Highest-paid NBA players by season
The highest-paid NBA players by season over the past twelve seasons have received contracts with salaries noted in the twenty-million-dollar range. In this twelve-year span, Kevin Garnett received $28,000,000, which was the highest salary payment of any NBA player, during the 2003–2004 season. Garnett has been the highest-paid NBA player per year in seven of the past twelve NBA seasons. Michael Jordan is the only NBA player to sign a contract worth over thirty million dollars in a season. During the 1997–1998 season, Jordan earned $33,000,000.[1]
Beginning in the 1984–85 NBA season, the NBA's first salary cap was introduced. The NBA salary cap is the maximum dollar amount each NBA team can spend on its players for the season. However, the NBA uses a "soft" salary cap, which means that significant "salary exceptions" allow NBA teams to exceed their allotted amount in order to sign players. The salary cap is determined during the offseason, but as stated earlier, it is liable to change.[2]
An exception is necessary to sign a player for a contract that would exceed the salary cap threshold of the "soft cap". The Larry Bird exception, more commonly known as Bird Rights, allows teams to re-sign a current player only if he has played for that particular team for a minimum of three years.[3] Another exception known as the mid-level exception allows for teams that are over the salary cap to sign one or more players as long as they do not exceed the total amount of the average NBA salary.[4] Next, the bi-annual exception can be used by teams every other year to sign a free agent(s) for up to two years at an amount set by the NBA.[5] Finally, the rookie player exception allows any NBA team to sign their first-round draft pick to a contract based upon a scale previously set forth by the NBA. Another option for teams would be to assign players to a league-assigned minimum salary contract for a maximum of two years.
According to the game performance during the 2010–11 NBA season, the league's best players were not its highest-paid players. Each year there are ten players selected to one of the two All-NBA Teams. Out of those ten players chosen last year, Kobe Bryant was the only player that was also among the game's ten highest-paid during the 2010–11 NBA season.[6]
2012–2013
| Player | Salary | |
|---|---|---|
| Kobe Bryant | $27,849,000 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Joe Johnson | $19,752,645 | Brooklyn Nets
|
| Dwight Howard | $19,536,360 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Pau Gasol | $19,000,000 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Chris Paul | $17,779,458 | Los Angeles Clippers |
| LeBron James | $17,545,000 | Miami Heat |
| Chris Bosh | $17,545,000 | Miami Heat |
Source:[7]
2011–2012
| Player | Salary | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Kobe Bryant | $25,244,493 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Rashard Lewis | $22,700,000 | Washington Wizards |
| Tim Duncan | $21,164,619 | San Antonio Spurs |
| Gilbert Arenas | $19,200,000 | Orlando Magic |
| Dirk Nowitzki | $19,092,873 | Dallas Mavericks |
| Pau Gasol | $18,714,150 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Carmelo Anthony | $18,520,000 | New York Knicks |
| Amar'e Stoudemire | $18,217,705 | New York Knicks |
| Joe Johnson | $18,038,573 | Atlanta Hawks |
2010–2011
| Player | Salary | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Kobe Bryant | $24,806,250 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Rashard Lewis | $20,514,000 | Washington Wizards |
| Kevin Garnett | $18,800,000 | Boston Celtics |
| Tim Duncan | $18,700,000 | San Antonio Spurs |
| Michael Redd | $18,300,000 | Milwaukee Bucks |
| Pau Gasol | $17,822,187 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Andrei Kirilenko | $17,822,187 | Utah Jazz |
| Yao Ming | $17,686,100 | Houston Rockets |
| Gilbert Arenas | $17,730,694 | Orlando Magic |
| Dirk Nowitzki | $17,300,000 | Dallas Mavericks |
2009–2010
| Player | Salary | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Kobe Bryant | $23,034,375 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Kevin Garnett | $23,016,000 | Boston Celtics |
| Tracy McGrady | $22,843,124 | New York Knicks |
| Tim Duncan | $22,183,220 | San Antonio Spurs |
| Shaquille O'Neal | $21,000,000 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Dirk Nowitzki | $19,795,714 | Dallas Mavericks |
| Paul Pierce | $19,795,712 | Boston Celtics |
| Ray Allen | $18,776,860 | Boston Celtics |
| Rashard Lewis | $18,010,791 | Orlando Magic |
| Michael Redd | $17,040,000 | Milwaukee Bucks |
2008–2009
| Player | Salary | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Kevin Garnett | $24,751,934 | Boston Celtics |
| Jason Kidd | $21,372,000 | Dallas Mavericks |
| Jermaine O'Neal | $21,372,000 | Toronto Raptors |
| Kobe Bryant | $21,262,500 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Shaquille O'Neal | $21,000,000 | Phoenix Suns |
| Allen Iverson | $20,840,625 | Detroit Pistons |
| Stephon Marbury | $20,840,625 | Boston Celtics |
| Tim Duncan | $20,598,704 | San Antonio Spurs |
| Tracy McGrady | $20,370,437 | Houston Rockets |
| Ray Allen | $18,077,904 | Boston Celtics |
2007–2008
| Player | Salary | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Kevin Garnett | $22,000,000 | Boston Celtics |
| Shaquille O'Neal | $20,000,000 | Miami Heat |
| Jermaine O'Neal | $19,728,000 | Indiana Pacers |
| Jason Kidd | $19,728,000 | New Jersey Nets |
| Kobe Bryant | $19,490,625 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Allen Iverson | $19,195,312 | Denver Nuggets |
| Stephon Marbury | $19,195,312 | New York Knicks |
| Tim Duncan | $19,014,188 | San Antonio Spurs |
| Tracy McGrady | $19,014,187 | Houston Rockets |
| Baron Davis | $16,440,000 | Golden State Warriors |
