Who are the highest paid NBA players this season?

With the 2021/22 NBA season nearing the two-month mark, teams and individuals are crafting their identity and certain patterns are beginning to emerge. In true NBA fashion, the season’s opening months have proven to be full of revelations and surprises. Team payrolls are higher than any other point in league history, with six players earning in excess of US$40 million this season. With that in mind, just how much value are team’s getting from the league’s most expensive stars?

10. Kawhi Leonard

• Team: Los Angeles Clippers
• Position: Forward
• Age: 30
• Salary: US$39,344,900
• Contracted through: 2023/24 (player option for 2024/25)

Leonard is yet to take the court this season for the Clippers due to a partial ACL tear he suffered in the playoffs and is at risk of missing the entire season. In his two seasons as a Clipper, however, he has averaged 26.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg and 5.0 apg on .543 eFG%. A legitimate three-level scorer and improved playmaker with the ability to take on the toughest defensive assignments on any given night. When healthy, few players in basketball have matched his nightly production over the past several seasons.

Verdict: Worth every penny of his deal. Ability to manage chronic injury issues a major key as he ages.

9. Damian Lillard

• Team: Portland Trail Blazers
• Position: Point Guard
• Age: 31
• Salary: US$39,344,900
• Contracted through: 2024/25

Lillard has struggled to start this season averaging his lowest scoring total in six seasons (21.5) and the lowest three-point percentage of his career (.302). He finds himself on a Portland squad that has been flirting with basketball obscurity over the past few seasons and, after parting ways with general manager Neil Olshey and long-time head coach Terry Stotts, it feels as though they may be progressing towards a change of the guard. The 31-year-old has averaged 27.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg and 6.9 apg over the past six seasons; he has well and truly solidified his status as a bonafide star.

Verdict: A difficult start to the season does not erase what is an astonishing body of work. His future in Portland, however, looks muddier by the day.

8. Paul George

• Team: Los Angeles Clippers
• Position: Forward
• Age: 31
• Salary: US$39,344,970
• Contracted through: 2023/24 (player option for 2024/25)

The second Clipper on the list, George has dealt with his fair share of critics since leaving Indiana in 2017. Whilst an inconsistent playoff record has haunted the seven-time All-Star, he continues churning out All-NBA level production on both ends of the floor. George led the Clippers to their first Western Conference Finals appearance in franchise history last season, averaging 26.9 ppg, 9.6 rpg and 5.4 apg for the postseason. This season sans running-mate Leonard, he has helped the Clippers stay within the thick of things as far as the Western Conference playoff picture goes with his 25.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg and 5.4 apg.

Verdict: Has enjoyed a strong start to the season without Leonard. Continues proving himself as a lead star but needs to find more consistency as a playoff performer to win critics over.

7. Giannis Antetokounmpo

• Team: Milwaukee Bucks
• Position: Forward
• Age: 27
• Salary: US$39,344,970
• Contracted through: 2024/25 (player option for 2025/26)

Few athletes ever have experienced a rise quite like that of Antetokounmpo’s; the Athens-native has cemented himself atop the NBA’s mountaintop until proven otherwise. A basketball machine on both ends of the floor, Antetokounmpo has averaged 28.3 ppg, 12.3 rpg and 5.8 apg over the past four seasons, all whilst offering DPOY-level production on a nightly basis. The 27-year-old averaged 30.2 ppg, 12.8 rpg and 5.1 apg en route to an NBA championship and Finals MVP last postseason, topped off with a herculean 50-point, 14-rebound, 5-block effort in a championship-clinching Game 6 victory against Phoenix.

Verdict: Without question, worth every penny.

6. Kevin Durant

• Team: Brooklyn Nets
• Position: Forward
• Age: 33
• Salary: US$40,918,900
• Contracted through: 2025/26

Only a select few have accomplished what Durant has since the turn of century. With a League MVP and pair of Finals MVPs to his name, the 33-year-old continues wowing the basketball world night in, night out. Durant’s 28.4 ppg leads the league this season and he is one of just six players to average 25+ ppg, 5+ rpg and 5+ apg. The Nets came within inches of an NBA Finals berth last season, due in large part to Durant’s 34.3 ppg and 9.3 rpg on .573 eFG%. Many feared that he would struggle to return from a torn achilles he suffered in the 2019 Finals, but those concerns have been swiftly alleviated.

Verdict: Playing at a level right now that few have ever matched. Genuine MVP candidate this season.

5. LeBron James

• Team: Los Angeles Lakers
• Position: Point Forward
• Age: 36
• Salary: US$41,180,544
• Contracted through: 2022/23

Few athletes in the world are as polarising and renown as James, who is only 14 months removed from an NBA title and Finals MVP. Soon to be 37, James is not the same otherworldly star that led Cleveland back from a 3-1 deficit in the 2016 Finals but his still production is still on par with the league’s very best. The four-time MVP has struggled this season with injury but has managed to put up 25.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg and 6.6 apg, making it his 18th consecutive season averaging 25+ ppg, 5+ rpg and 5+ apg. For reference, no player in NBA history has hit those season marks more than nine times.

Verdict: Injuries and father time have slowed James down a little but underestimating him would be ill-advised. At nearly 37, unbelievably still producing at an All-NBA level.

4. James Harden

• Team: Brooklyn Nets
• Position: Guard
• Age: 32
• Salary: US$43,848,000
• Contracted through: 2022/23

Harden’s opening tenure in Brooklyn has been mixed, with the 32-year-old having suffered through multiple hamstring issues that forced him to miss time in postseason. Harden, who took home League MVP honours in 2018, is averaging just 20.9 ppg on .489 eFG% to start this season – his worst marks since his early days as a substitute in Oklahoma City. His body of work, however, speaks for itself; he has averaged 30.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg and 8.8 apg over his past 450 regular season games. No stranger to postseason disappointment, the former-Rocket will be leaned on heavily if his Nets are to claim their maiden NBA title this season.

Verdict: Yet to hit his stride this season but his mixture of three-level scoring ability and playmaking prowess allow him to produce at a level that few can match.

3. Russell Westbrook

• Team: Los Angeles Lakers
• Position: Point Guard
• Age: 33
• Salary: US$44,211,146
• Contracted through: 2022/23

One of the more polarising talents that we have witnessed, Westbrook’s first season in LA has not gone to plan from a wins perspective but the explosive guard has enjoyed genuine stretches of All-Star calibre basketball. At his best, the 33-year-old is a triple-double machine who drags his squad to victories off will power alone. At his worst, he is a floor-cramping, turnover machine whose usage results in more harm than good. Over his past eight seasons, he has averaged 25.6 ppg, 9.4 rpg and 9.9 apg; those numbers speak for themselves and paint the picture of a bonafide superstar. It would be unfair to pin the Lakers’ struggles on the play of Westbrook who has, for the most part, provided the lethargic Lakers with much-needed energy and scoring and/or playmaking bursts, but his turnover rate and lack of shooting may well again rear their head in an ugly way come playoffs.

Verdict: Point guards with an inability to hit threes or take care of the basketball are difficult to build around. Needs to up his night-to-night dependability if he is to be mentioned in the same breath as his fellow supermax-earners.

2. John Wall

• Team: Houston Rockets
• Position: Point Guard
• Age: 31
• Salary: US$44,310,840
• Contracted through: 2022/23

The demise of Wall has been bitterly disappointing, with injuries getting the better of the once electric star. The 31-year-old is yet to suit up for Houston this season, despite being fit to play. The Rockets have been trying to ship he and his mammoth contract elsewhere, without any luck. He started in all 40 games he appeared in last season and averaged 20.6 ppg and 6.9 rpg, which are strong numbers on the surface. The former-Wizard still has plenty to offer if he can string together some consistent minutes on the right team. In Washington, Wall was a terrific driver thanks to his freakish quickness and leaping ability, whilst developing into one of the league’s best passers.

Verdict: Unfortunately the injury bug has robbed fans of some prime Wall years. Still a spot for him in the league, but not at $44 million a year.

1. Stephen Curry

• Team: Golden State Warriors
• Position: Point Guard
• Age: 33
• Salary: US$45,780,966
• Contracted through: 2025/26

Evaluating Curry’s worth and what he means to the Warriors in a 100-odd-word paragraph seems wasteful; the words to properly describe his brilliance do not really exist. Wildly efficient from every spot on the court and a willing passer, the two-time MVP has his Warriors sitting atop the league’s standings as he eyes another MVP trophy. Curry may not have ushered the league’s three-point revolution in alone but he certainly gave it a major roundhouse kick to speed it up. The 33-year-old is on track to lead the league in three-point makes for the seventh time in 10 seasons, whilst his all-round production is close to as impressive as it has ever been. Come June, Curry may well have an opportunity to again chase an elusive Finals MVP crown.

Verdict: Will be getting paid whatever he wants for as long as he wants in The Bay.