The Highest-Paid NBA Player on Every Team
You can page through NBA statistics to see which players are leading the league in scoring, rebounding and more — if you want a stat, the NBA is tracking it.
Read: The 41 Highest-Paying Positions in Sports
But GOBankingRates wanted to check a different kind of number, to see which players are bringing in the most money from each franchise, and how much of the team’s salary cap is devoted to that player.
The average highest-paid player is 29 years old, with a base salary of $30,586,862. That accounts to 23.81% of total cap space — all spent on that one player.
That’s an average, of course, and teams devote different amounts to their highest-paid players. The Pistons are paying Jerami Grant just 16.6% of their total cap space, while the Phoenix Suns are giving Chris Paul a whopping 32.54%.
Read on to see each franchise’s highest-paid player.
Last updated: April 14, 2021
Atlanta Hawks: Danilo Gallinari
Age: 32
Position: Power forward
Base Salary: $19.5 million
Cap Figure: $19.5 million
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 16.93%
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Boston Celtics: Kemba Walker
Age: 30
Position: Point guard
Base Salary: $34,379,100
Cap Figure: $34,379,100
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 26.1%
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Brooklyn Nets: James Harden
Age: 31
Position: Shooting guard
Base Salary: $41,254,920
Cap Figure: $41,254,920
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 24.85%
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Charlotte Hornets: Gordon Hayward
Age: 30
Position: Small forward
Base Salary: $28.5 million
Cap Figure: $28.5 million
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 26.56%
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Chicago Bulls: Nikola Vucevic
Age: 29
Position: Center
Base Salary: $26 million
Cap Figure: $26 million
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 20.56%
See: The Most Valuable Sports Empires — And the Teams That Make Them Rich
Cleveland Cavaliers: Kevin Love
Age: 32
Position: Power forward
Base Salary: $31,258,256
Cap Figure: $31,258,256
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 24.94%
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Dallas Mavericks: Kristaps Porzingis
Age: 25
Position: Power forward
Base Salary: $29,467,800
Cap Figure: $29,467,800
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 23.45%
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Denver Nuggets: Nikola Jokic
Age: 25
Position: Center
Base Salary: $28,542,009
Cap Figure: $29,542,010
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 23.03%
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Detroit Pistons: Jerami Grant
Age: 26
Position: Power forward
Base Salary: $19.05 million
Cap Figure: $19.05 million
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 16.6%
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Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry
Age: 32
Position: Point guard
Base Salary: $43,006,362
Cap Figure: $43,006,362
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 25.49%
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Houston Rockets: John Wall
Age: 30
Position: Point guard
Base Salary: $41,254,920
Cap Figure: $41,254,920
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 32.32%
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Indiana Pacers: Malcolm Brogdon
Age: 27
Position: Point guard
Base Salary: $20.7 million
Cap Figure: $20.7 million
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 16.17%
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Los Angeles Clippers: Paul George
Age: 30
Position: Shooting guard
Base Salary: $35,450,412
Cap Figure: $35,450,412
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 25.96%
See: 25 Athletes Who Were Born Rich
Los Angeles Lakers: LeBron James
Age: 35
Position: Small forward
Base Salary: $39,219,565
Cap Figure: $39,219,565
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 28.74%
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Memphis Grizzlies: Jonas Valanciunas
Age: 28
Position: Center
Base Salary: $15 million
Cap Figure: $15 million
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 11.42%
More: The Richest Athletes in the World
Miami Heat: Jimmy Butler
Age: 31
Position: Small forward
Base Salary: $34,379,100
Cap Figure: $34,379,100
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 26.07%
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Milwaukee Bucks: Khris Middleton
Age: 29
Position: Small forward
Base Salary: $33,051,724
Cap Figure: $33,051,724
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 25.16%
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Minnesota Timberwolves: Karl-Anthony Towns
Age: 24
Position: Center
Base Salary: $29,467,800
Cap Figure: $29,467,800
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 22.33%
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New Orleans Pelicans: Steven Adams
Age: 27
Position: Center
Base Salary: $27,528,088
Cap Figure: $27,528,088
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 21.14%
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New York Knicks: Julius Randle
Age: 25
Position: Power forward
Base Salary: $18.9 million
Cap Figure: $18.9 million
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 19.77%
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Oklahoma City Thunder: Al Horford
Age: 34
Position: Power forward
Base Salary: $27.5 million
Cap Figure: $27.5 million
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 27.21%
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Orlando Magic: Otto Porter Jr.
Age: 32
Position: Small forward
Base Salary: $28,489,238
Cap Figure: $28,489,238
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 24.95%
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Philadelphia 76ers: Tobias Harris
Age: 28
Position: Small forward
Base Salary: $34,358,850
Cap Figure: $34,358850
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 23.63%
More: LeBron James and More of the Richest Athletes Younger Than 40
Phoenix Suns: Chris Paul
Age: 35
Position: Point guard
Base Salary: $41,358,814
Cap Figure: $41,358,814
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 32.54%
Read: Biggest Sports Contracts Ever
Portland Trail Blazers: Damian Lillard
Age: 30
Position: Point guard
Base Salary: $31,626,953
Cap Figure: $31,626,353
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 24.35%
See: 25 of the Richest Former NCAA Tournament Stars
Sacramento Kings: Buddy Hield
Age: 27
Position: Shooting guard
Base Salary: $24,201,834
Cap Figure: $24,701,834
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 20.72%
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San Antonio Spurs: DeMar DeRozan
Age: 31
Position: Shooting guard
Base Salary: $27,739,975
Cap Figure: $27,739,975
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 21.97%
More: These 25 Colleges Spend the Most on Men’s Basketball
Toronto Raptors: Pascal Siakam
Age: 26
Position: Power forward
Base Salary: $30,559,200
Cap Figure: $30,559,200
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 24.03%
Read: The Highest-Paid College Basketball Coaches in America
Utah Jazz: Mike Conley
Age: 32
Position: Point guard
Base Salary: $34,502,132
Cap Figure: $34,502,132
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 25.38%
See: How Will This Year Impact Long-Term Earning for Athletes?
Washington Wizards: Russell Westbrook
Age: 31
Position: Point guard
Base Salary: $41,358,814
Cap Figure: $41,358,814
% of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 31.93%
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Photo Disclaimer: Please note photos are for representational purposes only and may not reflect the player’s current team.
Methodology: For this piece GOBankingRates used Spotrac’s National Basketball League (NBA) team financials for the 2020-2021 season to find the highest-paid player on every NBA team in terms of cap hit. For each team, GOBankingRates found (1) the name of the highest-paid player in terms of cap hit; (2) the player’s age; (3) position played; (4) base salary; (5) total cap hit; and (6) percent of team’s total cap is accounted for by the player’s salary. All data was collected on and up to date as of March 29, 2021.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The Highest-Paid NBA Player on Every Team
