NBA Championship 2023 prize money: How much does the winning team get?

There is no money that is given out to the winner of the NBA finals by the NBA. However, there is a Player Playoff Pool that rewards teams.

The Player Playoff Pool is a fund constituted from playoff ticket sales. While each team contributes to this fund, the team that advances furthest gets the biggest piece of the pie i.e. the prize money.

The distribution of winnings in the NBA works like this:

The team that achieves the best overall record in the league is rewarded with a substantial amount of money, while smaller amounts are given to the teams with the best records in the Eastern and Western conferences.

The top six teams in each conference receive decreasing amounts of money based on their final standings, while all teams that qualify for the playoffs receive an additional lump sum.

From that point onwards, teams have the opportunity to earn increasing amounts of money as they advance in the playoffs. Reaching the second round guarantees a fixed sum, making it to the conference finals earns slightly more, advancing to the finals brings in even greater earnings, and winning the championship results in the highest payout.

Best overall record: $777,840

Best record in the conference: $1,361,206 ($680,603 each)

Second-best record in the conference: $1,094,078 ($547,039 each)

Third-best record in the conference: $816,729 ($408,364 each)

Fourth-best record in the conference: $641,862 ($320,931 each)

Fifth-best record in the conference: $534,822 ($267,411 each)

Sixth-best record in the conference: $364,782 ($182,391 each)

Teams participating in first round: $6,439,658 ($402,479 each)

Teams reaching the conference semifinals: $3,831,216 ($478,902 each)

Teams reaching the Conference Finals: $3,165,594 ($791,398 each)

Losing team in the NBA Finals: $3,164,731

NBA Champion: $4,775,940

Based on this, if the Nuggets get crowned the 2023 NBA championship, they will get a prize money of $7,809,925. If the Heat gets crowned the 2023 NBA championship, their prize money will be $6,448,719.

---

NBA Championship 2023 prize money: How much does each player get?

Nuggets Big 3

The breakdown of the prize money for each player is more complex. If the money was divided equally amongst all players, it would be fairly easy to calculate. However, teams usually award more money to key players than they do to bench players or even coaches. How this is calculated is not quite clear. It could be based on minutes played, games played, points per game and numerous other factors.

Teams can also allocate shares to supporting staff such as coaches, which also has no clear indication as to how the money would be split.

Aside from this, the winning team also awards rings that can have a monetary value on their own. It is estimated that their value is anywhere between $20,000 to $100,000 depending on the team and season.