Among the 10 biggest NBA contracts for the 2022-2023 season (according to Spotrac) there are four players that have never won a championship, three of them have never reached the Finals. Below is a list of the Top 10 NBA contracts in ascending order.
10. Klay Thompson – $40,600,080
The sharpshooter is in year four of a five-year deal that he signed in 2019 before suffering devastating injuries that kept him out of action for more than two years. While he did not get an extension before the start of his season, Thompson is confident he will get one next summer of the year after.
Last season the 32-year-old shooting guard averaged 20.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 29.4 minutes per game for Golden State.
7. Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard – $42,492,492
Three players share the 7-9th spots on this list as they earn the same salary. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kawhi Leonard have won championships – one and two respectively – while Damian Lillard hopes to achieve that goal in Portland.
All three players are in year two of their respective deal. The only difference is that Giannis is on a five-year deal while Lillard and Leonard signed four-year contracts with their respective teams.
Last season Lillard averaged 24 points, 4.1 rebounds and 7.3 assists in 36.4 minutes per game. Giannis’ numbers were 29.9 points, 11.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 32.9 minutes per game. Meanwhile Leonard missed the entire year due to an injury.
6. Paul George – $42,492,568
One of the two Clippers players on this list is Paul George. He barely overtakes Leonard. Like his teammate, PG is in year two of a four-year contract that he signed in 2021. The 32-year-old shooting guard is yet to win a ring in the NBA.
Last season George averaged 24.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists in 34.7 minutes per game for Los Angeles.
5. Bradley Beal – $43,279,250
The Wizards made it to the Conference Finals three times over the last decade and despite not being among the elite teams in the league, they have the 5th biggest paid player on the roster in Bradley Beal. The 29-year-old shooting guard penned a new five-year contract with Washington before the start of the season and is committed to the team that drafted him 10 years ago.
Beal averaged 23.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.6 assists in 36 minutes per game for the Wizards last season.
4. Kevin Durant – $44,124,845
Last year Kevin Durant signed a four-year extension with the Nets, but requested to be traded earlier this summer even before the extension started. In the end he stayed with the team. He won two championships with the Warriors, but is yet to proceed past the second round of the playoffs.
KD averaged 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists in 37.2 minutes per game last season for Brooklyn.
3. LeBron James – $44,474,988
Four-time NBA champion LeBron James enters the top three. Despite being 37-years-old and playing his 20th season in the league, he is regarded as one of the best in the NBA. Earlier this summer he signed a two-year extension with the Lakers which will net him $46.9 and $50 million respectively.
James, who is on pace to break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record, averaged 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists in 37.2 minutes per game last season.
2. Russell Westbrook – $47,063,478
It might be surprising to see the former NBA MVP this high on the list, especially after last season in Los Angeles. Russell Westbrook is the second best-paid player in the league based on a five-year contract that he signed with the Thunder in 2028. He is in the last year of the current deal and is not expected to make nearly as much when he signs another contract.
Last season, which was his first with the Lakers, Russ averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists in 34.3 minutes per game.
1. Steph Curry – $48,070,014
The number one on this list shouldn’t surprise anyone. Steph Curry, who won his fourth NBA title last year, is the best-paid player in the league after signing a four-year deal with the Warriors. He is in year one of his current deal. His salary is set to increase all the way to $59 million in the final year of the contract.
Curry averaged 25.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists in 34.5 minutes per game last season for Golden State.
While all of these contracts are impressive in dollar terms, converting them to different currencies make them seem even more insane. For example, if you convert Curry’s contract to Yuan, it becomes 347,469,289.20, while Russian Rubles it’s 2,981,538,051.70. In British Pounds it’s 42,746,211.88. In Zimbabwean Dollars the amount is 15,478,544,508.
