The NBA’s top stars are paid handsomely and with the season half over, it is time to check-in and see how well-paid the Associations best players are in 2020. Are these players living up to their paychecks on the court? The NBA Playoffs are just around the corner and fans are growing with excitement for the Association’s second season. Will the NBA’s highest-paid players live up to their salaries in the postseason? NBA fans can use the 1xbit mobile app to get basketball bet bonuses and tips to wager on their favorite teams in the playoffs.
The Houston Rockets see two of the NBA’s top five highest-paid players in 2020. Surprisingly, one of the Association’s greatest ever players, LeBron James is absent from the top five salaries in the NBA this season.
The NBA’s Highest-Paid Players in 2020
5. Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets – $38.2 million
Kevin Durant has not and will not play a game for the Brooklyn Nets this season. He suffered an Achilles tendon injury in the 2019 NBA Playoffs ruling him out of action for this season. The injury and subsequent surgery didn’t stop the Brooklyn Nets from splashing out $164.3 million over four years on the forward. Durant’s contract will expire in 2023. That season will see Durant make $42 million.
4. James Harden, Houston Rockets – $38.2 million
James Harden is the face (or beard) of the Houston Rockets. The former NBA MVP will earn a cool $38.2 million this season. Harden averages 35.2 ppg (points per game), which is his second-best per game average of his career. Harden is in the first season of a four-year extension he signed in 2017. Now 30, Harden is getting better with age on the hardwood. Since the 2013-14 season, his points per game tally has increased in each season.
3. Russell Westbrook, Houston Rockets – $38.5 million
The Oklahoma City Thunder realized they were never going to win an NBA Championship with Russell Westbrook leading the team. They traded Westbrook to the Houston Rockets in the summer of 2019 giving up his massive salary. The guard had signed a five-year, $206.8 million contract extension with the Thunder in 2017.
2. Chris Paul, Oklahoma City Thunder – $38.5 million
Chris Paul was acquired for Westbrook in the offseason. The Thunder are on the hook to pay the rest of Paul’s $159.7 million contract until the 2022 offseason. Paul never really worked out in Houston and according to reports, James Harden was a “driving force” behind the Rockets swapping Paul for Westbrook. Not only did the Thunder receive some draft picks in the trade but the money left on Paul’s contract is less than Westbrook’s deal. Still, this season sees Paul earning the second-most in the NBA.
1. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors – $40.2 million
The Golden State Warriors have gone from first to worst in the NBA’s Western Conference. The Warriors dynasty is over. Durant’s departure and injuries have taken their tolls on the Warriors. Since November, Stephen Curry, the NBA’s highest-paid player this season, has been out with a hand injury. He has played just four games averaging 20.3 ppg. Had he been available, the Warriors would have surely competed for a playoff place.
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