If you come from any other industry you would expect that the top basketball players salaries are paid to the top NBA players at the time. In sports, this just is not the case. Since players sign long contracts at the time when they are most in demand and since the NBA has a per year salary cap, contracts are often negotiated that go on far longer than is prudent. Therefore, players who make the most money in any one year may not be the best players or even very good players, they are often just players who signed contracts at the right time. What do basketball players earn? This is an assembled list of the top 10 NBA salaries for the 2008-2009 season.
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And here is the Top 10 List:
1. Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics. $24,750,000.
Garnett or “KG” to his fans won a title with the Celts at the end of the 2008 season so it is hard to say he is overpaid after putting Boston out of its basketball misery. For the 2008-2009 season, Garnett was injured quite a bit and never played minutes in the playoffs and so the Celtics headed to vacation early.
2. Allen Iverson, Detroit Pistons. $21,937,000.
Former league MVP and scoring junkie, Iverson is years removed from his best ball but not far down the lsit of professional basketball players salaries. He will always be known as a Philadelphia Sixer and that is where this contract was signed, which took him through Denver and Detroit before expiring in 2009.
3. Jason Kidd, Dallas Mavericks, $21,372,000.
He began his career in Dallas and will end it here as well though he was a much better deal as a rookie. He is slow and on the wrong team for his style play but he still managed one of the top 10 NBA salaries.
4. Jermaine O’Neal, Miami Heat, $21,352,000.
O’Neal managed to create generations of income from just one good season. After coming to the Indiana Pacers from Portland, O’Neal put up incredible numbers which the Pacers rewarded with this massive contract. Injured and ineffective, O’Neal was traded as a salary dump to Miami in 2009.
5. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers.
The best player in the league for the past five seasons and coming off of an NBA title, Bryant will likely opt out of his contract this summer in order to sign for even more money.
6. Tracy McGrady, Houston Rockets, $21,126,000.
McGrady has potential and can score in bunches and yet doesn’t warrant half this money. Famous for his injuries and lazy eye, he always tempted teams with his greatness but delivered mediocrity.
7. Tim Duncan, San Antonio, $20,598,000.
Duncan was a huge boon to the Spurs, winning a title with them in his rookie season and adding two more since then. His last two seasons have been a drop off but he is still very good.
8. Shaquille O’Neal, Phoenix, $20,000,000.
O’Neal, one of the best centers to ever play in the NBA, was a bargain for the Lakers during his time there and has been extremely expensive for every team since then. He has one of the top 10 NBA salaries and is simply too old and big to keep the dominance going. Sorry, LeBron.
9 and 10. Stephon Marbury, New York Knicks and Steve Francis, Memphis Grizzlies.
For right around $20 million each, these two make national health care look like a bargain. Both are old and malcontents that have been relegated from their teams so as not to disturb productive members. How much do basketball players earn? Well, these two get paid large to not play basketball.
Hello Overpaid LA Athletes,
How about helping out teachers, police officers, social workers, and people on disability by donating some of your millions to help straighten out the budget before LA goes to hell in a handbasket!
Get your head out of your ass and focus on the city instead of yourself for a change.