this year and have a good chance to challenge the Thunder's dominance again next season. There is no doubt that Jokic deserves his salary of $55.3 million next season, and even his salary exceeds $60 million, is reasonable. After all, since the NBA started, you can't find the second player to play like him until today, so Jokic is the strongest player today.

First place: Stephen Curry

Last season data: 24.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 6 assists, 1.1 steals

Salary next season: $59.6 million

According to statistics, Stephen Curry will be the ninth consecutive year and become the highest annual salary in the NBA. Even though he is 37 years old and is no longer the top three-pointer in his peak period, in the eyes of most fans, Curry is still worthy of this high salary of $59.6 million. Looking back at NBA history, there are very few players who can change the entire era.. Curry is one of them. Under his leadership, the NBA has completely entered the small ball era. Three-point shooting, which was not the focus of tactical points in the past, has now become a common scoring method for all teams, but many teams even rely on three-pointers as their main offensive tactics. Under such circumstances, Curry once again handed in 24.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 6 assists and 1.1 steals last season. Moreover, when the team once ranked last in the West, they finally successfully broke through and defeated the Rockets, the second in the West, in the playoffs. If Curry hadn't accidentally suffered a hamstring injury, they would have even hoped to defeat the Timberwolves and advance to the stage of the Western Conference Finals. Therefore, although Curry is one year older next season, he is still worth the contract, which is the greatest respect for the first three-pointer in history.