"They don't care if they win or lose" - Byron Scott blasts today's NBA players for caring more about money than winning

The salaries that NBA players make today are a bone of contention among the game’s OGs, especially given the incredible amounts they earn each year. Consider this: for the upcoming 2026-27 season, Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry will earn $62,587,158 while Denver Nuggets’ ace Nikola Jokic will pocket $59,033,114.

Contrast that with the $10,867,500 that Los Angeles Lakers great Byron Scott earned for his entire 14-year NBA career, and the game’s old heads may have a valid point. B-Scott, though, emphasized that the amount of money players receive today isn’t relevant to him. However, he does have a bone to pick with players who care more about the zeroes on their contract than figuring out the best ways to help their team win.

To be perfectly clear, aiming to secure a bag isn’t necessarily evil. After all, the goal of every person who has ever aspired to reach the NBA is to become a superstar who earns the big bucks; anybody in the league who says they’re not in it for the money has either made enough or is flat-out lying.

What Byron has an issue with is when players care more about making money than about competing hard and proving they’re worth every dime and penny of their contracts.

‘It’s all about that money. Even the young kids, bro, they come in this league, it’s all about trying to get their money. And I’ve seen it firsthand, you know, as a coach. It’s all about coming in, trying to get their money, trying to get their paper,” the three-time NBA champion said on his podcast.

“They don’t give a damn if they win or lose. They just want to get paid. And that’s the truth,” B-Scott stressed with more fire than normal.

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Scott noted how front offices have changed their respective approaches to talent evaluation. Whereas before, players had to first prove themselves worthy of a lucrative contract, now they’re given a bag the moment they join the NBA.

For example, the GOAT Michael Jordan’s rookie contract saw him make $6,300,000 over seven years for an average salary of $900,000. Today, the Rookie Scale has the top pick making $13.19 million in the first year of a four-year pact.

“Normally, you don’t get paid until you do something. But no, that’s the other thing that’s totally different now than it was back in our day when we came to the league. You got a four-year deal, blah, blah, blah. You didn’t get paid till you proved that you could really belong in this league. Guys now are getting drafted on potential,” Scott conveyed. “Well, we going to pay him because we think he’s going to be good.”

“So, it’s a big difference. That’s why I think a lot of the guys, when they come in the league now, it’s all about that money. That bottom line.”

B-Scott played in an era when winning came before anything else. However, he fears that mentality has changed. With NBA salaries reaching unreal levels, the former player/coach believes that some players are more concerned with securing the bag than securing wins.

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