Luka Doncic’s suspension will not just cost the Lakers on the court, it will also hit his wallet, with the star guard set to lose a significant chunk of his salary.
The financial penalty comes as a direct consequence of NBA rules tied to suspensions.
And the number behind it is eye-catching.
Luka Doncic’s suspension leads to $264K salary loss
The financial impact was explained by ESPN expert Bobby Marks following his suspension.
“Suspension will cost Doncic 1/174 of his pay for this season = $264K,” Marks tweeted.
The deduction reflects how the league structures player salaries across the season.
It also shows how even a single missed game can carry a heavy cost.
Why Luka Doncic loses 1/174 of his salary instead of 1/82 per game
While the NBA regular season consists of 82 games, player salaries are not calculated on a per-game basis.
Instead, salaries are distributed across the total number of days in the regular season, which for the 2025-26 campaign is 174 days.
That means each day accounts for 1/174 of a player’s salary, not 1/82.
When a player is suspended, they lose pay based on those daily increments rather than individual games. That structure is what led to Doncic’s $264,000 loss for a one-game suspension.
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