With each player taking home a handsome 8.32 million U.S. dollars every year, the NBA is the professional sports league with the highest player wages worldwide. In second place is the Indian Premier League, an annual cricket competition contested each year between eight franchises representing eight different Indian cities.

Big money in the NBA Although the wages that players in the NBA take home are astronomical, the average annual salaries vary from one team to another. Whilst the New York Knicks pay their players an average of 7.08 million U.S. dollars a year, Portland Trail Blazers spent around 10.04 million U.S. dollars annually on each of their stars in 2019/20. NBA salaries have tremendously increased throughout the years reaching 8.32 million U.S. dollars in 2019/20 compared to 4.6 million U.S. dollars in 2015/16.

NBA Player Statistics Dataset (Regular Season & Playoffs)

Overview

This dataset contains detailed NBA player statistics for both the regular season and playoffs, including per-game performance metrics and advanced analytics such as Player Efficiency Rating (PER). The dataset is useful for basketball analytics, machine learning projects, and statistical research on player performance.

Dataset Features

• Basic Information

  • Player: Name of the player
  • Age: Player's age in the season
  • Team: Team abbreviation
  • Pos: Position played (e.g., PG, SG, SF, PF, C)
  • Season Type: Indicates whether stats are from Regular Season or Playoffs

• Per-Game Statistics

  • G: Games played
  • GS: Games started
  • MP: Minutes played per game
  • FG, FGA, FG%: Field goals made, attempted, and percentage
  • 3P, 3PA, 3P%: Three-pointers made, attempted, and percentage
  • 2P, 2PA, 2P%: Two-pointers made, attempted, and percentage
  • FT, FTA, FT%: Free throws made, attempted, and percentage
  • ORB, DRB, TRB: Offensive, defensive, and total rebounds per game
  • AST: Assists per game
  • STL: Steals per game
  • BLK: Blocks per game
  • TOV: Turnovers per game
  • PF: Personal fouls per game
  • PTS: Points per game

• Advanced Metrics

  • PER: Player Efficiency Rating, a metric that measures per-minute performance while adjusting for pace

Usage

This dataset is ideal for:
✅ Basketball analytics (player comparisons, efficiency analysis)
✅ Machine learning projects (predicting player performance, clustering player roles)
✅ Data visualization (trends in player stats, team comparisons)

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is one of the most popular and widely watched sports leagues in the world, with millions of fans tuning in to watch their favorite teams and players compete on the court. This dataset provides a detailed breakdown of the salaries earned by NBA players based on their individual attributes and career trajectory.

The dataset includes information on a variety of player attributes, including age, height, weight, position, and years of experience. It also includes data on each player's career statistics, such as points per game, rebounds per game, and assists per game, among others.

By analyzing this data, fans and analysts can gain insights into how different attributes and career milestones impact NBA player salaries. They can also identify trends and patterns that might inform player evaluations and team-building strategies.

Overall, this dataset is a valuable resource for anyone interested in understanding the complex factors that drive NBA player salaries and the intricate workings of the league's salary cap system. It offers a comprehensive view of the NBA landscape and sheds light on the factors that contribute to the success and earning potential of individual players.

The statistic shows the average player salary of the professional sports teams in Los Angeles in 2018. The Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA had an average player salary of about 7.47 million U.S. dollars in 2018.

The statistic shows total professional sports player salaries by league in 2019/20. Total salaries paid to NFL players amounted to 5.52 billion U.S. dollars for the 2019/20 season.

The statistic ranks sports teams from all over the world by the average pay per player in the 2018/19 season. The FC Barcelona of the NBA had the highest average player salary with players making an average of 12.28 million U.S. dollars in 2018/19.

Graph and download economic data for Employed full time: Wage and salary workers: Entertainers and performers, sports and related workers, all other occupations: 16 years and over: Men (LEU0254592600A) from 2000 to 2019 about performance, sport, entertainment, occupation, full-time, males, salaries, workers, 16 years +, wages, employment, and USA.

Explore the progression of average salaries for graduates in Sports And Materials Science from 2020 to 2023 through this detailed chart. It compares these figures against the national average for all graduates, offering a comprehensive look at the earning potential of Sports And Materials Science relative to other fields. This data is essential for students assessing the return on investment of their education in Sports And Materials Science, providing a clear picture of financial prospects post-graduation.

Explore the progression of average salaries for graduates in Sports Science And Physical Education from 2020 to 2023 through this detailed chart. It compares these figures against the national average for all graduates, offering a comprehensive look at the earning potential of Sports Science And Physical Education relative to other fields. This data is essential for students assessing the return on investment of their education in Sports Science And Physical Education, providing a clear picture of financial prospects post-graduation.

Context

Dataset is composed of scraped together files from basketball-reference.com

Content

Salary and Statistics (advanced/basic) for NBA players during the 17-18 regular season. The dataset is composed of a unique combination of Player/Team, therefore if you see a player listed twice, this indicates that the player played for multiple teams during the 17-18 season.

The highest paid athlete in the world in 2024 was soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who racked up on and off field earnings of around 260 million U.S. dollars. However, the Portuguese legend was one of only 12 soccer players to make it into the top 100 ranking of highest paid athletes. Meanwhile, 36 stars from the National Basketball Association made it into the top 100.

Graph and download economic data for Employed full time: Wage and salary workers: Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations: 16 years and over: Men (LEU0254591800A) from 2000 to 2024 about sport, arts, entertainment, occupation, full-time, males, salaries, workers, 16 years +, wages, employment, and USA.

Player salaries for all 30 Major League teams for 2011 through 2024 seasons. Data includes salaries for active players and players on the Major League injured list.

The data for this project was sourced from Spotrac, accessed on January 9, 2025. Spotrac provides detailed information on player contracts, salaries, and other financial data for professional sports.

Graph and download economic data for Employed full time: Median usual weekly nominal earnings (second quartile): Wage and salary workers: Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations: 16 years and over: Women (LEU0254752000A) from 2000 to 2024 about sport, second quartile, arts, entertainment, occupation, females, full-time, salaries, workers, earnings, 16 years +, wages, median, employment, and USA.

Explore the progression of average salaries for graduates in Sports Therapy from 2020 to 2023 through this detailed chart. It compares these figures against the national average for all graduates, offering a comprehensive look at the earning potential of Sports Therapy relative to other fields. This data is essential for students assessing the return on investment of their education in Sports Therapy, providing a clear picture of financial prospects post-graduation.

As of 2023, soccer players in the English Premier League were better compensated than many other professional sports leagues, with player salaries amounting to around ** percent of the league's total revenue. Meanwhile, player salaries in North America's Big Four sports leagues hovered around half of each league's revenue, while cricketers in the Indian Premier League only earned ** percent of league revenue.

Dataset

This dataset was created by obie

Released under CC0: Public Domain

Contents

Graph and download economic data for Employed full time: Wage and salary workers: Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations: 16 years and over: Women (LEU0254698600A) from 2000 to 2024 about sport, arts, entertainment, occupation, females, full-time, salaries, workers, 16 years +, wages, employment, and USA.

The statistic shows the average player salary of the professional sports teams in New York in 2017. The New York Yankees of the MLB had an average player salary of about 6.31 million U.S. dollars in 2017.

United States - Employed full time: Wage and salary workers: Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations: 16 years and over was 1827.00000 Thous. of Persons in January of 2024, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Employed full time: Wage and salary workers: Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations: 16 years and over reached a record high of 1889.00000 in January of 2022 and a record low of 1416.00000 in January of 2009. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Employed full time: Wage and salary workers: Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations: 16 years and over - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.