The Bucks Players Who Benefited Most From NBA Cup Prize Money

The Bucks‘ team salary this season is approximately $193MM, which is over the second tax apron and far exceeds the $160.4MM on the Thunder‘s books.

However, only two players on Oklahoma City’s roster are on minimum-salary contracts and just three of 15 Thunder players on standard deals are earning less than $3MM this season. By comparison, Milwaukee has eight players with salaries below $3MM, plus a ninth earning just a hair above $3MM. Seven of those nine players are earning their respective minimums.

While the $514,970 bonus for winning the NBA Cup may be a drop in the bucket for maximum-salary Bucks stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, it represents a significant pay raise for the players on the lower two-thirds of Milwaukee’s cap sheet, as well as the players on two-way contracts who will receive bonuses worth $257,485 apiece.

[RELATED: Details On NBA Cup Prize Money For 2024]

The NBA Cup prize money results in at least a 17% raise for each of the following Bucks players, whose 2024/25 salaries are noted in parentheses:

Players receiving a $514,970 bonus:

• Delon Wright ($3,003,427)
• Taurean Prince ($2,988,550)
• AJ Johnson ($2,795,294)
• MarJon Beauchamp ($2,733,720)
• Gary Trent Jr. ($2,613,120)
• A.J. Green ($2,120,693)
• Andre Jackson ($1,891,857)
• Chris Livingston ($1,891,857)
• Tyler Smith ($1,157,153)

Players receiving a $257,485 bonus:

The bonuses for Smith and the Bucks’ two-way players represent a raise of roughly 44.5% on their respective base salaries.

None of this prize money will count against the salary cap, so the Bucks’ team salary for cap, tax, and apron purposes remains unchanged, as do the team salaries for Oklahoma City and the other six clubs who made the knockout round of the IST. Their prize money is as follows:

• Oklahoma City Thunder: $205,988 per player ($102,994 for two-way players)
• Atlanta Hawks and Houston Rockets: $102,994 per player ($51,497 for two-ways)
• Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, and Orlando Magic: $51,497 per player ($25,749 for two-ways)