The NBA rewards the best players with the biggest contracts, as players can make even more money by hitting performance incentives like the All-NBA team or winning end-of-season awards. The top 15 players in the NBA this season feature a list of the best veteran stars in the league, but only Rudy Gobert out of the bunch managed to make the Conference Finals.
1. Stephen Curry – $51.9 million
2. Kevin Durant – $47.6 million
3. Nikola Jokic – $47.6 million
4. LeBron James – $47.6 million
5. Joel Embiid – $47.6 million
6. Bradley Beal – $46.7 million
7. Kawhi Leonard – $45.6 million
8. Paul George – $45.6 million
9. Giannis Antetokounmpo – $45.6 million
10. Damian Lillard – $45.6 million
11. Jimmy Butler – $45.1 million
12. Klay Thompson – $43,2 million
13. Rudy Gobert – $41.0 million
14. Fred VanVleet – $40.8 million
15. Anthony Davis – $40.6 million
(Salaries according to HoopsHype)
Only one player out of these 15 didn’t make the NBA Playoffs, with Fred VanVleet‘s Houston Rockets ending the season as the No. 11 seed. Two players were Play-In exits, as Warriors duo Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson didn’t have much success in a very disappointing season. Nikola Jokic was the only player outside Gobert to make it to the second round.
A whopping 10 out of the 15 players listed here were eliminated in the first round of the Playoffs, showing that top-heavy teams have involuntarily put a ceiling on themselves. The NBA is a place where teams with money spread out across the roster will succeed, as the 2024 Playoffs are showing.
Rudy Gobert Justified His Expensive Cost
Rudy Gobert has been a source of ire for fans and analysts for years. Gobert was the best defensive center in the NBA for the better part of the last decade but his lack of offensive ability and perimeter versatility have caused him to crash out of the Playoffs before. This is his first Conference Finals appearance, so it took a while for Gobert to come good when it comes to postseason success.
The contract Gobert is on runs until 2026 and was given to him by the Utah Jazz for a total of $205 million over five seasons. The price of it was widely criticized as Gobert is considered to be one-dimensional. However, his one dimension has made him among the greatest in his position, as Gobert picked up a fourth Defensive Player of the Year trophy this season, tied for most in NBA history.
The price attached to Gobert isn’t just his large contract, but also the massive bet Wolves’ executive Tim Connelly made when he gave up a cast of rotational players including Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Patrick Beverley, along with five first-round draft picks, one of which ended up becoming 2023 Rookie of the Year Finalist Walker Kessler.
This trade was already being called the worst in NBA history after the Wolves were the No. 8 seed in Gobert’s first season, being eliminated in five games by the eventual champion Nuggets. They got their revenge this season, with the Wolves advancing to the Conference Finals at Denver’s expense.
It’s no coincidence that the one-dimensional center been criticized for years showed his entire arsenal in Game 7, confidently guarding the perimeter while also hitting unseen fallaway jumpers. While he couldn’t stop Nikola Jokic, nobody could, and he did just enough to ensure his team won.
Gobert is averaging 12.2 points, 10.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.1 blocks in the 2024 Playoffs.
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