The NBA regular season is over and the final financial numbers are beginning to surface. USA Today has released their list of the highest paid players for the season and the top 5 is mind boggling atrocious. Aside from Kobe Bryant at the top none of the other top 5 lived up to their 2012-2013 salaries.
Of those top 5 players two didn’t play a game this season, Brandon Roy and Gilbert Arenas. Further highlighting the bad decisions made by NBA GMs as of late is the fact that only two were on playoff teams, Kobe Bryant and Amare Stoudemire. All 5 were injured or inactive at some point this season, with Bryant suffering his with 5 games to go in the season.
The two best players on the planet, Kevin Durant and LeBron James, are ranked 12th and 13th respectively. The Athletic point guards Russel Westbrook and Rajon Rondo didn’t even crack the top 25.
The owners griped during the lockout that they were losing money; we can now see why they felt that way. Both the owners General Managers put their teams at a disadvantage both financially and competitively with these handicapping contracts.
Nothing highlights this more than Rashard Lewis’ position at 22 with a total earnings $15 mil. He is currently the 10th man in the Miami Heat’s rotation and signed with them for the veteran’s minimum before the season. So where does his large salary come from? The Washington Wizards took on his large contract from the Orlando Magic a few years ago and amnestied Lewis at the end of last season.
These figures should end all of the “lack of competitiveness and parody” gripes fans and NBA execs in small markets. They’d have enough money to lure big time stars and keep their stars if they weren’t handing out nonsense contracts to over the hill athletes.
NBA’s Top 25 Paid Athletes
1. Kobe Bryant $27,849,000
2. Brandon Roy $21,459,805
3. Dirk Nowitzki $20,907,128
4. Gilbert Arenas $20,807,922
5. Amare Stoudemire $19,948,799
6. Joe Johnson $19,752,645
7. Carmelo Anthony $19,450,000
8. Dwight Howard $19,261,200
9. Pau Gasol $19,000,000
10. Elton Brand $18,160,354
11. Chris Paul $17,779,457
12. Kevin Durant $17,548,838
13. Chris Bosh $17,545,000
13. LeBron James $17,545,000
15. Deron Williams $17,177,795
16. Dwyane Wade $17,024,000
17. Paul Pierce $16,790,345
18. Zach Randolph $16,500,000
19. Andrew Bynum $16,473,002
20. Rudy Gay $16,460,532
21. Derrick Rose $16,402,500
22. Rashard Lewis $15,052,181
23. Carlos Boozer $15,000,000
23. Al Jefferson $15,000,000
25. Baron Davis $14,850,000