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NBA Highest-Paid Players 2025-26: Curry, Durant Join $1 Billion Club

LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant have posted first-ballot Hall of Fame resumes on the court with a combined 10 NBA titles, seven MVPs and 43 All-NBA team selections. The numbers off the court are even more stunning.

The trio’s estimated career earnings from salaries and endorsements will hit $3.7 billion by season’s end, with Curry and Durant joining their longtime rival in an exclusive club: the only NBA players to earn $1 billion in salary and endorsements while still active (Michael Jordan hit $1 billion after his retirement). It’s a threshold that only six non-NBA players hit during their careers: Tiger Woods, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Roger Federer, Phil Mickelson and Floyd Mayweather.

For the 2025-26 season, James reclaimed his crown as the NBA’s highest-paid player at $132.6 million, including an estimated $80 million off the court. James was the NBA’s top earner for 11 straight seasons before Curry finished on top last year at $156 million. The Golden State Warriors point guard’s endorsement earnings got a one-time boost from his Under Armour contract extension. Kobe Bryant in 2012-13 was the last player to finish ahead of LeBron before Curry last season.

While James will make more than any other basketball player this season, his $52.6 million Lakers salary once again trails many of his fellow All-Stars. It ranks No. 12 overall for the 2025-26 season. James has had the top salary only once (2016-17) during his 23-year career. At $59.6 million, Curry has the top playing salary for the ninth straight year.

James’ off-court earnings have exceeded his team salary since he was drafted first overall in 2003 and joined the Cleveland Cavaliers armed with a $90 million Nike deal, plus sponsor deals with Coca-Cola and Upper Deck. Nike remains his biggest backer, with his current “lifetime” deal signed in 2015 worth more than $1 billion, according to his longtime business manager, Maverick Carter.

James’ new brand partners this year include Richard Mille and Barbie-maker Mattel; in April, he became the first pro athlete to have a Ken doll. In March, Amazon signed a multiyear deal for James’ digital series, Mind the Game, which will be distributed across several Amazon properties.

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The 20 highest-paid NBA players will earn a combined $1.4 billion, up 2% versus last year. The off-court earnings represent 29% of the total, and James is the only one to make more from his brand partners than his NBA team.

NBA salaries have skyrocketed as revenues rose, and players are entitled to 51% of the pie. Sixty NBA players are set to earn at least $30 million this year in salary, versus 35 in the NFL and 13 in MLB.

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Methodology

Sportico estimated off-court earnings for the 2025-26 season through conversations with those familiar with NBA endorsement deals. Also included are royalties from sneaker deals, as well as earnings from memorabilia, appearances, media and businesses tied to their celebrity. We exclude investment income unless it is connected to an endorsement agreement. The figures are all before taxes and any agent fees.

The salaries are base salaries for the season and do not include any playoff bonuses or incentives—most of these players are on max-level contracts, which don’t include incentives. We also did not deduct the 10% escrow payments withheld from contracts, which ensures the proper revenue split as outlined in the collective bargaining agreement. The league retained 9.1% of the $5.3 billion in player contracts from the 2024-25 season, but players are likely to keep most, if not all, of their 2025-26 salaries with the league’s new 11-year, $76 billion TV contracts kicking in.

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The 20 Highest-Paid NBA Players

1. LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers): $132.6 million

Salary: $52.6 million | Endorsements: $80 million | Age: 40

This season marks James’ 23rd NBA campaign, and he has been selected for 21 All-NBA teams, six more than any other player in the history of the game. The longevity and dominance will push his career earnings to $1.7 billion by season’s end, on par with Messi for fourth all-time, behind Jordan, Woods and Ronaldo.

2. Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors): $109.6 million

Salary: $59.6 million | Endorsements: $50 million | Age: 37

Curry’s business interests. which are housed under Thirty Ink, include Unanimous Media, Gentleman’s Cut Bourbon and Underrated Golf and Basketball. His other brand partners are Under Armour, Google, Chase, Rakuten and Fanatics. Curry remains a lethal shooter with the highest free throw percentage in the history of the NBA, and his 4,093 career 3-pointers made are more than 800 ahead of second-ranked James Harden.

3. Kevin Durant (Houston Rockets): $103.3 million

Salary: $53.3 million | Endorsements: $50 million | Age: 37

KD signed a two-year contract worth $90 million with the Rockets after he was traded this summer from the Phoenix Suns. The deal was a $30 million discount on the max contract Durant was eligible for, and it gives Houston room to bolster its roster and avoid the NBA’s second apron. It pushed his career playing salary, including money owed, to nearly $600 million, the highest in NBA history.

4. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks): $99.1 million

Salary: $54.1 million | Endorsements: $45 million | Age: 30

Antetokounmpo is under contract with the Bucks through the 2026-27 season with a player option for the following year, but his potential departure from Milwaukee is always an NBA storyline. The Bucks are doing everything they can to satisfy the two-time MVP, including nabbing Myles Turner from the Pacers via a four-year, $109 million deal and signing two of Giannis’ brothers, Thanasis and Alex, just ahead of the season start.

5. Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics): $72.1 million

Salary: $54.1 million | Endorsements: $18 million | Age: 27

Tatum will likely miss the entire 2025-26 season as he recovers from a torn Achilles tendon suffered during the 2025 NBA playoffs. He’ll still collect his full salary, which is the first year of a five-year, $313 million contract that is the biggest in the history of the NBA. The Jordan Brand ambassador added Vertex Pharmaceuticals to his endorsement roster this year.

6. Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves): $65.6 million

Salary: $45.6 million | Endorsements: $20 million | Age: 24

Edwards is the youngest member of the NBA’s top-10 earners by more than two years, and one of the leaders to assume the face of the NBA moniker as the older guard nears retirement. Edwards led the Timberwolves to back-to-back Western Conference finals, and Adidas has pushed him hard in its marketing. Sprite, Fanatics, Chipotle, Bose, Hisense, Call of Duty and Panini are his other partners.

7. Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers): $65.2 million

Salary: $55.2 million | Endorsements: $10 million | Age: 31

Injuries have limited Embiid to 58 total games during the past two seasons after he won the league’s MVP award during the 2022-23 season. He has a three-year, $188 million contract extension that kicks in next season. Last year, Skechers added Embiid as an endorser in its goal to establish a basketball brand.

8. Jimmy Butler (Golden State Warriors): $65.1 million

Salary: $54.1 million | Endorsements: $11 million | Age: 36

In February, Butler signed a two-year, $111 million contract extension with the Warriors after he forced a trade from the Miami Heat. Alo launched its first shoe collaboration with Butler last month. The “recovery” shoe retails for $275.

9. Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets): $64.2 million

Salary: $55.2 million | Endorsements: $9 million | Age: 30

Jokic’s salary is tied with Embiid for the second-highest this season after Curry. He is eligible to sign a four-year extension next summer for $293 million. During the past five seasons, the Joker has won three NBA MVP awards and finished second the other two years.

10. Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns): $63.1 million

Salary: $53.1 million | Endorsements: $10 million | Age: 29

Booker, along with Durant and Bradley Beal, contributed to Suns owner Mat Ishbia paying $220 million in luxury tax penalties the past two seasons for the club’s high payrolls. But of that trio, Booker is the only one left in Phoenix. In July, Booker agreed to a two-year, $145 million contract extension with the franchise through the 2029-30 season at the highest annual salary in NBA history.

11. Luka Dončić (Los Angeles Lakers): $61 million

Salary: $46 million | Endorsements: $15 million | Age: 26

The Mavericks’ trade of the Serbian star to the Lakers rocked the sports world in February. In July, he agreed to a three-year, $165 million maximum contract extension through the 2027-28 season, eschewing a chance to test free agency next summer. Dončić was first team All-NBA five straight seasons before injuries curtailed his 2024-25 campaign.

12. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder): $58.3 million

Salary: $38.3 million | Endorsements: $20 million | Age: 27

SGA’s dream season included a league-high 32.7 points per game, NBA MVP award and NBA Finals MVP nod while leading the Thunder to their first title since moving to Oklahoma City. He signed a four-year contract extension that tips off with the 2027-28 season worth an estimated $273 million. On top of that, he signed an extension with Converse last year that made him the brand’s creative director of basketball.

13. Karl-Anthony Towns (New York Knicks): $58.1 million

Salary: $53.1 million | Endorsements: $5 million | Age: 29

The Knicks acquired Towns from the Timberwolves just ahead of the 2024-25 season start, and he helped lead them to their first Eastern Conference final since 2000. He’s in the second season of a four-year, $220 million contract he originally signed with Minnesota.

14. Anthony Davis (Dallas Mavericks): $57.6 million

Salary: $54.1 million | Endorsements: $3.5 million | Age: 32

Davis was on the other end of the Dončić trade that ended his five-plus season run in Los Angeles. In 2023, the Lakers signed Davis to a three-year deal that was the richest NBA deal by average annual value at the time, with the $175 million pact kicking off this season. He ranks second in career blocks among active players, behind Brook Lopez.

15. Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland Cavaliers): $56.9 million

Salary: $46.4 million | Endorsements: $10.5 million | Age: 29

Mitchell finished fifth in last season’s MVP voting, as the Cavs won 64 regular-season games, their second-highest win total in franchise history. Mitchell has become an endorsement star with more than 10 partners, including Adidas, American Express, Bodyarmor and Skims.

16. Paul George (Philadelphia 76ers): $56.7 million

Salary: $51.7 million | Endorsements: $5 million | Age: 35

George missed 41 games during the 2024-25 season after joining the 76ers under a four-year, $211.6 million free agent contract. He no longer has a signature shoe with Nike but still works with the brand, in addition to Kinder, GALA Sports, Panini, SCUF and American Express.

17. Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers): $56.6 million

Salary: $45.6 million | Endorsements: $11 million | Age: 25

The All-Star point guard will sit out the 2025-26 season recovering from a torn Achilles tendon suffered during Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Thunder. Haliburton had been a Nike guy since he was drafted in 2020, but Puma signed him to a huge deal last year to be the face of the brand.

18. Kawhi Leonard (Los Angeles Clippers): $56.5 million

Salary: $50 million | Endorsements: $6.5 million | Age: 34

Leonard’s endorsement deal with bankrupt environmentally focused financial services firm Aspiration has triggered an NBA investigation over potential salary cap violations by the Clippers, whose owner Steve Ballmer invested in the company. At $7 million per year, Leonard’s Aspiration sponsorship was worth more than his New Balance sneaker deal and almost every other player endorsement, outside of shoe deals.

19. Cade Cunningham (Detroit Pistons): $56.4 million

Salary: $46.4 million | Endorsements: $10 million | Age: 24

The Pistons finished above .500 last year for only the second time since the 2007-08 season. Cunningham was the main driver of the sharp turnaround with his 26 points per game and seventh-place finish in MVP voting. He’s built a deep roster of sponsors, led by Nike, that also includes Meta, 2K, Coinbase, Funko, The Sam Bernstein Law Firm, Daiya Foods and Impossible Foods.

20. James Harden (Los Angeles Clippers): $55.2 million

Salary: $39.2 million | Endorsements: $16 million | Age: 36

Harden made an All-NBA team last year for the first time since the 2019-20 season. The Clippers rewarded the 36-year-old point guard with a two-year, $81 million contract extension.

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Ex-Penguins Forward Breaks The Ice With Strong Game

Anthony Beauvillier (© Kyle Ross-Imagn Images)

Former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Anthony Beauvillier has had a tough start to the season offensively with the Washington Capitals. In his first 12 games of the year, the 2015 first-round pick recorded just two points. 

Beauvillier also went through a long cold streak, as he did not record a point in seven straight games for the Capitals from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1. However, he has now broken the ice in a big way. 

During the Capitals' Nov. 5 matchup against the St. Louis Blues, Beauvillier scored two goals in Washington's 6-1 win. With this, the former Penguin played a role in the Capitals getting their victory and improving to a 7-5-1 record. 

With his strong night, Beauvillier now has three goals, one assist, and a plus-6 rating in 13 games. Overall, his performance against the Blues was a nice step in the right direction for the former Penguins forward. 

The Penguins are now set to face off against Beauvillier and the Capitals on Nov. 6. 

In 63 games with the Penguins during the 2024-25 season, Beauvillier recorded 13 goals, seven assists, and 20 points. His time with the Penguins ended when he was traded to the Capitals ahead of the 2025 NHL trade deadline. 

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Champions League review: Bayern shine, Cypriot history and Rooney v Van Dijk

This week’s action saw Vincent Kompany’s men roll on, surprise results and a brilliant performance from a Liverpool defender

• Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich. They rule supreme in Germany and are on a 16-match winning streak. Beating the defending champions, Paris Saint-Germain, on Tuesday was further proof of Bayern’s credentials. Luís Diaz, whose combativeness is sorely missed by Liverpool, scored two, but he took the aggression too far when his challenge on Achraf Hakimi led to a first-half red card. That meant the second half became a test of defensive credentials that Bayern passed. “I also want us to enjoy it when we have to defend,” said Kompany. He was by no means his club’s first-choice as coach in the summer of 2024 – relegation from the Premier League with Burnley had damaged his reputation. But in Bavaria, the noise from the boardroom has been quelled – for now – by the brilliance of his team’s play.

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Identifying Giants' needs, priorities heading into pivotal 2025 MLB offseason

Identifying Giants' needs, priorities heading into pivotal 2025 MLB offseason originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants announced this week that they will once again host an exhibition with Team USA next spring ahead of the World Baseball Classic, which is exciting for the organization for reasons other than the fact that the game will bring some of Major League Baseball’s biggest stars to Scottsdale Stadium.

When the Giants did the same thing before the last WBC, they hoped to be able to show off their $50-plus million Papago training facility to potential free agent targets. Giants officials were thrilled when they heard that during the workout at Papago, one of the team’s best players FaceTimed his general manager to show off some of the amenities. 

Perhaps in future years, a player will sign with the organization and note that he wants to spend his winters and springs at Papago. For now, Buster Posey, Zack Minasian and Tony Vitello are tasked with finding contributors who want to be there next spring, and that work starts today. 

MLB free agency is officially underway, and while most of the heavy lifting is traditionally done around the Winter Meetings in December, Posey showed last year — with Willy Adames — and again during the season — with Rafael Devers — that he doesn’t care all that much about the usual timelines. The recruiting starts now, and Posey and Vitello should be pretty good at it given their backgrounds. 

Both are known for connecting with players. Both also know they have a lot of work to do this offseason. In their first year under Vitello, the Giants will try to chase down a team that just went back-to-back, and the rest of the division should be pretty good, too. Here’s what the new brain trust will be working with and focusing on as the offseason officially begins …

Their Own Free Agents

On Sunday, Wilmer Flores, Dominic Smith and Justin Verlander returned to free agency, and Tom Murphy became a free agent later in the week when the Giants declined his $4 million option for 2026. The Giants have made a habit of reunions over the years, but there seems to be a good chance all four will be elsewhere next season. 

Verlander would fill the biggest need, and he had a strong second half and enjoyed his time in San Francisco. But he also just had a baby and lives in Florida, so a second spring in Arizona might not be at the top of his wish list. Nobody would blame him, either, if he wanted to pick a team with a more realistic shot at regularly getting him in the win column. 

Flores is a capital ‘G’ Good Giant, but he said his goodbyes in September. With Devers at first and Bryce Eldridge just about ready, there’s no longer room on the roster. Free agency can be rough on 34-year-olds these days, but Flores is very popular around the league and could find a bench spot on a contender. 

Smith was one of Posey’s best moves in Year 1, but as a left-handed first baseman, he doesn’t make a lot of sense on a roster with Devers and Eldridge. After what he showed in San Francisco, he should be in line for better opportunities this winter. 

Murphy played just 13 games in two seasons for the Giants. That signing, which led to the trade of Joey Bart, was one of the previous regime’s most baffling moves. 

This Year’s Class

It’s a deep free-agent group this offseason, although it’s lacking star power. Kyle Tucker is the consensus best player available, but the 28-year-old outfielder is coming off a disappointing walk year. He pumps out four-win seasons, but this isn’t an offseason where a Shohei Ohtani or Juan Soto will alter the course of a franchise. 

Bo Bichette, Cody Bellinger, Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman lead the rest of the position player pack, and the pitching list is led by Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez and Dylan Cease. There are plenty of intriguing options further down the top 50 lists like Zac Gallen and Michael King, which is helpful for a Giants team that needs pitching help. 

The relief market is full of closers like Edwin Diaz, Raisel Iglesias, Robert Suarez and Devin Williams. Again, that potentially lines up nicely for Posey. 

What They Need

Pitching, pitching, pitching. And then, more pitching. 

In his first year in charge, Posey learned a lesson. 

“You always hear it: ‘You can never have enough pitching,'” he said on “Giants Talk” last month. “We came into the year thinking we had a nice amount of depth and then by the end it didn’t feel like we had a lot of depth. It was definitely a learning experience for me to learn that that old adage ‘you never can have enough pitching’ is definitely true.”

The rotation needs two arms, and it wouldn’t hurt to add a swingman — a Yusmeiro Petit/Jakob Junis type — to the mix, too. The bullpen needs, well, what doesn’t it need?

Of the Giants pitchers who made more than 40 appearances last season, only Ryan Walker and Spencer Bivens are under team control. Erik Miller is confident he’ll return healthy after a second half wrecked by elbow discomfort and Joey Lucchesi is arbitration-eligible. There are plenty of others — Jose Butto, Joel Peguero, Tristan Beck, etc. — who will again be in the mix, but the Giants have a lot of work to do to regain what they had in the first half, when their bullpen might have been the best in the league. 

The biggest need in the ‘pen will be finding a closer, although paying handsomely for one in free agency is generally a terrible idea. The Giants also need a reliable eighth-inning guy, with a Tyler Rogers reunion standing out as a way to potentially get that done quickly. 

The Giants plan to be extremely active with minor-league free agents, and Jeremy Shelley and his group have had tremendous success there over the years. Whether it’s that market, higher-end free agency or trades, they probably need to add more than a half-dozen potential options before the start of camp. 

Other Holes To Fill

Casey Schmitt hit a dozen homers and was roughly a league-average hitter by wRC+, but the Giants talked about upgrading at second base ahead of the trade deadline and could again look at their options. Given that they already have three nine-figure contracts on their infield, though, it probably doesn’t make sense to go big at a position where they do have a young cost-controlled option. 

The more pressing need on the position player side is in the outfield, specifically right field. It’s possible that at some point the staff will decide to move Jung Hoo Lee to a corner and get a better defender in center, but that’s probably not going to be much of a conversation after his first full season. Heliot Ramos is poised to end the Opening Day left field streak, and he stands out as a player who should benefit greatly from a new coaching staff. 

The rest of the 40-man roster includes Jerar Encarnación, Drew Gilbert, Marco Luciano, Luis Matos, Grant McCray and Wade Meckler, and some of them look like players who will be taken off the roster in some way this offseason. Gilbert, one of Vitello’s favorites at Tennessee, is probably the frontrunner among that pack, but the Giants could really use a dangerous veteran bat in the corner to start the season. 

It seems that every team is looking for catching depth every offseason, and the Giants will be no different. Jesus Rodriguez and Andrew Knizner could be options to back up Patrick Bailey, but Vitello could use more help. 

The Most Intriguing Question

Minasian has piled up the frequent flyer miles over the years with visits to Asia and Posey quietly took a trip to Japan during the season to get a better sense of that market. Ohtani got most of the attention a couple of years ago, but for the previous front office, the bigger disappointment was missing out on Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who turned into a World Series MVP. 

The Giants got Lee, but at some point they’d like to strike it big with a Japanese star, and there are some options this offseason. The Giants extensively scouted Munetaka Murakami in recent years, but just about all of that work was done before the Devers trade. It’s hard to see how they’re a fit for a left-handed hitter who plays first and third. 

Tatsuya Imai, Jo-Hsi Hsu and Kona Takahashi are among the pitchers who could be available, and the Giants also could turn to a former MLB pitcher who had success overseas, like Forest Griffin or Cody Ponce. 

The organization has righted the ship in Latin America and is poised to have a second straight star-studded class when it comes to international amateurs. But the Giants also want to be major players in Asia; will this be the year that becomes their focus? 

What Else To Watch

The Giants won’t have to stress much about their arbitration class, which consists of only Lucchesi, Knizner and JT Brubaker. They’ll have to add some players to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft — former first-rounder Will Bednar, who now throws 100 mph as a reliever, is a fascinating case — but the bigger question might be which players they remove from the 40-man. 

Luciano, Matos and Meckler are going to be out of options and none of them were that involved during the 2025 season. The unknown right now is what Vitello thinks of each of his young players, but it could be time to look for a fresh start for at least a couple of those guys. 

If they’re involved in trades, those could go down at the Winter Meetings, held the second week of December in Orlando. That week also will include some nervous moments for franchise legends. Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent are on the Contemporary Era ballot for the Hall of Fame and Duane Kuiper is once again a finalist for the Ford C. Frick Award. 

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Jeff Passan believes Giants ‘make sense' for free-agent outfielder Kyle Tucker

Jeff Passan believes Giants ‘make sense' for free-agent outfielder Kyle Tucker originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Giants’ offseason started over a month ago, but the MLB offseason has just begun. 

Their main priority – finding a new leader – has been solved with the hiring of Tony Vitello. Now, the focus shifts to roster construction. 

San Francisco’s outfield has been lacking star power. A top free agent fits the bill for the Giants, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. 

“[Kyle] Tucker falls in that interesting bucket where he will rightly demand a contract in excess of $300 million, but the number of teams willing to pay that will limit his options,” Passan wrote in a recent column. “The [Los Angeles] Dodgers and Giants make sense, as do the [Philadelphia] Phillies.” 

Tucker is not expected to re-sign with the Chicago Cubs after being traded there last offseason by the Houston Astros. The Giants reportedly were one of the teams in trade talks with the Astros to acquire him at that time. 

Tucker, a four-time All Star, has made just over $57 million in career earnings in his eight years of MLB service, according to Spotrac.

As Passan wrote, Tucker’s performance warrants a large, long-term contract. The Giants have become increasingly willing to sign such contracts, as evident with Matt Chapman’s extension, Willy Adames’ free-agent signing and the trade for Rafael Devers, who has a lucrative long-term contract. 

Tucker, who will turn 29 before the start of next season, provides left-handed hitting which the Giants have been searching for in past years.  

Last season with the Cubs, Tucker got off to a scorching start, batting .291 with 17 home runs in his first 83 games played. However, a hairline fracture in his hand hampered his production for the rest of the season. He hit just .225 in his final 53 games. 

In addition to bolstering outfield depth, the Giants will need to rebuild a depleted bullpen. That need might become a factor in their determination of how much they can budget on a star position player like Tucker. 

As it always seems, San Francisco will need to compete with the rival Dodgers as well in pursuit of landing the star. 

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

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An unexpected combo is stepping up to fill Celtics' frontcourt void

An unexpected combo is stepping up to fill Celtics' frontcourt void originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

In the aftermath of the Celtics’ offseason roster overhaul, the question got asked ad nauseam: How would Boston rebuild its frontcourt after the departures of Kristaps Porzingis, Luke Kornet and Al Horford?

Now we know the answer: A whole lot of Neemias Queta and Josh Minott.

The Celtics are 4-2 since Minott elevated to a starting role alongside Queta, and even when the team has struggled to put together a complete 48 minutes, the numbers for the Queta-Minott combo have leaped off the page.

The Celtics have a +31.8 net rating in the 96 minutes that Minott and Queta have shared the floor this season. That includes eye-catching ratings on both the offensive (122.5) and defensive (90.7) ends of the floor. Of the 386 two-man lineups that have played at least 95 minutes this season, only the Miami frontcourt combo of Bam Adebayo and Jaime Jaquez Jr. has a better net rating (+32.4) than the Minott/Queta duo.

Boston has launched the 26-year-old Queta and the 22-year-old Minott into roles far beyond what’s been asked of them to this point in their NBA careers.

With 180 minutes played already, Minott soon will surpass the career-high 276 minutes he logged last season in Minnesota, and likely before his 23rd birthday arrives on November 25. Queta went from fourth on the Boston big-man depth chart last season to the clear-cut No. 1 big after the summer changes.

And while neither player has been perfect, they’ve thrived when paired together. Even as Celtics core starters Derrick White and Payton Pritchard have struggled to find their perimeter shots, the Minott version of Boston’s starting five has been among the most efficient combos in the NBA.

Of the 14 five-man lineups with at least 60 minutes together this season, the Celtics’ combo of Pritchard, White, Minott, Queta, and Jaylen Brown are outscoring opponents by a league-best 24.3 points per 100 possessions. That’s 3.5 points better than the next closest five-man combo (Minott’s old friends in Minnesota are at +21.7). Third on that list is the Orlando team that Boston will joust with twice this weekend.

Queta and Minott have had their rough patches. On Monday night, Queta didn’t just miss a key late-game free throw, he watched Jusuf Nurkic secure a rebound over him in the final seconds and produce a putback that lifted the lowly Utah Jazz to a 105-103 triumph at TD Garden.

Minott got in early foul trouble in that game, and the absence of his energy on the floor was palpable. He didn’t help matters when he picked up his third infraction almost immediately after returning to that game.

But they both bounced back Wednesday. Queta produced a double-double, putting up 15 points on perfect 7-for-7 shooting to go along with a team-high 12 rebounds. He also dished out five assists as the Celtics outscored Washington by 23 points in his 24 minutes of floor time.

Minott added a career-best 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting. When he wasn’t soaring for alley-oop lobs or trying to posterize Wizards defenders on baseline drives, he was knocking down the above-the-break 3-pointers that have evaded him to start the season.

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla further leaned into Minott’s energy by playing him as a small-ball center in some of Boston’s reserve pairings. The Celtics could get away with that against a team like Washington, and it will be intriguing to see how Mazzulla leans on that small-ball look moving forward.

The Celtics loved to play double-big last season with their robust big-man depth, but have found that energy and skill has often produced their best basketball this season.

Queta has been on the floor for some of Boston’s most inspiring play this season, with a +19.3 net rating in 206 minutes of floor time. Among the 186 players logging 20+ minutes per game with at least five appearances, Queta ranks second in the NBA in net rating. He’s one spot behind Jaquez Jr. (+19.7) and directly in front of a pair of Western Conference superstar big men in Denver’s Nikola Jokic (+19.2) and Houston’s Alperen Sengun (+19.0).

If Queta and Minott can distinguish themselves with energy and defense, then it’s intriguing to think how successful Boston’s starting five might be once Pritchard and White start knocking down 3s again. Despite his perimeter woes, Pritchard has found ways to positively impact winning, overcoming two early fouls on Wednesday to finish +36 in 24 minutes of floor time.

The Queta and Payton Pritchard combo has a +27.2 net rating in 156 minutes together. Of the 157 two-man combos that have logged 150+ minutes this season, Queta and Pritchard are 3.5 points better than the next closest duo (Houston’s Sengun and Amen Thompson at +23.7). A Derrick White-Queta combo is fifth on that list at +19.7.

You see the theme here: Good things happen with Queta and Minott on the court. They both have strides to make as individual players and they’ve only scratched the surface of their potential. The Utah game showed just how important it is for them to be laser focused.

The Celtics, too, have a long way to go to fill the void left behind by the departures of Porzingis, Horford and Kornet. The frontcourt depth is still razor thin, and even the Queta/Minott combo must show they can hold up against elite frontcourts. We’ll learn a lot more about this group with back-to-back games in Orlando, including an NBA Cup tilt on Friday night.

But it’s clear that Queta and Minott have been key in getting Boston on track this season. And they should be vital in getting the Celtics to where they want to go next.

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Australia caught in spinners’ web as India win fourth T20 by 48 runs

  • Hosts fail to capitalise on good start chasing 168

  • Last nine wickets go for 52 in Gold Coast

India’s spinners trapped Australia in a web of despair to secure a 48-run win in the T20 international on the Gold Coast to take a 2-1 series lead.

India made 8-167 after being asked to bat on Thursday and Australia were tracking nicely at 1-67, but spinners Axar Patel (2-20) and Varun Chakravarthy (1-26) sent the required run rate skyrocketing as the pressure built on the hosts.

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USMNT’s Pochettino admits he misses Premier League and would like to return in future

  • Argentinian says he is happy in current role

  • Pochettino will lead co-host US at World Cup

United States men’s national team coach Mauricio Pochettino has admitted he misses the Premier League and would like to return there in the future.

“The Premier League is the best league in the world,” he told the BBC in an interview published on Thursday. “Of course I am missing it. I am so happy in America but also thinking one day to come back to the Premier League. It’s the most competitive league.”

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