New York’s Lower-Paid Knicks Land Biggest Payday From NBA Cup Win
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The New York Knicks’ NBA Cup victory is paying off most for the team’s least-compensated players.
With a 2025/26 payroll approaching $208 million—second in the league behind Cleveland’s $228 million-plus—the club will distribute $530,933 to each player on its 14-man standard roster. Two-way players collect half that amount, or $265,467.
Sharp raises for minimum-salary Knicks
Six New York players earning the league minimum or just above will see their income jump at least 14 percent thanks to the full bonus:
- Jordan Clarkson — $3,634,153 base salary
- Landry Shamet — $3,080,921
- Pacome Dadiet — $2,847,600
- Tyler Kolek — $2,191,897
- Ariel Hukporti — $1,955,377
- Mohamed Diawara — $1,272,870
Diawara’s payout represents more than a 40 percent boost to his rookie salary. The same proportional increase applies to the club’s two-way trio—Tosan Evbuomwan, Trey Jemison, and Kevin McCullar Jr.—each of whom will add $265,467 to a $636,435 contract.
No cap implications
NBA Cup prize money is excluded from salary-cap calculations, leaving New York’s tax and apron figures unchanged. The same accounting applies to the other knockout-round teams:
- San Antonio Spurs: $212,373 per roster player, $106,187 for two-ways
- Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder: $106,187 per roster player, $53,094 for two-ways
- Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns: $53,093 per roster player, $26,547 for two-ways
For New York’s stars—Karl-Anthony Towns ($53.1 million), OG Anunoby ($39.6 million) and Jalen Brunson ($34.9 million)—the bonus is modest. For the bottom half of the roster, it is a meaningful windfall that arrives tax-free to the Knicks’ books.
Source: Hoops Rumors
