NBA 2014-15: Five stars who make more money than LeBron James
LEBRON James is the NBA’s best player - but its sixth-best paid. So who beats LBJ for salary this season? A couple of the top five are shockers.
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LEBRON James is the undisputed best player in the NBA. He is also only its equal sixth highest-paid player.
The only man who comes close to LeBron for individual brilliance, reigning MVP Kevin Durant, is a distant 11th in league salaries.
So who are the NBA’s highest earners? Here’s the top 10 plus some notables, the mind boggling figures according to ESPN.
1. Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) $US23,500,000
A living legend who is bearing down on Michael Jordan’s career points tally - but at a fragile 36 years of age, this salary boggles the mind.
2. Amar’e Stoudemire (New York Knicks) $23,410,988
The Knicks snapped up Stoudemire after missing out on LeBron James, shelling out what it considered one of the worst contracts ever - unless you’re Amar’e.
3. Joe Johnson (Brooklyn Nets) $23,180,790
Johnson’s deal has been rated the worst current contract in the NBA. He was signed to a six-year $123.7 million extension by Atlanta in 2010, but is now being grossly overpaid in the Big Apple. Where it gets interesting with Johnson, according to a Sports Illustrated study, is that he is actually the NBA’s BEST PAID player in terms of net salary (post tax) - earning a whopping $12,505,872.
4. Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks) $22,458,401
Melo is a bona fide superstar who isn’t even the best-paid man on his team. It appears he will be getting paid for individual brilliance for seasons to come in a mediocre team.
5. Dwight Howard (Houston Rockets) $21,436,271
Still a colossus in the paint yet remains one of the NBA’s most polarising characters. Sitting on a fat maximum contract at the Rockets.
=6. Chris Bosh (Miami Heat) $20,644,400
Stepped up to earn a mega-deal by staying with the Heat after the exit of LeBron James and now rakes in exactly what the King does.
=6. LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) $20,644,400
The best player - but not the best salary. However, LeBron made a smart move by signing a two-year deal with the Cavs, rather than a four-year, $94.5 million maximum contract he could have accepted. The King is counting on cashing in on the NBA’s new TV deal revenues in 2016.
8. Chris Paul (Los Angeles Clippers) $20,068,563
Still acknowledged as the best point guard in the NBA and has retained top dog status at the Clippers with a higher salary than Blake Griffin.
9. Deron Williams (Brooklyn Nets) $19,754,465
The classy point guard is travelling just fine on a Nets team absolutely stacked with insanely lucrative contracts.
10. Rudy Gay (Sacramento Kings) $19,317,326
Let’s face it. You’d probably want to be paid this much to suit up for the Kings.
NOTABLES: 11. Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder) $18,995,624; 12. Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls) $18,862,876; 13. Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers) $17,674,613; 18. Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers) $15,719,063; 19. Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder) $15,719,062; 22. Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat) $15,000,000; 26. John Wall (Washington Wizards) $14,746,000; 34. Andrew Bogut (Golden State Warriors) $12,972,973; 38. Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs) $12,500,000.
As revealed by the Sports Illustrated study, things get even more skewed after tax and other salary deductions are taken into account. Those adjustments drop LeBron to seven on the salary list ($11,313,653) and give Johnson - who boasts career averages of 17.5 points per game, 4.1 rebounds pg and 4.2 assists pg - a stunning ascent to No.1.
Originally published as NBA 2014-15: Five stars who make more money than LeBron James
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