The 24 highest-paid players in the NBA for the 2018-19 season
24. Jrue Holiday — $25.4 million
20t. Bradley Beal — $25.4 million
Team: Washington Wizards
Position: Shooting Guard
Contract: 5 years, $127.2 million
One thing to know: Beal struggled with injuries early in his career, but has missed just five games over the past two seasons. As a result, his game has flourished, and he has grown into a 23-point-per-game player.
20t. Hassan Whiteside — $25.4 million
Team: Miami Heat
Position: Center
Contract: 4 years, $98.4 million
One thing to know: Whiteside played in just 19 games in the first four seasons after being drafted by the Sacramento Kings in 2010. He grew into a max-contract player with the Heat but then fell off a bit in 2017-18, leaving many to think the Heat were stuck with a contract nobody would want.
20t. Andre Drummond — $25.4 million
Team: Detroit Pistons
Position: Center
Contract: 5 years, $127.2 million
One thing to know: In Drummond's first five seasons he made 38% of his free throws. He has made 61% over his last two seasons.
20t. Anthony Davis — $25.4 million
Team: New Orleans Pelicans
Position: Power Forward
Contract: 5 years, $127.2 million
One thing to know: Before the season, Davis switched agencies and signed with Klutch Sports Group, the agency led by Rich Paul, a friend and associate of LeBron James. Many believe it is now inevitable that Davis will end up on the Lakers. Whether or not that is true, the Pelicans should probably be worried.
18t. Joel Embiid — $25.5 million
Team: Philadelphia 76ers
Position: Center
Contract: 5 years, $147.7 million
One thing to know: The 76ers could waive Embiid and save up to $63 million if he were to suffer a catastrophic injury (presumably a career-ending injury). The injury would have to be a recurrence of one of his previous injuries.
18t. Andrew Wiggins — $25.5 million
Team: Minnesota Timberwolves
Position: Small Forward
Contract: 4 years, $147.7 million
One thing to know: Three seasons after Wiggins was traded by the Cavs to the T-Wolves as part of the deal for Kevin Love, he matured into a 24-point-per-game scorer during the 2016-17 season. However, his scoring was down to 17.6 points per game the last two seasons.
17. C.J. McCollum — $25.8 million
Team: Portland Trail Blazers
Position: Shooting Guard
Contract: 4 years, $106.6 million
One thing to know: McCollum was rewarded with a max-level extension after just one season as a starter. Since then, he has pushed his scoring up to 22.2 points per game over the last two seasons. He also had a career-high 19.9 PER in the first season on the new deal.
16. Otto Porter Jr. — $26 million
Team: Washington Wizards,
Position: Small Forward
Contract: 4 years, $106.5 million
One thing to know: Porter re-signed with the Wizards even though Shaquille O'Neal thought his Sacramento Kings had signed him.
15. DeMar DeRozan — $27.7 million
Team: San Antonio Spurs
Position: Shooting Guard
Contract: 5 years, $139.0 million
One thing to know: DeRozan's deal was the second-largest in NBA history when it was signed in 2016.
14. Damian Lillard — $28 million
Team: Portland Trail Blazers
Position: Point Guard
Contract: 5 years, $140.0 million
One thing to know: Lillard's contract jumped in value by about $15 million thanks to "The Derrick Rose Rule," a rule that allowed younger star players to earn more money if they met certain criteria. Lillard qualified by twice making the All-NBA team.
13. Al Horford — $28.9 million
Team: Boston Celtics
Position: Center
Contract: 4 years, $113.3 million
One thing to know: With the Celtics adding Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, it was easy to forget that the first big piece to the team's rebuild was a max contract for Horford.
12. Paul Millsap — $29.2 million
Team: Denver Nuggets
Position: Power Forward
Contract: 2 years, $61.0 million
One thing to know: The Nuggets landed Millsap during the 2017 offseason thanks to the Atlanta Hawks' decision to go into a rebuilding mode. According to Millsap, the Hawks never offered him a contract as a free agent.
11. Kevin Durant — $30 million
Team: Golden State Warriors
Position: Small Forward
Contract: 2 years, $61.5 million
One thing to know: Thanks to the Warriors' dominance, outside of LeBron James' move to the Lakers, the biggest story in the NBA this season has nothing to do with this season. It is Durant and where he will end up next season.
Read more: LeBron James' best chance to win with the Lakers might be to pick apart the Warriors from inside
10. James Harden — $30.4 million
Team: Houston Rockets
Position: Shooting Guard
Contract: 4 years, $118.0 million
One thing to know: Harden's contract has an average annual salary of $42.3 million, the highest in the NBA.
9. Mike Conley — $30.5 million
Team: Memphis Grizzlies
Position: Point Guard
Contract: 5 years, $152.6 million
One thing to know: Conley's contract was the richest in NBA history when it was signed during the 2016 free agency period.
8. Paul George — $30.6 million
Team: Oklahoma City Thunder
Position: Point Guard
Contract: 3 years, $100.0 million
One thing to know: Paul George's decision to re-sign with the Thunder has 'emboldened' teams to take one of the biggest risks in the NBA — trade for star players in the final year of their contract.
7. Kyle Lowry — $31 million
Team: Toronto Raptors
Position: Point Guard
Contract: 3 years, $100.0 million
One thing to know: Lowry's contract comes with up to $2 million in bonuses. But to get them all, he would have need to make the All-Star game, be named All-NBA and All-Defense, and have the Raptors win the championship. On top of that, he would also need to play in at least 65 games and average at least 25 minutes per game.
6. Gordon Hayward — $31.2 million
Team: Boston Celtics
Position: Small Forward
Contract: 4 years, $127.8 million
One thing to know: Hayward was one of the biggest moves of the 2017 free agency period. Unfortunately, Hayward broke his ankle just minutes into his first game with the Celtics.
5. Blake Griffin — $31.9 million
Team: Detroit Pistons
Position: Power Forward
Contract: 5 years, $171.2 million
One thing to know: Griffin was traded to the Pistons just seven months after signing a max contract with the Los Angeles Clippers.
2t. Chris Paul — $35.7 million
Team: Houston Rockets
Position: Point Guard
Contract: 4 years, $159.7 million
One thing to know: Paul signed a max contract with the Rockets after a report that the team was having second thoughts about their wink-wink agreement. It was widely believed that the Rockets had promised a max contract to Paul when he was traded from the Los Angeles Clippers.
2t. Russell Westbrook — $35.7 million
Team: Oklahoma City Thunder
Position: Point Guard
Contract: 5 years, $206.8 million
One thing to know: Westbrook's $206.8 million contract is the largest in the NBA.
2t. LeBron James — $35.7 million
Team: Los Angeles Lakers
Position: Small Forward
Contract: 4 years, $153.3 million
One thing to know: LeBron's 4-year deal with the Lakers is his longest contract since the 6-year contract he signed with the Miami Heat the first time he left Cleveland.
1. Stephen Curry — $37.5 million
Team: Golden State Warriors
Position: Point Guard
Contract: 5 years, $201.2 million
One thing to know: Curry's $201 million contract was the largest in NBA history at the time of its signing, a huge pay bump from what was the biggest bargain in the NBA.
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