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The Highest-Paid NBA Player on Every Team

You can page through NBA statistics to see which players are leading the league in scoring, rebounding and more — if you want a stat, the NBA is tracking it.
Read: The 41 Highest-Paying Positions in Sports
But GOBankingRates wanted to check a different kind of number, to see which players are bringing in the most money from each franchise, and how much of the team’s salary cap is devoted to that player.
The average highest-paid player is 29 years old, with a base salary of $30,586,862. That accounts to 23.81% of total cap space — all spent on that one player.
That’s an average, of course, and teams devote different amounts to their highest-paid players. The Pistons are paying Jerami Grant just 16.6% of their total cap space, while the Phoenix Suns are giving Chris Paul a whopping 32.54%.
Read on to see each franchise’s highest-paid player.
Last updated: April 14, 2021
Atlanta Hawks: Danilo Gallinari
- Age: 32
- Position: Power forward
- Base Salary: $19.5 million
- Cap Figure: $19.5 million
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 16.93%
Boston Celtics: Kemba Walker
- Age: 30
- Position: Point guard
- Base Salary: $34,379,100
- Cap Figure: $34,379,100
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 26.1%
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Brooklyn Nets: James Harden
- Age: 31
- Position: Shooting guard
- Base Salary: $41,254,920
- Cap Figure: $41,254,920
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 24.85%
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Charlotte Hornets: Gordon Hayward
- Age: 30
- Position: Small forward
- Base Salary: $28.5 million
- Cap Figure: $28.5 million
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 26.56%
Chicago Bulls: Nikola Vucevic
- Age: 29
- Position: Center
- Base Salary: $26 million
- Cap Figure: $26 million
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 20.56%
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Cleveland Cavaliers: Kevin Love
- Age: 32
- Position: Power forward
- Base Salary: $31,258,256
- Cap Figure: $31,258,256
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 24.94%
Dallas Mavericks: Kristaps Porzingis
- Age: 25
- Position: Power forward
- Base Salary: $29,467,800
- Cap Figure: $29,467,800
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 23.45%
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Denver Nuggets: Nikola Jokic
- Age: 25
- Position: Center
- Base Salary: $28,542,009
- Cap Figure: $29,542,010
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 23.03%
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Detroit Pistons: Jerami Grant
- Age: 26
- Position: Power forward
- Base Salary: $19.05 million
- Cap Figure: $19.05 million
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 16.6%
Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry
- Age: 32
- Position: Point guard
- Base Salary: $43,006,362
- Cap Figure: $43,006,362
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 25.49%
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Houston Rockets: John Wall
- Age: 30
- Position: Point guard
- Base Salary: $41,254,920
- Cap Figure: $41,254,920
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 32.32%
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Indiana Pacers: Malcolm Brogdon
- Age: 27
- Position: Point guard
- Base Salary: $20.7 million
- Cap Figure: $20.7 million
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 16.17%
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Los Angeles Clippers: Paul George
- Age: 30
- Position: Shooting guard
- Base Salary: $35,450,412
- Cap Figure: $35,450,412
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 25.96%
Los Angeles Lakers: LeBron James
- Age: 35
- Position: Small forward
- Base Salary: $39,219,565
- Cap Figure: $39,219,565
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 28.74%
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Memphis Grizzlies: Jonas Valanciunas
- Age: 28
- Position: Center
- Base Salary: $15 million
- Cap Figure: $15 million
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 11.42%
Miami Heat: Jimmy Butler
- Age: 31
- Position: Small forward
- Base Salary: $34,379,100
- Cap Figure: $34,379,100
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 26.07%
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Milwaukee Bucks: Khris Middleton
- Age: 29
- Position: Small forward
- Base Salary: $33,051,724
- Cap Figure: $33,051,724
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 25.16%
Minnesota Timberwolves: Karl-Anthony Towns
- Age: 24
- Position: Center
- Base Salary: $29,467,800
- Cap Figure: $29,467,800
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 22.33%
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New Orleans Pelicans: Steven Adams
- Age: 27
- Position: Center
- Base Salary: $27,528,088
- Cap Figure: $27,528,088
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 21.14%
New York Knicks: Julius Randle
- Age: 25
- Position: Power forward
- Base Salary: $18.9 million
- Cap Figure: $18.9 million
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 19.77%
Oklahoma City Thunder: Al Horford
- Age: 34
- Position: Power forward
- Base Salary: $27.5 million
- Cap Figure: $27.5 million
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 27.21%
Orlando Magic: Otto Porter Jr.
- Age: 32
- Position: Small forward
- Base Salary: $28,489,238
- Cap Figure: $28,489,238
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 24.95%
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Philadelphia 76ers: Tobias Harris
- Age: 28
- Position: Small forward
- Base Salary: $34,358,850
- Cap Figure: $34,358850
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 23.63%
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Phoenix Suns: Chris Paul
- Age: 35
- Position: Point guard
- Base Salary: $41,358,814
- Cap Figure: $41,358,814
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 32.54%
Portland Trail Blazers: Damian Lillard
- Age: 30
- Position: Point guard
- Base Salary: $31,626,953
- Cap Figure: $31,626,353
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 24.35%
Sacramento Kings: Buddy Hield
- Age: 27
- Position: Shooting guard
- Base Salary: $24,201,834
- Cap Figure: $24,701,834
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 20.72%
San Antonio Spurs: DeMar DeRozan
- Age: 31
- Position: Shooting guard
- Base Salary: $27,739,975
- Cap Figure: $27,739,975
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 21.97%
Toronto Raptors: Pascal Siakam
- Age: 26
- Position: Power forward
- Base Salary: $30,559,200
- Cap Figure: $30,559,200
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 24.03%
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Utah Jazz: Mike Conley
- Age: 32
- Position: Point guard
- Base Salary: $34,502,132
- Cap Figure: $34,502,132
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 25.38%
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Washington Wizards: Russell Westbrook
- Age: 31
- Position: Point guard
- Base Salary: $41,358,814
- Cap Figure: $41,358,814
- % of Total Cap Space Spent on Highest-Paid Player: 31.93%
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Photo Disclaimer: Please note photos are for representational purposes only and may not reflect the player’s current team.
Methodology: For this piece GOBankingRates used Spotrac’s National Basketball League (NBA) team financials for the 2020-2021 season to find the highest-paid player on every NBA team in terms of cap hit. For each team, GOBankingRates found (1) the name of the highest-paid player in terms of cap hit; (2) the player’s age; (3) position played; (4) base salary; (5) total cap hit; and (6) percent of team’s total cap is accounted for by the player’s salary. All data was collected on and up to date as of March 29, 2021.
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