The NBA's top 20 highest-paid stars
20. Pascal Siakam (Raptors) - $33,003,936
Last season: 21.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists per game, 45.5% FG, 29.7% 3PT, 82.7% FT
With long-time Raptor Kyle Lowry joining Miami in the off-season, it is time for Pascal Siakam to take the reins in Toronto.
Taken 27th overall in the 2016 draft, Siakam is the poster-boy of Toronto's renowned player development.
The 27-year-old played a key role in the Raptors' 2019 NBA title win, winning the NBA's Most Improved Player award that year before being named an All-Star the following year.
Siakam was rewarded for his rise with a healthy four-year, $136 million deal that kicked in at the start of last season.
The Raptors struggled last season after being based out of Tampa due to COVID-19 restrictions, and Siakam has preached a message of togetherness in the pre-season.
"We've gotta pull for each other, help each other and even when things are bad, we've gotta be there for each other," he told The Athletic.
"That's something I learned. The atmosphere wasn't great. It's like, 'Damn, we lose again.' It just feels like you're being stabbed every time, and it hurts. You can (see) it in everybody's faces, from players to coaches to fans. I think what I learned from that is no matter how sad I got, it didn't change the result."
Siakam will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2023-24 season.
19. Bradley Beal (Wizards) - $33,724,200
Last season: 31.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists per game, 48.3% FG, 34.9% 3PT, 88.9% FT
If it feels like Bradley Beal's name is in trade rumours every season, it's because it's true.
Seemingly against all odds, Beal is still in Washington and still seemingly happy in the nation's capital.
The 28-year-old enjoyed a sensational 2020-21 season as he came to within a hair of the scoring title before being pipped at the death by Stephen Curry.
READ MORE: Beal scores 60 in loss to Simmons and 76ers
Nevertheless, Beal was able to add a third career All-Star appearance and was named to the All-NBA third team, the first All-NBA nod of his nine-year career.
There is optimism in Washington after the Wizards were able to shed Russell Westbrook's hefty deal and added some depth around Beal in the process.
However, this season could also be Beal's last in Washington, with the shooting guard having a $36 million player option for next season.
He is likely to be one of the NBA's most sought-after free agents and his next deal will see him rocket up this list.
18. Kyrie Irving (Nets) - $35,328,700
Last season: 26.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.0 assists per game, 50.6% FG, 40.2% 3PT, 92.2% FT
Kyrie Irving has in the headlines for all the wrong reasons of late due to his controversial anti-vaccination stance, but he remains a terrific player when on the court.
After an injury-plagued first season in Brooklyn, Irving was sensational in his second alongside All-Star running mates Kevin Durant and James Harden.
The 28-year-old became just the 10th player to record a 50-40-90 season and made his seventh All-Star team and second All-NBA team.
Irving signed a four-year, $136 million deal in the summer of 2019 but his anti-vaxx stance has put his future well and truly in doubt.
He possesses a $36.5 million player option for next season with Brooklyn and is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2022-23 season, should he opt into the deal.
While Brooklyn has worked to extend both Durant and Harden's contracts, the same has not yet happened for Irving due to his off-court issues.
17. Rudy Gobert (Jazz) - $35,344,828
Last season: 14.3 points, 13.5 rebounds, 2.7 blocks per game, 67.5% FG, 63.0% FT
If there is any player in the entire NBA that is desperate need of a redemption season, it is Utah's Rudy Gobert.
Much like his team, Gobert enjoyed a sensational regular season but fell flat on his face during a humiliating playoff exit.
Up against an undermanned LA Clippers team in the Western Conference semi-finals, Gobert was ruthlessly exposed by a smaller LA line-up.
After being drafted 27th overall in the 2013 draft, the Frenchman has become the best interior defender in the NBA.
Last season, Gobert took out his third Defensive Player of the Year award and was named in the NBA's All-Defensive First Team for the fifth consecutive year.
Gobert and Utah's futures are set to be married together for a number of years yet, with the big man only embarking on the first year of a bumper five-year, $205 million deal.
16. Anthony Davis (Lakers) - $35,361,360
Last season: 21.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists per game, 49.1% FG, 26.0% 3PT, 73.8% FT
With LeBron James set to turn 37 this season, the time has well and truly come for Anthony Davis to lead the Lakers forward.
Davis endured a frustrating 2020-21 season, struggling with health after a shortened off-season following the Lakers' 2020 title win.
The Lakers' title hopes went up in smoke during last year's Playoffs once Davis suffered a groin injury.
While the 28-year-old tried admirably to play through the injury, he could barely run in the elimination game against Phoenix and was eventually pulled from the game.
Having had a full off-season to recover, Davis and the Lakers are retooled and ready to go, but he admits there will be growing pains.
"We know, possibly, there could be struggles to start the season. ... But we never want to get out to a slow start -- 0-5, 0-6, whatever -- we still want to be able to fight through our mistakes while winning games," he said.
Despite his struggles last year, Davis still notched an eighth straight All-Star appearance.
Davis is just in the second year of a bumper five-year, $190 million deal that will see him remain a Laker until at least 2024.
15. Khris Middleton (Bucks) - $35,500,000
Last season: 20.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.4 assists per game, 47.6% FG, 41.4% 3PT, 89.8% FT
Khris Middleton and Milwaukee teammate Jrue Holiday became the first pair of NBA teammates to win a title and win an Olympic gold medal in the same year since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in 1992.
However, the 30-year-old sharpshooter would've missed out on his slice of history had it not been for his wife.
Just a few hours after the Bucks' title-clinching win in July, Middleton took his wife to the hospital and his second child was born.
Due to the newborn, Middleton considered not going until his wife insisted.
"I was thinking about not doing it, a little bit," he told The Athletic.
"It's a newborn child, your son, you want to be a part of that first couple weeks and first couple months, don't want to miss a thing. (My wife) kept telling me that everything will be fine, they'll be here when I get back.
"Go over there and live out one of my dreams and when I come back everything is going to be fine."
Middleton is in his third year of a five-year, $177 million deal and will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2024.
14. Tobias Harris (Sixers) - $35,995,950
Last season: 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists per game, 51.2% FG, 39.4% 3PT, 89.2% FT
While Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons grab the headlines, many would not know that Tobias Harris is actually the highest-paid 76er.
After being traded from the Clippers to Philadelphia, Harris was rewarded with a handsome five-year, $180 million deal in the summer of 2019.
READ MORE: Harris opens up on Simmons' return to Philadelphia
The only player on this list to not make an All-Star team, yet, Philadelphia will hope that changes in the near future with the 29-year-old not a free agent until the summer of 2024.
With Simmons potentially on the way out of Philadelphia, a larger offensive load is likely to fall on Harris' shoulders if the Sixers are to reach their title aspirations.
While he's never made an All-Star team, Harris has been a phenomenally consistent scorer throughout his career.
The small-forward has averaged 18+ points and 6+ rebounds per game in each of his last five seasons.
13. Kawhi Leonard (Clippers) - $36,016,200
Last season: 24.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists per game, 51.2% FG, 39.8% 3PT, 88.5% FT
Kawhi Leonard's health hangs over this NBA season like a villain stalking the hero in a movie.
The Clippers star looked well on the road to claiming his third NBA title before suffering an ACL injury against Utah, an injury which dashed his team's championship aspirations.
Despite some speculation that he might leave, Leonard made a long-term commitment to the Clippers, signing a new four-year, $176 million deal in the off-season.
When healthy, Leonard is one of the NBA's premier two-way wings, as evidenced by his five All-Star nods and three first-team All-NBA honours.
Despite his knee injury, Leonard says he still hopes to return sometime this season.
"One thing, I wanted to secure some money, and I wanted to be able to come back if I was able to this year," he said on the Clippers' Media Day.
"If I would have took the one-and-one, I probably would have not played just to be cautious, and opted out and took a five-year. But I'm here. I'm here to be a Clipper. I'm not going to another team unless something drastic happens. I'm here for the long run."
12. Jimmy Butler (Heat) - $36,016,200
Last season: 21.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, 7.1 assists per game, 49.7% FG, 24.5% 3PT, 86.3% FT
After being unceremoniously swept out of the playoffs last season, Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat have revenge on their minds.
"We're ready," Butler said after the Heat wrapped up a 5-1 pre-season record.
"Hell, if you go through training camp, you'd better be ready to go man. Now all of these hard practices get to dumb down a little bit. The real games are here. They count and we're ready for it."
Butler has transformed the culture in each of his four stops in his career and has done it again in Miami after signing a four-year, $140 million deal with the Heat in 2019.
Since going to South Beach, Butler has racked up two straight All-NBA Third Team nods as well as an All-Star appearance and an All-Defensive second-team appearance, while leading the Heat to the NBA Finals in 2020.
Butler signed a three-year, $136 million extension with the Heat in August, a deal which could see him earn a whopping $52 million as a 36-year-old in the 2025-26 season.
11. Kemba Walker (Knicks) - $36,016,200
Last season: 19.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.9 assists per game, 42.0% FG, 36.0% 3PT, 89.9% FT
Kemba Walker is the only player on the NBA's rich list who is currently being paid by two separate teams.
After he was traded from Boston to Oklahoma City during the off-season, Walker secured a buyout with the Thunder before signing a two-year, $17.8 million deal with his hometown New York Knicks.
Despite giving up some money in the buyout with the Thunder, Walker is still earning $26,238,422 from his original four-year, $140 million max deal signed with the Celtics in the summer of 2019.
Walker endured a difficult second season with Boston, who were more than willing to deal him away despite having signed him as a big free agent in the summer of 2019.
The diminutive point guard was an All-Star in his first season in Beantown before injuries caught up last year, restricting him to just 43 games.
"I felt like they didn't want me no more, and it's my old team," Walker said of the Celtics on ESPN Radio. "Definitely, I want to win. I want to beat those guys."
After surprising the entire NBA by making the playoffs last season, the Knicks will definitely be boosted by a healthy Walker's scoring and playmaking ability from the point guard position.
