When we’re talking about player’s salaries, there are a few things that we have to consider. First, sometimes a player gets a contract from a different team and then is acquired, so really the fault lies with the initial team. Other times, a player gets hurt right after signing a new contract. Our NBA most overpaid players list has examples of both.
The following player salaries were taken directly from Spotrac.com, and are the player’s 2024-25 base salary. Without further adieu, let’s start with the worst.
No. 1: Ben Simmons, Point Guard, Brooklyn Nets
$40.3 Million
It feels like a decade ago that Ben Simmons was looked at as a special talent, a 6-foot-10 point guard with silky-smooth movements and the ability to be disruptive on the defensive end. Playing for the Philadelphia 76ers, he finished in the top-5 of the Defensive Player of the Year award and made the All-NBA Defensive First Team in 2019-20 and 2020-21, before suffering a back injury that would keep him out for an extended time.
He hasn’t been the same since. He returned to play in 42 games for the Brooklyn Nets in 2022-23, looking like a player with no confidence at all, passing up jumpers, passing up layups and shooting just 43.9% from the free-throw line. It would get worse in 2023-24, as Simmons would see the court in just 15 games, making Chris Dudley proud by making 40% of his free-throws.
No. 2: Bradley Beal, Shooting Guard, Phoenix Suns
$50.2 Million
Players don’t have to be bad to be overpaid. In this case, Bradley Beal signed his 5-year, $251 million max contract in July of 2022, just a year after averaging 31.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.2 steals, while making All-NBA Third Team. Beal would battle injury in the 2021-22 season, but still averaged 23.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.6 assists.
Little did he (or the rest of the NBA) know that he’d continue to battle injuries in every season since. When healthy, Beal is still a premiere scorer and his fit in the Phoenix Suns offense has allowed him to take better shots, resulting in a great shooting line of .513/.430/.813. However, he only played 53 games and when you’re the 4th-highest paid player in the NBA, you have to be on the court more.
No. 3: Fred VanVleet, Point Guard, Houston Rockets
$42.8 Million
Admittedly, I hated this deal before the ink was even dry. Fred VanVleet signed a 3-year, $128.5 million contract with the Houston Rockets before the 2023-24 season after putting up 19.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game for the Toronto Raptors the previous season.
What I can’t unsee is the fact that he shot 39.3% from the field. The year before (2021-22) he shot 40.3% and before that (2020-21) he shot 38.9%. In today’s NBA, how can a team give that much money to a guy that shoots under 40%? To be fair, VanVleet shot 38.7% from the 3-point line last season, good for No. 63 in the NBA. Still, yuck.
No. 4: Deandre Ayton, Center, Portland Trail Blazers
$34 Million
A lot of times, a player’s second contract is based on the promise of what’s to come. The player shows so much potential during their rookie deal that the team rewards them (and incentivizes them) to stay with the club. That’s what happened with Deandre Ayton and his 4-year, $132.9 million contract, except Ayton hasn’t changed. Like, at all.
The consistency with which Ayton has performed is almost impossible. He’s been in the league for six years and his scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, blocks, turnovers, fouls, minutes played and field goal percentage would all likely fall within one standard deviation from the mean. It appears he’s one of those rare “what you see is what you get” players who won’t improve, yet he got a significant pay raise.
No. 5: Jordan Poole, Shooting Guard, Washington Wizards
$29.6 Million
The idea that Jordan Poole is a bit of a chucker isn’t some sort of revelation. He showed signs of it as a member of the Golden State Warriors, but was somewhat reined in by the veterans on the team. As a member of the Washington Wizards, he’s been allowed to play more freely, for better or for worse.
His 4-year, $128 million contract isn’t an all-time albatross for the Wizards, and I understand they need to overpay to bring players to the area, but his shooting line of .413/.326/.877 leaves a lot to be desired. And defense? He allowed offensive players to shoot 6.2% better than their season average against him from inside the arc. Woof.
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