NBA Playoffs 2017: 10 Highest-Paid Basketball Players In The Postseason

There are plenty of professional basketball players that are underperforming on big contracts, but most of the league’s highest-paid stars are more than earning their salaries in the 2017 NBA playoffs. The seven highest-paid players all led their teams to the postseason, and only three of the top 15 played for losing squads in the regular season.

Dirk Nowitzki makes the most money of any player sitting at home with a salary of $25 million, while Carmelo Anthony is right behind him at more than $24.5 million. Some of the playoffs’ top players aren’t making close to that kind of money this year, with Stephen Curry and Kyle Lowry both making $12 million.

Let’s take a look at the players with the highest salaries for the 2016-2017 season that are currently in the NBA playoffs.

LeBron James: $30,963,450

The league’s highest-paid player isn’t always the best player in basketball, but no one makes more money than the NBA’s No.1 star. Making a significant amount more than anyone else, James is probably well underpaid at just under $31 million this year. He’s made six straight NBA Finals while winning three finals MVPs during that time, and he might be the only thing standing in the way of a championship for the Golden State Warriors.

Mike Conley: $26,540,100

Many fans were stunned when Conley signed a five-year contract worth nearly $153 million with the Memphis Grizzlies in the offseason, marking the largest deal in NBA history. He isn’t considered to be among the top tier of NBA point guards, and he’s never even made one All-Star team since being drafted fourth overall in 2007. But Conley has done his best to live up to the deal, averaging career highs in points, rebounds, three-pointers and field goal percentage this season.

James Harden: $26,540,100

After signing a $118 million contract extension last summer, all Harden did was become a leading MVP candidate and help the Houston Rockets make a 14-win improvement from a year ago. He’ll probably finish in second place in the voting for a second time in three years, cementing his spot as a top-six player in the league.

Russell Westbrook: $26,540,100

Westbrook is the only reason Harden won’t win his first ever MVP, making history with 42 triple-doubles in 2016-2017. Exactly a month after Kevin Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder, the point guard ended any speculation that he might be headed elsewhere in the near future, signing a three-year, $85 million extension with the team.

DeMar DeRozan: $26,540,100

Add DeRozan to the list of players that had a career year after signing the maximum contract extension in the summer of 2016. His 27.3 points per game were good for fifth-best in the regular season, and he helped the Toronto Raptors win 48 games or more for a fourth straight year. DeRozan’s $139 million contract is the second-biggest of all time.

Al Horford: $26,540,100

Horford didn’t put up the same kind of numbers as the other max salary players on this list, though his impact was certainly felt in 2016-2017. After playing his first nine seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, Horford helped the Celtics win 53 games and finish with the No.1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Horford averaged a career-low 6.8 rebounds and a career-high 5.0 assists per game.

Kevin Durant: $26,540,100

After setting an NBA record with 73 regular season wins, the Warriors added the league’s second-best player. Signing a two-year contract with a player option this summer, Durant can sign a new deal after the NBA Finals. Durant’s 25.1 points per game were just behind team-leader Stephen Curry’s 25.3 points per contest, though the forward took nearly two fewer shots a night.

Damian Lillard: $24,328,425

When the Portland Trail Blazers lost five of their six highest scorers in free agency in 2015, the team gave Lillard a five-year, $120 million contract. The point guard has been the NBA’s sixth-leading scorer in each of his first two years since signing the new deal, and he shot a career-best 44.4 percent from the field in 2016-2017.

Dwyane Wade: $23,200,000

Wade spent the first 13 years of his career with the Miami Heat, and the Chicago Bulls quickly found out that they weren’t getting the same player. Signing a two-year, $47 million contract last summer, Wade failed to be an All-Star for the first time since his rookie season. His 18.3 points per game were his lowest since 2003-2004, and his 43.4 field goal percentage was a career-low.

Dwight Howard: $23,180,275

The Hawks spent the money they saved by letting Horford go on Howard. The center agreed to a three-year, $70.5 million contract with Atlanta, joining his fourth team since 2012. He finished fifth in rebounds per game and averaged a double-double for the 13th straight year. The Hawks, however, won five fewer games than they had the previous season.