Hoops Rumors is in the process of ranking the cap hit for each NBA player by position. The first spot on the hardwood that we’ll be looking at is the center position, a spot on the floor that has lessened in importance over the years, but one that still remains integral to a team’s success. All told, NBA teams have committed a total of $494,425,900 in cap hits this season to the men who patrol the paint around the league. The average salary for the five spot this season is a respectable $5,886,023, with Dwight Howard topping the list with a whopping $22,359,364 to account for on his year-end W-2 form.
It should be noted that teams won’t necessarily pay out every dollar listed here. There are quite a few players who have non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts. Some of those players will be sweating it out until January 7th. That’s when teams must waive players with no specific guarantee date written into their contracts to avoid having to guarantee their salaries for the rest of the season. In addition, incentive clauses that a player either triggers or fails to meet can leave a player with more or less money than his cap hit reflects. Still, the purpose of this list is to show the relative pay scale by position, which is why all contracts are included in this post.
The league’s centers are listed below, in descending order of salary:
- Dwight Howard (Rockets) — $22,359,364
- Marc Gasol (Grizzlies) — $19,689,000
- DeAndre Jordan (Clippers) — $19,689,000
- Brook Lopez (Nets) — $19,689,000
- Enes Kanter (Thunder) — $16,407,500
- Greg Monroe (Bucks) — $16,407,500
- DeMarcus Cousins (Kings) — $15,851,950
- Roy Hibbert (Lakers) — $15,592,216
- Tristan Thompson (Cavaliers) — $14,260,870
- Andrew Bogut (Warriors) — $13,800,000
- Al Jefferson (Hornets) — $13,500,000
- Joakim Noah (Bulls) — $13,400,000
- JaVale McGee (Mavericks) — $13,270,964 (Includes the $12MM owed from the Sixers, who waived him)
- Tyson Chandler (Suns) — $13,000,000
- Nene (Wizards) — $13,000,000
- Robin Lopez (Knicks) — $12,650,000
- Nikola Pekovic (Timberwolves) — $12,100,000
- Al Horford (Hawks) — $12,000,000
- Nikola Vucevic (Magic) — $11,250,000
- Marcin Gortat (Wizards) — $11,217,391
- Anderson Varejao (Cavaliers) — $9,638,554
- Omer Asik (Pelicans) — $9,213,483
- Tiago Splitter (Hawks) — $8,800,000
- Kosta Koufos (Kings) — $7,700,000
- Boris Diaw (Spurs) — $7,500,000
- Ed Davis (Trail Blazers) — $6,980,802
- Aron Baynes (Pistons) — $6,500,000
- Spencer Hawes (Hornets) — $6,110,034
- Karl-Anthony Towns (Timberwolves) — $5,703,600
- J.J. Hickson (Nuggets) — $5,613,500
- Brandan Wright (Grizzlies) — $5,464,000
- Tim Duncan (Spurs) — $5,250,000
- Zaza Pachulia (Mavericks) — $5,200,000
- Chris Kaman (Trail Blazers) — $5,016,000
- Chris Andersen (Heat) — $5,000,000
- Timofey Mozgov (Cavaliers) — $4,950,000
- Jonas Valanciunas (Raptors) — $4,660,482
- Joel Embiid (Sixers) — $4,626,960
- Jahlil Okafor (Sixers) — $4,582,680
- Alexis Ajinca (Pelicans) — $4,389,607
- Cody Zeller (Hornets) — $4,204,200
- Ian Mahinmi (Pacers) — $4,000,000
- Alex Len (Suns) — $3,807,120
- Willie Cauley-Stein (Kings) — $3,398,280
- Drew Gooden (Wizards) — $3,300,000
- Andre Drummond (Pistons) — $3,272,091
- John Henson (Bucks) — $2,943,221
- Tibor Pleiss (Jazz) — $2,900,000
- Bismack Biyombo (Raptors) — $2,814,000
- Kevin Seraphin (Knicks) — $2,814,000
- Tyler Zeller (Celtics) — $2,616,975
- Joel Anthony (Pistons) — $2,500,000
- Steven Adams (Thunder) — $2,279,040
- Kelly Olynyk (Celtics) — $2,165,160
- Miles Plumlee (Bucks) — $2,109,294
- Festus Ezeli (Warriors) — $2,008,748
- Larry Sanders (Waived by Bucks via stretch provision) — $1,865,547
- Lucas Nogueira (Raptors) — $1,842,000
- Jusuf Nurkic (Nuggets) — $1,842,000
- Joffrey Lauvergne (Nuggets) — $1,709,719
- Kendrick Perkins (Pelicans) — $1,499,187
- Gorgui Dieng (Timberwolves) — $1,474,440
- Mason Plumlee (Trail Blazers) — $1,415,520
- Nikola Jokic (Nuggets) — $1,300,000
- Sasha Kaun (Cavaliers) — $1,276,000
- Boban Marjanovic (Spurs) — $1,200,000
- Rudy Gobert (Jazz) — $1,175,880
- Cole Aldrich (Clippers) — $1,100,602
- Edy Tavares (Hawks) — $1,000,000
- Robert Sacre (Lakers) — $981,348
- Hassan Whiteside (Heat) — $981,348
- Samuel Dalembert (Waived by Mavericks) — $947,276
- Dewayne Dedmon (Magic) — $947,276
- Mike Muscala (Hawks) — $947,276
- Jeff Withey (Jazz) — $947,276
- Tarik Black (Lakers) — $845,059
- Shayne Whittington (Pacers) — $845,059
- Salah Mejri (Mavericks) — $525,093
- Aaron Gray (Waived by Pistons via stretch provision) — $452,049
- Fab Melo (Waived by Grizzlies via stretch provision) — $437,080
- Miroslav Raduljica (Waived by the Clippers via stretch provision) — $252,042
- Robert Upshaw (Waived by Lakers) — $35,000
- Ryan Hollins (Waived by Grizzlies) — $16,034
- Jaleel Roberts (Waived by Wizards) — $10,000
- Jordan Railey (Waived by Sixers) — $6,178
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
No way is Boris Diaw a C
I used the teams’ official rosters and positions to make this and the subsequent position lists. I don’t necessarily agree with where a number of players ended up position-wise, but needed to make it uniform.
ZAZA?
Has there been any better value center in the league this year, relative to his salary, than Zaza Pachulia? Man, that guy has been a beast in Dallas. Averaging a double-double, great defense, ball handling/court vision, excellent foul shooting. DeAndre Jordan jolting the Mavs has been the best thing that could have ever happened to them.
Second time the Mavs fleeced the Bucks in a trade in recent history. Got him for a 2nd round draft pick.
Zaza has been great for the Mavs, he’s given them most of what DeAndre could have, at least in season one.
Mozgov coming in at 36 isn’t a bad deal either.
Also, with Dwight expecting to opt out, I bet he’s near the top of this list next year with his new contract.
Pau Gasol has been playing mostly center this year
Regardless, he’s been a power forward for the bulk of his career and the Bulls officially list him as a PF. That was how I determined which position list each player appears on.