There has been a clear rise of centers in the NBA, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s MVP season in 2024-25 ending a four-year streak of centers winning the accolade.
For those scooping the biggest prize, naturally, come big contracts.
Here, we have looked into the 10 highest-paid centers in the NBA for the 2025-26 season.
10. Kristaps Porzingis
Porzingis has been one of the most consistent centers in the game over his nine-year career, averaging just under 20 points per game and almost eight rebounds.
Soon to play his third season with the Boston Celtics, Porzingis is making $30.7million for the year.
9. Jaren Jackson Jr
The fourth overall pick in the 2018 draft, it’s little surprise Jackson Jr is one of the highest earners in his position.
Still valued very highly by the Memphis Grizzlies, who drafted him, the five-year max contract he signed at the beginning of 2025 will see the center earn approximately $33million in 2025-26.
8. DeAndre Ayton
Ayton signed a two-year contract with the LA Lakers, where he will actually earn just over $8million (£5.8m) for his first season.
However, he negotiated a buyout with his former side, the Portland Trail Blazers, which means he’s earning approximately $33.6million (£24.6m) in 2025-26.
Had he not done so, the Lakers would have struggled to finance Ayton’s contract.
7. Alperen Sengun
After just four years in the NBA, Sengun’s rookie contract extension is seeing him earn huge sums.
His $33.9million contract is a rise of more than 500 percent on what he was previously earning with his side, the Houston Rockets.
An All-Star in his fourth season, Sengun could be the future face of the center position in the NBA, and his contract reflects that status.
6. Rudy Gobert
Gobert has played 12 seasons in the NBA and has a big cabinet of awards to reflect his stardom during that time.
He’s tied for the most Defensive Player of the Year awards, with four, and is one of the highest earners in the center position.
Gobert was making big money with the Indiana Pacers, and that’s the case with the Minnesota Timberwolves too, where the Frenchman will make $35million this season.
5. Bam Adebayo
Adebayo’s eight seasons with the Miami Heat are the most on the roster. The center was drafted for 2017-18 and has played consistently for the Heat since.
His $37.1million contract makes him the highest earner on the roster, ahead of fellow long-serving star Tyler Herro.
4. Domantas Sabonis
Sabonis has shared duties as a power forward or a center, but during his time with the Sacramento Kings over the past three seasons, he’s played center most often.
He was an All-Star there in 2022-23 and was in the top 10 for MVP votes both that season and the next.
The Kings are paying him better than he was at the Indiana Pacers, with his salary rising from $18.7million there to $39.2million last season, and now $42.3million for 2025-26.
3. Karl-Anthony Towns
The New York Knicks blew KAT’s previous contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves out of the water when they signed him for 2024-25.
An All-Star in the previous season, KAT had been making an average salary of $31.6million with the Timberwolves, and the Knicks pumped that up to almost $50million.
In 2025-26, the Knicks center will earn $53.1m, which makes him the joint 10th-highest earner in the entire NBA.
=1. Joel Embiid
Embiid has proven to be one of the top two centers in the NBA over the past few years, earning the MVP award in 2022-23 as a result.
He’s earned in the region of $50million per season beyond that accolade.
This season, the Philadelphia 76ers star will make $55.2m, which makes him the joint highest-earning centre and fourth-best-paid player in the NBA.
=1. Nikola Jokic
Denver Nuggets icon Jokic is on par with Embiid when it comes to salary. Jokic has been an All-Star for the past seven seasons and won the league MVP award in three of the last five seasons.
His veteran contract has him earning $55.2m for 2025-26, and once we reach 2027-28, Jokic has a player option for a contract worth $62.8m for the season.
That is more than anybody currently earns in the NBA, and for a man with three MVP awards in recent times, it seems deserved.
READ MORE: Top 15 highest-paid NBA players in 2025-26: LeBron James 14th, Steph Curry No.1?
