- These 10 players are underpaid based on the salary they will earn for the 2023-24 NBA season
- A lineup consisting of these 10 underpaid players would be a playoff team at minimum
- None of these players are signed beyond the 2024-25 NBA season
It was not long ago that we released our rankings for the most overpaid NBA players heading into the 2023-24 season. Those players were ranked based on the amount of money they would earn for the 2023-24 season based on how other players were being paid at their position and around the NBA as a whole. Today, we are going to take an in-depth look at the most underpaid NBA players heading into next season using the same criteria.
Just as ranking players as overpaid did not mean they were bad basketball players, ranking them as underpaid does not mean they are superstars. However, based on the market and how much other players around the NBA are earning, these 10 players below are significantly underpaid. It is also important to note that none of the players listed below have signed extensions with their current teams beyond the 2024-25 season.
There are also some young stars here who are still on their rookie contracts but already deserve a pay increase for the way they have played in their young careers and are undervalued in terms of what they will make next season. I am sure that a few of the players here will get that extension, but for now, they deserve much more for the 2023-24 season. Also mixed in will be some veterans on team-friendly deals that have them falling into the underpaid category.
These are the 10 most underpaid NBA players for the 2023-24 season.
10. Jalen Green – $9,891,480
Based on his 2023-24 salary of just under $9.9 million, Jalen Green is going to be the 159th-highest-paid player for the 2023-24 season. Of course, Green is still on his rookie deal through the 2024-25 season, but based on his performance and the way the market is shaping up, he is underpaid already.
Green is just two seasons into his young career with the Houston Rockets after being the second overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Over his first two seasons, Green has shown he is a talented scorer but displaying issues with shot selection and efficiency. In 2022-23, Green averaged 22.1 PPG for Houston on 41.6% shooting overall and 33.8% from three. For context on Green’s 2023-24 contract, 2023 second overall pick Brandon Miller will earn more than Green this season at $10.9 million before even proving himself in the league. That makes Green highly underpaid, in my opinion.
9. Alex Caruso – $9,460,000
Alex Caruso has never been one of those players who is going to light up the scoreboard with his scoring or dazzle audiences with his flashy play. In fact, Caruso has become somewhat of a folk hero over the years, with fans jokingly referring to him as the GOAT on numerous occasions. Just because he has been thrust into stardom by fans doesn’t mean he shouldn’t get what he earns and continues to earn on a nightly basis.
Caruso is currently heading into the third year of a four-year, $37 million deal he signed with the Bulls in 2021. In 2022-23, he had one of his best seasons in the NBA when he averaged just 5.6 PPG but earned All-Defensive First Team honors for the first time in his career. For reference, the other members of the All-Defensive First Team are all either earning $20 million in 20223-24 or more, or they are on this list as well.
Look, am I saying that Alex Caruso deserves a deal worth $20 million per season? No, I am not. However, when players like Dillon Brooks and Evan Fournier are earning over $18 million per season, I do believe that Alex Caruso has earned a bigger contract and is considered underpaid.
8. Alperen Sengun – $3,536,280
Ok, to be fair, Alperen Sengun is in the third season of his rookie deal that will end following the 2024-25 season. He will undoubtedly earn a big payday once that deal expires, whether that deal is from Houston or not. Over the last two seasons, Sengun has improved vastly in a short amount of time and has displayed an offensive arsenal that should have teams drooling at the prospect of Houston being unable to retain him next season.
Sengun has unleashed a set of skills as a scorer, playmaker, and passer that has some referring to him as “Baby Jokic”. In 2022-23, Sengun finally earned the full-time starting center job in his second season and erupted. He averaged 14.8 PPG, 9.0 RPG, and 3.9 APG in a very guard-heavy and friendly lineup. Sengun has been working tirelessly at his craft, even with Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon on multiple occasions in the offseason.
Based on his position and how much he has already provided for the Rockets, Sengun is considered underpaid heading into his third NBA season. To put things in perspective, players like Mavericks center Dereck Lively, a rookie, and Spurs center Khem Birch, who Sengun is significantly above in terms of talent, will earn considerably more money than him in 2023-24. Whether on a rookie deal or not, Sengun is highly underpaid at this point in his career.
7. Nic Claxton – $9,625,000
The 2023-24 season will mark the final year of a minimum contract Nic Claxton signed with the Brooklyn Nets back in 2019. At the time, there was much anticipated in terms of the career Claxton was going to have, but nobody predicted the leap he would take on the defensive side of the ball.
In 2023-24, Claxton will earn $8.75 million after having a season that qualified him as one of the best interior defenders in the NBA. Claxton would average 2.5 BPG and tally 189 total blocks as well as 65 steals in the 2022-23 season, just missing out on All-Defensive Team honors. He also had the best offensive output of his career with 12.6 PPG and grabbed 9.2 RPG, another career-high.
For reference, Claxton, whose impact on winning for the Nets in 2022-23 was clearly evident, will be earning less than big men such as Richaun Holmes with Dallas and James Wiseman in Detroit. Holmes and Wiseman will earn over $12 million in 2023-24, but something tells me that Claxton will be getting the last laugh with a big payday at the end of this season.
6. Lauri Markkanen – $17,259,999
Last summer, many were calling the Utah Jazz fools for taking on the massive $36 million left on Lauri Markkanen’s contract in the Donovan Mitchell trade. In 2022-23, Markkanen’s play not only made the Jazz look like geniuses, but it made him look like one of the most underpaid players in the NBA.
In 2022-23, Markkanen took home the NBA’s Most Improved Player award in his first season with the Utah Jazz. He averaged a career-high 25.6 PPG, 8.6 RPG, and 1.9 APG in 66 games played. He was named an All-Star for the first time as well, shooting 49.9% overall from the floor and 39.1% from three.
Markkanen’s deal will see him earn just over $18 million in 2024-25 as well before becoming an unrestricted free agent. The fact that he’s not even the highest-paid player on the Jazz for 2023-24 doesn’t sit right with me. Utah will have to decide whether they would like to keep Markkanen after the 2023-24 season or try to trade him for something before they lose him for nothing. There is no doubt that with one more season like 2022-23, Markkanen will be earning in the range of $30 million to $35 million in free agency.
5. Russell Westbrook – $3,835,738
For the last few seasons, Russell Westbrook has been scrutinized and lambasted for having an excruciatingly large contract while playing far below its standards. Now, in 2023-24, I am declaring that Westbrook is grossly underpaid, and it is a shame what happened to his value after a less-than-desirable stint with the Lakers.
After finally being released from the clutches of the purple and gold, Westbrook would go on to sign with the Clippers for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs. In five playoff games without Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, Westbrook would go off for 23.6 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 7.4 APG, showing that the old him was still there, it just needed a chance to flourish. The Clippers were happy to have him back at a veteran’s minimum of less than $4 million, but if we are being realistic, he deserves a hell of a lot more than that.
Westbrook can still be a Sixth Man of the Year candidate or even a good to great starting point guard for the Clippers. He is someone who needs a system in place where he can be aggressive and attack and not be ridiculed for it constantly. Westbrook is no longer a $45 million per year player, that is true. He is worth a lot more than $3.8 million, though, right?
4. Scottie Barnes – $8,008,680
Scottie Barnes is one of the new-age point forwards that have become a constant across rosters in the NBA. In 2021-22, Barnes was named the NBA’s Rookie of the Year after a sensational season that saw the Raptors make the NBA playoffs. In 2022-23, he remained the same in terms of production but still showed why he is going to be one of the best players in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Barnes would play 77 games in 2022-23 and averaged 15.3 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 4.8 APG, and 1.1 SPG. The Raptors would miss the playoffs, but internally, they were struggling more than anyone would have known. After the departure of coach Nick Nurse and Fred VanVleet, Barnes’ opportunity to take the reins of the team along with Pascal Siakam is here.
Seeing Jock Landale earn just $8,000 less than Barnes lets me know immediately that Barnes’ rookie deal has him vastly underpaid for the 2023-24 season, but his salary will increase to a $13.5 million player option by 2025-26. It is likely that Barnes will decline that option as he will be set to earn in the $20 million area rather than the lower teens.
3. Jonas Valanciunas – $15,435,000
I have repeatedly said on this platform that I believe Jonas Valanciunas is one of the most underrated players in the NBA. His production, impact, consistency, and his contract all prove that I am right beyond a shadow of a doubt. Valanciunas is currently heading into the final season of his contract with the New Orleans Pelicans, looking for an upgrade in pay following this season.
In 2022-23, Valanciunas may have taken a small step back offensively, but he was still one of the most undervalued centers in the NBA. He averaged 14.1 PPG, 10.2 RPG, and 0.7 BPG in 79 games played for New Orleans. For comparison, Jakob Poeltl averaged just over 13.0 PPG and 9.0 RPG in 2022-23 and will earn $20 million for the upcoming season. For me, there is no excuse or reason as to why Poeltl is worth $5 million more than Jonas Valanciunas.
2. Tyrese Maxey – $4,343,920
There were plenty of times during this past regular season and playoff run by the Philadelphia 76ers when I said that Tyrese Maxey is the best player on the court right now. That is a team that includes the reigning MVP and scoring leader as well as the NBA;’s assists leader, by the way.
Maxey has been that good for Philadelphia for the last three seasons since taking over for Ben Simmons on a whim. The 2022-23 season would be Maxey’s real coming out party as he averaged 20.3 PPG in 60 games played, as well as 2.9 RPG and 3.5 APG. Maxey was even better in the playoffs with 20.5 PPG and 1.4 SPG while shooting 40.0% from three. Philadelphia is definitely going to have to pony up the dough for an extension if they wish to retain Maxey beyond 2023-24.
If they don’t, there is no doubt that Maxey, heading into his fourth season, will be one of the hottest commodities on the market in a loaded 2024 free agency class. I expect the 76ers to tab him as their point guard of the future, especially with Harden likely on the way out, but it will be interesting to see how much it takes to retain his services or if he will decline their offer and test free agency.
1. Evan Mobley – $8,882,640
I do not care that Evan Mobley is on his rookie deal still. He is the most underpaid player in the NBA by a long shot. Rarely do I get excited about a player showing a certain level of two-way play over their first few seasons in the NBA because I want to see if they can keep it up five, or six seasons down the line.
Well, for Evan Mobley, I have thrown those criteria out the window. In just his second season, Mobley proved how valuable he already is by earning All-Defensive First Team honors and finishing as a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year. In 79 games this season, Mobley averaged 16.2 PPG, 9.0 RPG, and 1.5 BPG. He helped the Cavaliers secure the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference and have their best season since LeBron James departed in 2018.
Mobley will get an enormous contract when his extension comes up after the 2024-25 season but will remain underpaid until then. As it stands, the Cavaliers have some decisions to make as they are paying both Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell over $34 million each season moving forward. Stay tuned for interesting times ahead in Cleveland and across the NBA.
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