GOT PAID
From Cousy to Curry — the highest-paid NBA player in every season from 1946–47 to 2024–25. Seventy-nine years, one chart, nine eras. Nominal dollars in orange; 2026-adjusted figures trail in gray. The shape tells the story: three flat decades, a Wilt-Russell step-function, a post-merger reset, and a TV-deal moonshot after 2016.
METHOD & SOURCES
Dataset stitched together from the Reddit r/nba post "From Cousy to Curry" by u/bonziwellsayo (the original research covers 1946–47 through 2022–23), updated through 2024–25 with contract data from Spotrac and HoopsHype. Inflation adjustments to April 2026 dollars use U.S. BLS CPI-U annual averages, computed from season-start year. Where multiple players tied for the league lead, all are listed. Salaries for 1954–55 and 1955–56 remain unverified.
- Original timeline: r/nba — "From Cousy to Curry"
- 1984–present reference: Wikipedia — Highest-paid NBA players by season
- Pre-merger rosters and pay: APBR — Association for Professional Basketball Research
- Modern contracts: HoopsHype Salaries, ESPN NBA Salaries