NBA teams will withhold more than $30 million from player paychecks on Friday, as players receive their first salary reduction since the league and union agreed to a plan to temporarily cut pay by 25%.
But six of the NBA’s top 10 earners this season — LeBron James, Stephen Curry, John Wall, Blake Griffin, Kevin Durant and Paul George — have already been paid in full and will not see a pay decrease Friday.
Their salary reductions will come out of their advances for the 2020-21 season on Oct. 1 or beginning with their Nov. 15 paychecks. Each player will essentially have an IOU per paycheck to his team ranging from $390,000 (James) to $420,000 (Curry) each time there is a scheduled 25% pay reduction. That amount will increase if games are eventually canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.