The NBA wage database right here at HoopsHype has knowledge going again to the 1990-91 season, permitting us to conduct loads of analysis relating to historic spending by groups and on gamers. As such, we now have been ready to take a look at the Prime 10 earners across the league in every of those seasons, and see not solely who was on these lists, but additionally, who was not on them.
Inevitably, in fact, nearly all the sport’s best gamers since that point have featured within the Prime 10 not less than as soon as, and sometimes repeatedly. That stated, our analysis has proven that just a few gamers you’d anticipate to have been among the many NBA’s greatest earners sooner or later by no means have been. Be it by circumstance, timing, harm, benevolence, some mixture thereof or simply blind luck, many All-Star gamers have by no means had the elite tier salaries to match their elite tier play.
There follows a take a look at NBA stars during the last 35 years who had been by no means within the Prime 10 in salaries in any season of their profession.
NBA seasons: 13 (ongoing)
Complete profession earnings: $311,521,148
Highest single-season wage rating: sixteenth (2024-25)
It’s a measure of what’s to come back that regardless of cracking the $40 million mark in wage this yr, Davis remains to be not a Prime 10 earner. In truth, he’s not even the highest-paid participant on his workforce proper now, trailing LeBron James’s $48,728,845 on this season’s Lakers roster. This can reverse if each return for subsequent season, nevertheless; by advantage of the three-year extension he signed all the best way again in August 2023, Davis will obtain a pay rise to $57,604,894 in 2025-26, which as issues stand might be sufficient to present him a Prime 10 wage within the league.
NBA seasons: 16
Complete profession earnings: $87,800,795
Highest single-season wage rating: thirteenth (2006-07)
Having made his method into the NBA as an undrafted free agent, Wallace needed to put within the laborious yards earlier than he began incomes the large bucks. Certainly, it took till his fifth NBA season earlier than he a lot as cracked the $1 million mark in wage, and whereas his sign-and-trade inclusion within the 2001 Grant Hill deal noticed him lastly earn a considerable multi-year wage, he by no means earned greater than $7.5 million in any season of his hallowed run with the Detroit Pistons. It was not till the 2006-07 season, his first in Chicago, that Wallace got here near the Prime 10 salaries within the league, when his $16 million paycheck positioned him thirteenth within the league, however by that point, his efficiency had peaked.
NBA Seasons: 17
Complete profession earnings: $106,227,720
Highest single-season wage rating: thirty fifth (2010-11)
Like Ben Wallace above, Billups was additionally (from the workforce’s viewpoint) splendidly underpaid all through his first run in Detroit. Having signed a then-permissible six-year mid-level exception contract when he joined the Pistons in the summertime of 2002, Billups earned a mean wage for his above-average play, creating the cap flexibility that allowed for the Rasheed Wallace commerce that received the 2004 NBA championship. In contrast to each of the Wallaces, although, Billups by no means obtained near a Prime 10 league-wide wage; even his career-high wage of $13.15 million in 2010-11 was nonetheless solely good for thirty fifth.
NBA Seasons: 14
Complete profession earnings: $91,978,289
Highest single-season wage rating: forty eighth (2017-18)
How a lot Cousins might have earned – and the heights he might have hit as a participant – had he not had a career-altering Achilles rupture on the worst attainable time will perpetually stay a fantastic NBA “What If”. It was the worst attainable time for that harm to happen not solely as a result of it got here as Cousins was coming into unrestricted free company for the primary time, but additionally as a result of it got here proper because the NBA wage cap was ballooning in measurement. Alas, Cousins by no means got here near incomes his $18,063,850 wage of the 2017-18 season once more, and his wage that yr was solely ok for forty eighth within the league anyway.
NBA Seasons: 8 (ongoing)
Complete profession earnings: $142,153,611
Highest single-season wage rating: thirty sixth (3 times)
During the last 4 seasons, Mitchell has earned $127,589,590 in wage. And but over these 4 years, he has ranked merely thirty sixth, thirty sixth, thirty seventh and thirty sixth throughout the entire NBA in wage. This comes concurrently he leads the league-best Cleveland Cavaliers in minutes and scoring, and the relative low cost Cleveland is getting on their perennial All-Star has allowed them to construct – and maintain collectively – a superb 11-man rotation with measurement, capturing, protection, expertise and youth. Nothing ever lasts perpetually, in fact, and the monetary pinch will begin to be felt as soon as Mitchell’s extension kicks in subsequent season, bolstering his annual wage to $48,787,676 and placing him both in or on the cusp of a Prime 10 league-wide wage. However for now, benefit from the cut price and the advantages it reaps.
NBA Seasons: 17
Complete profession earnings: $169,209,324
Highest single-season wage rating: seventeenth (2011-12)
Fittingly, for a constantly wonderful if not-quite-elite-tier participant, Elton Model earned some huge cash in his profession with out ever cracking the very highest tier of participant wage. He earned eight figures yearly from 2003 to 2013 inclusive with out ever cracking greater than $17.1 million in that point, and by no means ranked decrease than fortieth across the league in wage whereas additionally by no means fairly cracking the Prime 10. Model was solely an All-Star as soon as in that span and by no means was the very best participant on a contender, however each workforce would have had him if they may have, particularly at his acceptable value level.
NBA Seasons: 14 (ongoing)
Complete profession earnings: $315,811,186
Highest single-season wage rating: twelfth (2022-23)
Irving is likely one of the greatest ever earners within the historical past of all skilled sports activities, and after his profession rejuvenation in Dallas, he has extra but to come back. By the tip of his profession, he can have approached almost half a billion in pure enjoying wage alone. And but regardless of six instances putting within the prime 20 within the NBA by way of highest particular person participant wage, he has in some way by no means fairly cracked the Prime 10, and ranks a mere twenty fifth this season regardless of incomes $41 million. In case you are incomes $41 million at your job and but in some way have 24 higher-paid co-workers, I’m interested by any openings you might have, let’s be in contact.
NBA Seasons: 8 (ongoing)
Complete profession earnings: $155,977,000
Highest single-season wage rating: thirty sixth (2021-22)
As with Kyrie Irving above, the truth that Jayson Tatum has but to be a Prime 10 earner in any given NBA season is one thing that can change. And it’ll change quickly; the $34,848,340 Tatum is incomes this season will skyrocket to $54,126,380 within the subsequent, and can develop into the $60-70 million ranges from there. The very best participant on the defending NBA champion deserves to be paid like one of many easiest, in fact, but when this rating record is ever to be repeated on HoopsHype, don’t anticipate to see Tatum on it.
NBA Seasons: 14 (ongoing)
Complete profession earnings: $312,683,265
Highest single-season wage rating: eleventh (4 instances)
For all of the noise round him proper now, pushed by his curmudgeonly behaviour, Butler’s profession remains to be ongoing. His current suspension for detrimental conduct, and Miami’s resultant lower in leverage, can have doubtless lowered his value in commerce, as will the truth that he’s now on the age he as soon as stated he might by no means see himself enjoying at. But whichever workforce does purchase Jimmy in commerce will nonetheless need to half with vital money to play him; in 4 of the final six seasons, together with this one, Butler has ranked precisely eleventh within the NBA in particular person participant wage.
NBA Seasons: 19
Profession earnings since 1990: $65,975,000
Highest single-season wage rating: fifteenth (1999-00)
Whereas it’s a reflection of his period slightly than his particular person talents, solely twice in his storied profession did John Stockton earn greater than eight figures in annual enjoying wage. These two $11 million paychecks through the twilight of his enjoying years had been ok for fifteenth and nineteenth in league-wide wage, the place solely as soon as beforehand had he ranked within the prime 30. Like many gamers, Stockton topped up his enjoying wage with model endorsement offers, together with one with Pepsi, for whom he recorded this wonderful TV advert.
NBA Seasons: 12
Profession earnings since 1990: $28,500,000
Highest single-season wage rating: thirteenth (1996-97)
Johnson’s whole profession earnings had been deflated by the comparatively early finish to his profession – he was a technology too early for the longer common profession lengths loved within the fashionable period, and performed solely six video games after his thirty second birthday. This timeline additionally saved comparatively low the salaries for a participant who at his peak was among the many world’s greatest, a 20-points-per-game scorer again when such a factor was a lot rarer than it’s now. Accordingly, in solely the ultimate two seasons of his profession (temporary 1999-00 comeback excepted) did he come near being one of many 10 highest-paid gamers within the league, rating thirteenth and sixteenth respectively having by no means beforehand been greater than thirty fourth.
NBA Seasons: 17 (ongoing)
Complete profession earnings: $276,212,518
Highest single-season wage rating: eleventh (2015-16)
Love has reinvented himself a number of instances over his profession. From younger franchise huge and dominant rebounder, he turned a high quality stretch huge and third wheel, and remains to be incomes $3.85 million immediately by advantage of the two-year, $8 million pact he took to re-sign with the Miami Warmth over the summer time. He earned some huge cash in his peak years, too – between 2012 and 2022, he was by no means decrease than thirtieth in league-wide wage and was within the prime 20 twice, peaking at eleventh within the 2015-16 marketing campaign earlier than the NBA’s transformative wage cap spike.
NBA Seasons: 17
Complete profession salaries: $215,090,968
Highest single season wage rating: eleventh (2015-16)
Aldridge was one of many final gamers to take what was as soon as the customary full five-year maximum-value rookie scale contract extension, earlier than a mixture of each customized and rule adjustments made such follow rarer. Due to that, he was tied down throughout his first 9 years within the league to contracts that solely as soon as noticed him rank above thirtieth in highest particular person participant wage, that being the twentieth place he ranked within the extension’s closing yr. Hitting the free market in the summertime of 2015 noticed him leap as much as eleventh for the 2015-16 season, however the monumental wage cap spike the next summer time noticed him shortly drop down once more to twenty seventh, and he would solely fall additional down the rankings from there.
NBA Seasons: 17
Complete profession earnings: $129,539,615
Highest single-season wage rating: twenty sixth (2012-13)
Whether or not it was facilitated by his willingness to come back off the bench or not is difficult to say. However Ginobili constantly took team-friendly offers to stick with the San Antonio Spurs throughout each his and their glory years. Particularly, his second contract that he signed in the summertime of 2004 tied him down for six years, with out ever making him one of many highest-paid gamers within the league (peaking at 52nd within the 2009-10 season, the final of that contract). Each on the court docket and within the accounts, Ginobili was an enormous assist for the Spurs.
NBA Seasons: 14
Profession earnings since 1990: $51,911,000
Highest single-season wage rating: twentieth (1999-00)
Previous to the $10 million he earned within the 1999-00 season, which bumped him as much as twentieth within the league by way of highest particular person participant wage, Richmond had by no means been greater than forty second. That rating had come all the best way again in 1994-95, and had gone backwards considerably since then; certainly, within the 1998-99 season instantly earlier than his huge payday, Richmond had ranked a mere 142nd, regardless of having been an All-Star for every of the earlier six seasons. Sadly for the then-Washington Bullets, the Mitch Richmond that they opened the books for was not the star of his center profession; Richmond appeared in solely 37 video games for that $10 million, was minimize at season’s finish, dropped to a career-low 4.1 factors per sport the yr after, after which by no means performed within the NBA once more.
NBA Seasons: 12 (ongoing)
Complete profession earnings: $261,348,195
Highest single-season wage rating: thirteenth (twice)
Throughout the final 4 seasons, Gobert has ranked sixteenth, thirteenth, thirteenth and fifteenth in wage, and he’s nonetheless beneath contract to the Minnesota Timberwolves for 3 extra years to come back. Nonetheless, these closing three years include a pay minimize; Gobert’s wage will drop to $35 million beginning subsequent season, and by no means once more will he foreseeably come near being within the Prime 10 highest paid gamers across the league. [By the way, try and imagine a life where taking home $35 million represents a pay cut. What a world the NBA is.]
NBA Seasons: 16
Complete profession earnings: $134,936,762
Highest single-season wage rating: twelfth (2007-08)
When Steve Nash (beneath) was being vastly underpaid for his MVP-caliber play, Marion was incomes much more to be his wingman. The six-year, $75.35 million contract he signed with the Phoenix Suns earlier than the 2003-04 season was one of many greatest within the league on the time, and led to a lot of the ugly cap-cutting maneuvers that the Suns engaged in on the time – even through the midst of a interval of competitiveness – in order to keep away from luxurious tax penalties deemed too punitive. This included taking place to the smallest attainable roster (on the time, 12 gamers) for the longest attainable time frame (on the time, two weeks), in order to save lots of each greenback attainable. Not less than Marion, in his personal inimitable method, got here via with three All-Star caliber seasons of play in that point.
NBA Seasons: 18
Complete profession salaries: $146,936,620
Highest single season wage rating: thirty third (2009-10)
What higher testomony can there be to how stunning Steve Nash late-career breakout can there be than the truth that, throughout his first Most Worthwhile Participant season of 2004-05, he was solely the fiftieth highest-paid participant within the league. This was the primary yr of his third contract, too, so it’s not as if he was tied to a earlier underpayment on the time. The sixth and closing yr of that deal noticed Nash climb to the thirty third highest wage within the NBA, but it surely was his solely season greater than fortieth, a outstanding return for a two-time MVP.
NBA Seasons: 13
Profession earnings since 1990: $46,661,390
Highest single-season wage rating: 14th (2000-01)
The one yr, $12 million contract that Hardaway took to re-sign with the Warmth for the 2000-01 season was greater than double the very best quantity he earned in some other season, that being the $5.6 million he took dwelling in 1998-99, which ranked a lowly forty fourth. Hardaway did almost crack the Prime 10 as soon as beforehand, when he earned $3.34 million within the first season of his second contract again in 1993-94, good for sixteenth within the league. However the $12 million single-season greenback quantity stands anomalous.
NBA Seasons: 18
Complete profession salaries: $168,282,460
Highest single season wage rating: thirty first (2010-11)
Parker was by no means the very best level guard within the NBA, and accordingly, he was by no means paid prefer it. However what he was was an excellent guard, ideally located for his abilities alongside the nice Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. By advantage of getting each Parker and the aforementioned Manu tied right down to team-favorable contracts all through their greatest years, the Spurs had been in a position to maintain their Massive Three collectively regardless of their income limitations and had been in a position to at all times be there or thereabouts within the NBA title dialog.
