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If you forgot we had a lockout a few months back because NBA General Managers give people crazy contracts. Let's look at the Top 60 (so in theory, each team in an even playing field will have 2 players on this list) most expensive players in the NBA this year. Of course, the biggest markets pay the most money. In some cases this means wins. IN other cases? Not so much.
| Player | Team | P'offs | Salary | Player | Team | P'offs | Salary | |||
| 1 | Kobe Bryant | Lakers | ? | $27,849,149 | 31 | Josh Smith | Hawks | * | $ 13,200,000 | |
| 2 | Dirk Nowitzki | Mavericks | $20,907,128 | 32 | Danny Granger | Pacers | * | $ 13,058,606 | ||
| 3 | Amare Stoudemire | Knicks | * | $19,948,799 | 33 | Nene Hilario | Wizards | $ 13,000,000 | ||
| 4 | Joe Johnson | Nets | * | $19,752,645 | 34 | Andrew Bogut | Warriors | * | $ 13,000,000 | |
| 5 | Dwight Howard | Lakers | ? | $19,536,360 | 35 | David Lee | Warriors | * | $ 12,744,000 | |
| 6 | Carmelo Anthony | Knicks | * | $19,444,503 | 36 | Tony Parker | Spurs | * | $ 12,500,000 | |
| 7 | Pau Gasol | Lakers | ? | $19,000,000 | 37 | Kevin Martin | Thunder | * | $ 12,439,675 | |
| 8 | Chris Paul | Clippers | * | $17,779,458 | 38 | Ben Gordon | Bobcats | $ 12,400,000 | ||
| 9 | Chris Bosh | Heat | * | $17,545,000 | 39 | Kris Humphries | Nets | * | $ 12,000,000 | |
| 10 | LeBron James | Heat | * | $17,545,000 | 40 | Al Horford | Hawks | * | $ 12,000,000 | |
| 11 | Dwyane Wade | Heat | * | $17,182,000 | 41 | Hedo Turkoglu | Magic | $ 11,815,850 | ||
| 12 | Deron Williams | Nets | * | $17,177,795 | 42 | Kevin Garnett | Celtics | * | $ 11,566,265 | |
| 13 | Andrew Bynum | 76ers | $16,889,000 | 43 | Joakim Noah | Bulls | * | $ 11,300,000 | ||
| 14 | Paul Pierce | Celtics | * | $16,790,345 | 44 | Jose Calderon | Pistons | $ 11,046,591 | ||
| 15 | Kevin Durant | Thunder | * | $16,669,629 | 45 | Monta Ellis | Bucks | * | $ 11,000,000 | |
| 16 | Zach Randolph | Grizzlies | * | $16,500,000 | 46 | Rajon Rondo | Celtics | * | $ 11,000,000 | |
| 17 | Rudy Gay | Raptors | $16,460,538 | 47 | Corey Maggette | Pistons | $ 10,924,138 | |||
| 18 | Derrick Rose | Bulls | * | $16,402,500 | 48 | Mehmet Okur | None / Retired | $ 10,890,000 | ||
| 19 | Al Jefferson | Jazz | ? | $15,000,000 | 49 | Nicolas Batum | Trail Blazers | * | $ 10,850,000 | |
| 20 | Carlos Boozer | Bulls | * | $15,000,000 | 50 | DeAndre Jordan | Clippers | * | $ 10,532,977 | |
| 21 | Andre Iguodala | Nuggets | * | $14,968,250 | 51 | Richard Jefferson | Warriors | * | $ 10,164,000 | |
| 22 | Manu Ginobili | Spurs | * | $14,107,492 | 52 | Stephen Jackson | Spurs | * | $ 10,059,750 | |
| 23 | Marc Gasol | Grizzlies | * | $13,891,359 | 53 | David West | Pacers | * | $ 10,000,000 | |
| 24 | Russell Westbrook | Thunder | * | $13,668,793 | 54 | Andrea Bargnani | Raptors | $ 10,000,000 | ||
| 25 | Brook Lopez | Nets | * | $13,668,750 | 55 | JaVale McGee | Nuggets | * | $ 10,000,000 | |
| 26 | Eric Gordon | Hornets | $13,668,750 | 56 | Andrei Kirilenko | Timberwolves | $ 9,779,349 | |||
| 27 | Tyson Chandler | Knicks | * | $13,604,188 | 57 | Gerald Wallace | Nets | * | $ 9,682,435 | |
| 28 | LaMarcus Aldridge | Trail Blazers | $13,500,000 | 58 | Tim Duncan | Spurs | * | $ 9,638,554 | ||
| 29 | Emeka Okafor | Wizards | $13,490,000 | 59 | Cuttino Mobley | None / Retired | $ 9,500,000 | |||
| 30 | Luol Deng | Bulls | * | $13,305,000 | 60 | Danilo Gallinari | Nuggets | * | $ 9,439,000 | |
| Sum | $501,252,431 | .. | Sum | $335,531,190 | ||||||
| Average | $16,708,414 | Average | $11,184,373 |
I know in my case I've gotten on Utah Jazz center Big Al a bit for making $15 million . . . but at least we're not the Sixers . . . of course, for the most cases paying more means winning more. You do get what you pay for in most cases.
Who do you think is overpaid? Who is underpaid?