KEY POINTS

  • Playoff teams will split a little over $20.8 million for making the NBA postseason this year
  • Last season's NBA champion, the Los Angeles Lakers, received a bonus of $6.16 million from the playoff pool
  • The 2020 NBA playoff pool was the highest in league history at $23.29 million

The NBA 2020-21 season is reaching its conclusion, with the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks battling it out to become the new NBA champion. Whether it's the Suns or the Bucks, the winning team will take home a massive bonus on top of a ring and bragging rights.

The NBA has a "playoff pool" each season that’s distributed to the 16 teams that make the playoffs as they progress through the tournament.

For the 2020-21 season, the amount is just over $20.8 million, which is down 10.6% from last year's pool, the Associated Press reported. However, this is still the fourth consecutive season in which the pool will be at least $20 million.

The bonus each playoff team gets depends on how far they get. First-round qualifiers will receive at least $310,745. The Utah Jazz secured at least $1.44 million by making the first round, having the best record in the NBA and winning the West’s no. 1 seed, the outlet said.

The NBA champion could get $6.1 million, which they can distribute any way they like to players. The amount is about 30% of the playoff pool.

Last season's NBA champion, the Los Angeles Lakers, received $6.16 million, according to the Associated Press. The Toronto Raptors reportedly split $5.6 million from the playoff pool when they won in 2019.

The 2020 NBA playoff pool was the highest in league history at $23.29 million, surpassing 2019’s $22 million pool, according to NBA.com. In 2018, the pool consisted of around $20 million.

Aside from the bonus, the NBA championship ring the winning team gets also has value.

In 2019, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar auctioned off his 1986-87 championship ring with the Los Angeles Lakers for $398,937, while his 1985 ring sold for $343,700. His ’80 and ’88 rings went for $245,000 each, ESPN reported. The proceeds went to charity.

However, this is just a fraction of the star players' salaries. For example, the Suns' Devin Booker has an average annual salary of $31.65 million from his five-year contract with the team, according to sports-data site Spotrac.

Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks brought in $27 million for this season.

Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks wore a shirt reading "I can't breathe," a reference to George Floyd's last words, to a Black Lives Matter protest
Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks wore a shirt reading "I can't breathe," a reference to George Floyd's last words, to a Black Lives Matter protest GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Gregory Shamus
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