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Who are the most overpaid stars in the NBA?

Kobe earns a whopping $25m a season but is still only a number nine on the list. Who’s an even bigger waste of money?

15/05/11 222 Views No Comments
Image: Chris Pizzello/AP/Press Association Images

Reproduced with permission from BusinessInsider.

TWENTY-TWO OF 30 NBA teams lost money this year. This fact alone makes it easy to understand why owners want drastic revisions to the contract system.

Here are a few more reasons. Rashard Lewis, a player ranked 235 on ESPN’s Player Efficiency Rating, earned $21 million this year. Gilbert Arenas, another B-list star, earned $18 million. Nick Collison, definitely not a household name, earned $13 million.

In each case a middle-market team overpaid a decent player to keep him from falling into the clutches of, say, the Lakers. Meanwhile the Lakers didn’t bat an eye before paying $25 million this season to 32-year-old Kobe Bryant — the cost of Lebron James, Derrick Rose and Shaquille O’Neal combined.

We identified the 17 most overpaid players in the league based on current-year salary divided by PER. (Player Efficiency Rating measure each player’s overall productivity. Anyone with a PER lower than 15 would be considered below the league-average.)

Here they are.

Who are the most overpaid stars in the NBA?
1 / 5

  • #5 - Kenyon Martin

    Earned ,545,454 this season. Scored 14.2 for Player Efficiency Rating. Denver paid 136334.165 million for every point of PER. Martin signed a -million seven year contract in 2004. He was injured in 2005 and would never recover to the same level of play

  • #4 - Joel Przybilla

    Earned ,405,300 this season. Scored 6.22 for Player Efficiency Rating. Charlotte/Portland paid 136334.191 million for every point of PER. The 7ft 1in center signed a million five-year contract with the Blazers in 2006. His game dropped after injuries in 2009 and 2010. He was traded to the Bobcats in 20

  • #3 - Nick Collison

    Earned ,250,000 this season. Scored 10.82 for Player Efficiency Rating. Oklahoma City paid 136334.225 million for every point of PER. After signing a million five-year contract in 2006, Nick Collison has slowly deteriorated. He wasn't an all-star in the first place.

  • #2 - Gilbert Arenas

    Earned ,730,694 this season. Scored 10.82 for Player Efficiency Rating. Orlando/Washington paid 136334.639 million for every point of PER. Arenas signed a huge 1-million six-year contract in 2008, despite injury issues. When he returned to health in 2009, he screwed it by bringing a gun to the locker room and earning an extended suspension. When he returned in 2010, the Wizards were among the worst teams in the league. The team offloaded his contract by trading for the only more overpaid player in the league ...

  • #1 - Rashard Lewis

    Earned ,514,000 this season. Scored 12.07 for Player Efficiency Rating. Washington/Orlando paid 136334.7 million for every point of PER. Orlando signed Lewis to the biggest contract in franchise history in 2007, paying 8 million for six years. The forward would make the all-star team in 2009 and lead the Magic to the NBA finals. In the following year, however, he tested positive for banned substances and his performance declined, and it would keep slipping until his trade to Washington in 2010.
  • <em>Earned ,545,454 this season.</em> <em>Scored 14.2 for Player Efficiency Rating.</em> <b>Denver paid 136334.165 million for every point of PER.</b> Martin signed a -million seven year contract in 2004. He was injured in 2005 and would never recover to the same level of play
  • <em>Earned ,405,300 this season.</em> <em>Scored 6.22 for Player Efficiency Rating.</em> <b>Charlotte/Portland paid 136334.191 million for every point of PER.</b> The 7ft 1in center signed a million five-year contract with the Blazers in 2006. His game dropped after injuries in 2009 and 2010. He was traded to the Bobcats in 20
  • <em>Earned ,250,000 this season.</em> <em>Scored 10.82 for Player Efficiency Rating.</em> <b>Oklahoma City paid 136334.225 million for every point of PER.</b> After signing a million five-year contract in 2006, Nick Collison has slowly deteriorated. He wasn't an all-star in the first place.
  • <em>Earned ,730,694 this season.</em> <em>Scored 10.82 for Player Efficiency Rating.</em> <b>Orlando/Washington paid 136334.639 million for every point of PER.</b> Arenas signed a huge 1-million six-year contract in 2008, despite injury issues. When he returned to health in 2009, he screwed it by bringing a gun to the locker room and earning an extended suspension. When he returned in 2010, the Wizards were among the worst teams in the league. The team offloaded his contract by trading for the only more overpaid player in the league ...
  • <em>Earned ,514,000 this season.</em> <em>Scored 12.07 for Player Efficiency Rating.</em> <b>Washington/Orlando paid 136334.7 million for every point of PER.</b> Orlando signed Lewis to the biggest contract in franchise history in 2007, paying 8 million for six years. The forward would make the all-star team in 2009 and lead the Magic to the NBA finals. In the following year, however, he tested positive for banned substances and his performance declined, and it would keep slipping until his trade to Washington in 2010.

Click here to see which players ranked 6-17 >

About the author:

Niall Kelly
@niallkelly
niall@thescore.ie

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