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On Monday, we listed the top 50 highest-paid NBA players for the 2020/21 season. While that list presented a clear picture of the highest earners for the upcoming season, not every NBA team was represented.

Four of the league’s 30 franchises – the Hawks, Pacers, Grizzlies, and Knicks – didn’t have a single player in the top 50. Indiana was close, with Victor Oladipo and Malcolm Brogdon narrowly missing the cut, but none of the other three clubs have a player earning $20MM or more this season.

Our list of highest-paid players for 2020/21 also only provided a snapshot for the coming year. It featured veterans like Kyle Lowry, Otto Porter, and Andre Drummond, who will be well compensated for the coming season but are on expiring contracts.

Today, we’re shifting our focus to the highest-paid players by team. This will allow us to check in on the clubs that weren’t represented on our initial list, as well as exploring teams’ most lucrative multiyear commitments — we’ve included each club’s highest-paid player for the 2020/21 season and its highest-paid player in total.

Let’s dive in…

Atlanta Hawks

• 2020/21: Danilo Gallinari ($19,500,000)
• Total: Bogdan Bogdanovic (four years, $72,000,000)
  • Note: Bogdanovic’s final year is a player option.
    

Boston Celtics

• 2020/21: Kemba Walker ($34,379,100)
• Total: Jayson Tatum (six years, $172,897,710)
  • Note: The value of Tatum’s contract would increase to $205,497,830 if he makes an All-NBA team in 2021. Its value is based on a projected 3% salary cap increase for 2021/22. Tatum’s final year is a player option.
    

Brooklyn Nets

• 2020/21: Kevin Durant ($40,108,950)
• Total: Kevin Durant (three years, $126,056,700)
  • Note: Durant’s final year is a player option.

Charlotte Hornets

• 2020/21: Gordon Hayward ($28,500,000)
• Total: Gordon Hayward (four years, $120,000,000)

Chicago Bulls

• 2020/21: Otto Porter ($28,489,239)
• Total: Zach LaVine (two years, $39,000,000)

Cleveland Cavaliers

• 2020/21: Kevin Love ($31,258,256)
• Total: Kevin Love (three years, $91,459,342)

Dallas Mavericks

• 2020/21: Kristaps Porzingis ($29,467,800)
• Total: Kristaps Porzingis (four years, $130,968,000)
  • Note: Porzingis’ final year is a player option.

Denver Nuggets

• 2020/21: Nikola Jokic ($29,542,010)
• Total: Jamal Murray (five years, $158,253,000)

Detroit Pistons

• 2020/21: Blake Griffin ($36,810,996)
• Total: Blake Griffin (two years, $75,768,024)
  • Note: Griffin’s final year is a player option.

Golden State Warriors

• 2020/21: Stephen Curry ($43,006,362)
• Total: Klay Thompson (four years, $157,161,600)

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While many of the NBA’s highest-paid players are on contracts considered maximum-salary deals, the 2020/21 salaries for those players vary significantly depending on when the player signed his contract and how much NBA experience he has. That’s why a player like Stephen Curry will earn nearly $16MM more than Brandon Ingram in ’20/21 despite both stars technically being on max deals.

When a player signs a maximum-salary contract, he doesn’t necessarily earn the NBA max for each season of that contract — he earns the max in year one, then gets a series of identical annual raises. In Curry’s case, his 2020/21 salary actually exceeds this year’s maximum, since his deal started in the summer of 2017 and includes 8% annual raises. The annual cap increases haven’t kept up with those 8% raises.

Listed below, with the help of salary data from Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders, are the top 50 highest-paid NBA players for the 2020/21 season. The players on this list don’t necessarily have the contracts with the largest overall value. The list below only considers salaries for ’20/21.

Additionally, we’ve noted players who could potentially increase their earnings via incentives or trade bonuses. We didn’t add those notes for players like Curry who have trade bonuses but are already earning the maximum — their salaries for this season can’t increase beyond their max.

The cutoff for a spot on this year’s top-50 list is a $21.25MM salary, so players like Pacers teammates Victor Oladipo ($21MM) and Malcolm Brogdon ($20.7MM) just missed out.

Here are the NBA’s 50 highest-paid players for the 2020/21 season:

1. Stephen Curry, Warriors: $43,006,362
2. Chris Paul, Suns: $41,358,814
   Russell Westbrook, Wizards: $41,358,814
4. James Harden, Rockets: $41,254,920
   John Wall, Rockets: $41,254,920
6. Kevin Durant, Nets: $40,108,950
7. LeBron James, Lakers: $39,219,566
8. Blake Griffin, Pistons: $36,810,996
9. Paul George, Clippers: $35,450,412
10. Klay Thompson, Warriors: $35,361,360
11. Mike Conley, Jazz: $34,502,132
12. Jimmy Butler, Heat: $34,379,100
    Kawhi Leonard, Clippers: $34,379,100
    Kemba Walker, Celtics: $34,379,100
15. Tobias Harris, Sixers: $34,358,850
16. Kyrie Irving, Nets: $33,460,350 (plus incentives; 15% trade kicker)
17. Khris Middleton, Bucks: $33,051,724
18. Anthony Davis, Lakers: $32,742,000
19. Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers: $31,626,953
20. Kevin Love, Cavaliers: $31,258,256
21. Pascal Siakam, Raptors: $30,559,200
    Ben Simmons, Sixers: $30,559,200
23. Kyle Lowry, Raptors: $30,500,000
24. Steven Adams, Pelicans: $29,592,695
25. Joel Embiid, Sixers: $29,542,010
    Nikola Jokic, Nuggets: $29,542,010
    Andrew Wiggins, Warriors: $29,542,010
28. Devin Booker, Suns: $29,467,800
    Kristaps Porzingis, Mavericks: $29,467,800
    Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves: $29,467,800
31. CJ McCollum, Trail Blazers: $29,354,152
32. Bradley Beal, Wizards: $28,751,774
    Andre Drummond, Cavaliers: $28,751,774
34. D’Angelo Russell, Timberwolves: $28,649,250
35. Gordon Hayward, Hornets: $28,500,000
36. Otto Porter Jr., Bulls: $28,489,239
37. DeMar DeRozan, Spurs: $27,739,975
38. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks: $27,528,088
39. Rudy Gobert, Jazz: $27,525,281 (plus incentives)
40. Al Horford, Thunder: $27,500,000
41. Brandon Ingram, Pelicans: $27,285,000
    Jamal Murray, Nuggets: $27,285,000
43. Nikola Vucevic, Magic: $26,000,000
44. Jrue Holiday, Pelicans: $25,876,111 (plus incentives)
45. Buddy Hield, Kings: $24,701,834 (plus incentives)
46. LaMarcus Aldridge, Spurs: $24,000,000 (15% trade kicker)
47. Jaylen Brown, Celtics: $23,735,118 (plus incentives)
48. Draymond Green, Warriors: $22,246,956 (15% trade kicker)
49. Harrison Barnes, Kings: $22,215,909
50. Fred VanVleet, Raptors: $21,250,000

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

The bi-annual exception is one of the tools available to NBA teams who are over the cap, giving those clubs the flexibility to offer free agents more than the minimum salary. In 2020/21, the bi-annual exception is worth $3,623,000, and can be used to offer a deal worth up to about $7,427,150 over two years.

However, the bi-annual exception isn’t available to every team. Clubs that go below the cap in order to use cap room lose access to the exception. Additionally, using the BAE imposes a hard cap of $138,928,000 (the tax apron) on a club. So if a team has surpassed the tax apron – or wants to retain the flexibility to do so – that team can’t use the bi-annual exception.

Finally, as its name suggests, the bi-annual exception can’t be used by a team in consecutive years. In 2019/20, four teams used the BAE — the Mavericks (Boban Marjanovic), Pistons (Markieff Morris), Grizzlies (Marko Guduric), and Raptors (Stanley Johnson) As such, the exception isn’t available to those clubs during the 2020/21 league year. They’ll be able to use it again next summer.

With all those factors in mind, here’s a breakdown of how teams are using – or not using – their respective bi-annual exceptions in 2020/21:

Available Bi-Annual Exceptions:

Unused:

• Boston Celtics
• Chicago Bulls
• Cleveland Cavaliers
• Houston Rockets
• Indiana Pacers
• Los Angeles Clippers
• Miami Heat
• Minnesota Timberwolves
• New Orleans Pelicans
• Oklahoma City Thunder
• Orlando Magic
• Phoenix Suns
• Portland Trail Blazers
• Sacramento Kings
• San Antonio Spurs
• Utah Jazz
• Washington Wizards

Although all of these teams technically have the ability to use their bi-annual exceptions at some point in 2020/21, it’s more realistic for some than others. For instance, the Rockets are right up against a hard cap and still have nearly $7MM of their mid-level exception available, so there’s virtually no chance they’ll be using the BAE this season, even if they shed a little salary.

Used:

• Denver Nuggets
  • Used: $3,200,000 (Facundo Campazzo)
  • Available: $423,000
• Los Angeles Lakers
  • Used: $3,623,000 (Wesley Matthews)
  • Available: $0
• Milwaukee Bucks
  • Used: $3,623,000 (Bobby Portis)
  • Available: $0

So far, the Nuggets, Lakers, and Bucks are the only teams that won’t have the bi-annual exception available to them during the 2021/22 league year after using it this season.

Unavailable Bi-Annual Exceptions:

Went under cap:

• Atlanta Hawks
• Charlotte Hornets
• New York Knicks

These three teams forfeited their right to the bi-annual exception when they went under the cap and used space this offseason.

Over tax apron:

• Brooklyn Nets
• Golden State Warriors
• Philadelphia 76ers

In theory, major cost-cutting moves by the Nets, Warriors, and Sixers could put them in position to use their bi-annual exceptions. In actuality though, that possibility is remote.

Used last year:

• Dallas Mavericks
• Detroit Pistons
• Memphis Grizzlies
• Toronto Raptors

As noted in the intro, these are the four teams that used their bi-annual exceptions in 2019/20 and won’t have them again until 2021/22 as a result.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.

In addition to receiving approximately $109MM in cap room and being allowed to surpass that threshold in order to sign players using Bird Rights or the minimum salary exception, each NBA team also receives a mid-level exception. The value of this exception varies depending on a club’s total team salary.

A team that goes under the cap to use its available cap room, for instance, receives only a modest form of the MLE known as the room exception. An over-the-cap team receives the full mid-level exception, unless that team is also over the tax apron, in which case it gets a taxpayer version of the MLE that falls in between the full MLE and the room exception. We detailed the exact values of each form of mid-level exception earlier this offseason, but here’s a quick breakdown:

• Room exception: Can be used for contracts up to two years, with a starting salary worth up to $4,767,000.
• Taxpayer mid-level exception: Can be used for contracts up to three years, with a starting salary worth up to $5,718,000.
• Full/non-taxpayer mid-level exception: Can be used for contracts up to four years, with a starting salary worth up to $9,258,000.
  • Note: Though its name suggests otherwise, using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception doesn’t mean a team can’t or won’t be above the tax line ($132.63MM) at season’s end; it simply means the team’s total salary can’t surpass the tax “apron” ($138.93MM).

Now that nearly all of the NBA’s teams have used up their cap space, it’s worth keeping an eye on which teams still have part or all of their mid-level exceptions available, which we’ll do in the space below. This list will be kept up to date throughout the 2020/21 league year.

Note: As of February 27, the value of the exceptions below began to prorate downward by 1/146th per day.

Here’s where things currently stand:

Mid-Level Exception:

Non-taxpayer: $9,258,000
Taxpayer: $5,718,000

Boston Celtics

• Used: $9,258,000 (Tristan Thompson)

Brooklyn Nets

• Used: $399,591 (Alize Johnson)
• Note: Limited to taxpayer mid-level exception.

Chicago Bulls

• Used: $4,767,000 (Garrett Temple)

Cleveland Cavaliers

• Used: $2,000,000 (Damyean Dotson); $652,366 (Lamar Stevens); $158,433 (Mfiondu Kabengele)

Dallas Mavericks

• Used: $4,100,000 (Willie Cauley-Stein); $3,000,000 (Trey Burke); $1,289,846 (Tyrell Terry)

Denver Nuggets

• Used: $7,199,760 (JaMychal Green); $2,058,240 (Bol Bol)

Golden State Warriors

• Used: $2,250,000 (Brad Wanamaker)
• Note: Limited to taxpayer mid-level exception.

Houston Rockets

• Used: $1,445,697 (Jae’Sean Tate); $898,310 (KJ Martin); $250,000 (Khyri Thomas)

Indiana Pacers

• Used: $757,453 (Oshae Brissett)
  

Los Angeles Clippers

• Used: $9,258,000 (Serge Ibaka)

Los Angeles Lakers

• Used: $9,258,000 (Montrezl Harrell)

Memphis Grizzlies

• Used: $2,100,000 (John Konchar); $1,900,000 (Jontay Porter); $1,300,000 (Xavier Tillman)

Miami Heat

• Used: $5,635,000 (Avery Bradley); $3,623,000 (Maurice Harkless)

Milwaukee Bucks

• Used: $6,666,667 (D.J. Augustin); $2,337,145 (Bryn Forbes); $160,173 (Mamadi Diakite)

Minnesota Timberwolves

• Used: $0

New Orleans Pelicans

• Used: $120,000 (Naji Marshall)
  

Oklahoma City Thunder

• Used: $2,000,000 (Theo Maledon); $1,250,000 (Moses Brown); $3,870,370 (Gabriel Deck)

Orlando Magic

• Used: $3,300,000 (James Ennis); $2,000,000 (Gary Clark)

Philadelphia 76ers

• Used: $898,310 (Isaiah Joe), $609,128 (Paul Reed)
• Note: Limited to taxpayer mid-level exception.

Phoenix Suns

• Used: $9,258,000 (Jae Crowder)

Portland Trail Blazers

• Used: $9,258,000 (Derrick Jones)

Sacramento Kings

• Used: $1,620,564 (Chimezie Metu); $1,500,000 (Robert Woodard); $1,000,000 (Jahmi’us Ramsey); $700,000 (Chimezie Metu)

San Antonio Spurs

• Used: $898,310 (Tre Jones)

Toronto Raptors

• Used: $7,000,000 (Aron Baynes); $2,258,000 (Alex Len)

Utah Jazz

• Used: $9,258,000 (Derrick Favors)

Washington Wizards

• Used: $7,300,000 (Robin Lopez); $20,000 (Caleb Homesley)

Room Exception:

Available: $4,767,000

Atlanta Hawks

• Used: $4,767,000 (Kris Dunn)

Charlotte Hornets

• Used: $0

Detroit Pistons

• Used: $4,767,000 (Josh Jackson)

New York Knicks

• Used: $0

Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Decisions on rookie scale options for the 2021/22 season were due on Tuesday — any team that wanted to exercise a third- or fourth-year option on a player for next season was required to do so by last night.

As is typically the case, a huge majority of those options were picked up. Even for top picks, who are paid higher salaries due to the NBA’s rookie scale, those third- and fourth-year options are relatively team-friendly. So unless a player has fallen well short of his team’s expectations, it generally makes sense to lock in his salary for the following season at this point.

However, not every player with a 2021/22 team option had it exercised by Tuesday’s deadline. The players who had those options declined will now be on track to reach unrestricted free agency during the summer of 2021, assuming they’re not waived before then. At the end of the season, their teams won’t be able to offer them starting salaries that exceed the value of their declined options.

Listed below are the players who had their options turned down, followed by the players whose options were exercised. If a player had his option picked up, his ’21/22 salary is now guaranteed and he won’t be eligible for free agency until at least 2022.

Declined options:

Note: These players will become unrestricted free agents in 2021.

• Jerome Robinson, Wizards (fourth year, $5,340,916)
• Moritz Wagner, Wizards (fourth year, $3,893,618)
• Omari Spellman, Knicks (fourth year, $3,588,845)
• Mfiondu Kabengele, Clippers (third year, $2,174,880)

In addition to these four players who remain under contract for the 2020/21 season, three players who had rookie scale team options on their contracts for ’21/22 were waived during the offseason. Those players were Zhaire Smith (cut by Pistons), Dzanan Musa (Pistons), and Jacob Evans (Knicks). Their options were automatically voided once they cleared waivers.

Exercised options:

Fourth year:

Note: These players will become eligible for rookie scale extensions on August 2, 2021. If they’re not extended, they’ll be on track for restricted free agency in 2022.

• Deandre Ayton, Suns ($12,632,950)
• Marvin Bagley III, Kings ($11,312,114)
• Luka Doncic, Mavericks ($10,174,391)
• Jaren Jackson Jr., Grizzlies ($9,180,560)
• Trae Young, Hawks ($8,326,471)
• Mohamed Bamba, Magic ($7,568,743)
• Wendell Carter Jr., Bulls ($6,920,027)
• Collin Sexton, Cavaliers ($6,349,671)
• Kevin Knox, Knicks ($5,845,978)
• Mikal Bridges, Suns ($5,557,725)
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder ($5,495,532)
• Miles Bridges, Hornets ($5,421,493)
• Michael Porter Jr., Nuggets ($5,258,735)
• Troy Brown, Wizards ($5,170,564)
• Donte DiVincenzo, Bucks ($4,675,830)
• Lonnie Walker, Spurs ($4,447,896)
• Kevin Huerter, Hawks ($4,253,357)
• Josh Okogie, Timberwolves ($4,087,904)
• Grayson Allen, Grizzlies ($4,054,695)
• Chandler Hutchison, Bulls ($4,019,459)
• Aaron Holiday, Pacers ($3,980,551)
• Anfernee Simons, Trail Blazers ($3,938,818)
• Landry Shamet, Nets ($3,768,342)
• Robert Williams, Celtics ($3,661,976)

Third year:

Note: Teams will have to make fourth-year option decisions for 2022/23 on these players next year (exact deadline TBD).

• Zion Williamson, Pelicans ($10,733,400)
• Ja Morant, Grizzlies ($9,603,360)
• RJ Barrett, Knicks ($8,623,920)
• De’Andre Hunter, Hawks ($7,775,400)
• Darius Garland, Cavaliers ($7,040,880)
• Jarrett Culver, Timberwolves ($6,395,160)
• Coby White, Bulls ($5,837,760)
• Jaxson Hayes, Pelicans ($5,348,280)
• Rui Hachimura, Wizards ($4,916,160)
• Cam Reddish, Hawks ($4,670,160)
• Cameron Johnson, Suns ($4,437,000)
• P.J. Washington, Hornets ($4,215,120)
• Tyler Herro, Heat ($4,004,280)
• Romeo Langford, Celtics ($3,804,360)
• Sekou Doumbouya, Pistons ($3,613,680)
• Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Pelicans ($3,261,480)
• Goga Bitadze, Pacers ($3,098,400)
• Luka Samanic, Spurs ($2,959,080)
• Matisse Thybulle, Sixers ($2,840,160)
• Brandon Clarke, Grizzlies ($2,726,880)
• Grant Williams, Celtics ($2,617,800)
• Darius Bazley, Thunder ($2,513,040)
• Ty Jerome, Thunder ($2,412,840)
• Nassir Little, Trail Blazers ($2,316,240)
• Dylan Windler, Cavaliers ($2,239,200)
• Jordan Poole, Warriors ($2,161,440)
• Keldon Johnson, Spurs ($2,145,720)
• Kevin Porter Jr., Cavaliers ($1,782,621)

For a team-by-team breakdown of this year’s rookie scale option decisions for the 2021/22 season, along with full stories on each decision, you can check out our tracker.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.

Although a handful of big-money free agent contracts were completed during the offseason, the majority of the most lucrative deals signed by NBA players in 2020 have been contract extensions. And six of those extensions – belonging to Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George, Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell, Bam Adebayo, and De’Aaron Fox – have been maximum-salary deals.

[RELATED: 2020/21 NBA Contract Extension Tracker]

Because those extensions won’t go into effect until the 2021/22 season and the NBA won’t finalize the ’21/22 salary cap until next summer, we can only ballpark what next year’s maximum-salary contracts will look like based on the league’s latest cap estimates.

When the NBA confirmed its salary cap data for the 2020/21 season on November 10, the league also updated its cap estimates for future seasons. According to the NBA, the cap will increase by at least 3% per year and no more than 10% per year for the remainder of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement.

For now, we’re basing our maximum-salary estimates on a 3% increase from this year’s $109,140,000 salary cap, since the NBA is facing probable revenue losses in 2020/21 and seems unlikely to bump the cap too substantially next season.

Listed below are the early maximum-salary projections for 2021/22, based on a $112,414,200 cap. The first chart shows the maximum salaries for a player re-signing with his own team — a player’s previous club can offer five years instead of four, and 8% annual raises instead of 5% raises. The second chart shows the maximum salaries for a player signing with a new team.

A player’s maximum salary is generally determined by his years of NBA experience, so there’s a wide gap between potential earnings for younger and older players. Unless they qualify for a more lucrative extension by meeting certain performance criteria, players with no more than six years of NBA experience are limited to a starting salary worth up to 25% of the cap. For players with seven to nine years of experience, that number is 30%. For players with 10 or more years of experience, it’s 35%.

Here are the the early max-salary projections for 2021/22:

A player re-signing with his own team (8% annual raises, up to five years):

The “6 years or less” column here is what the new extensions for Tatum, Mitchell, Adebayo, and Fox will look like if none of them make All-NBA teams in 2021. Each of those four players has Rose Rule language in his contract, however, and could move up to the 30% max column (“7-9 years”) if certain criteria are met.

Tatum and Mitchell just have to make any All-NBA team to bump the total projected value of their extensions from $163MM to $195.6MM, but Fox would have to make All-NBA First Team and Adebayo would have to win an MVP award. Fox and Adebayo can earn “max” salaries above 25% but below 30% if they achieve certain other criteria.

The third column applies not just to players with 10+ years of experience, but also to players who meet the Designated Veteran Extension criteria. Antetokounmpo fits that bill, so his deal is worth a projected $228.2MM.

George will have 10+ years of experience under his belt when his new extension takes effect in 2021/22, so its value is reflected in the third column here as well, albeit without the fifth and final year.

The third column also reflects what Kawhi Leonard could get in free agency if he opts out in 2021, though he won’t have full Bird rights yet, preventing him from signing for more than four years.

If the cap increases by 10%, the five-year values for these maximum-salary contracts would increase to approximately $174.1MM (25%), $208.9MM (30%), and $243.7MM (35%).

A player signing with a new team (5% annual raises, up to four years):

If a player changes teams as a free agent, he doesn’t have access to a fifth year or 8% raises. So if a player like John Collins opts to sign an offer sheet with a team besides the Hawks next summer, he’ll be limited to a four-year deal projected to be worth just shy of $121MM.

If Victor Oladipo – or another veteran with between seven and nine years of NBA experience – wants to change teams in 2021, he would be able to sign a four-year contract worth up to a projected $145MM.

Leonard – or another veteran with 10+ years of experience – would be limited to just under $170MM over four years if he changes teams as a free agent in 2021.

If the cap increases by 10%, the four-year values for these maximum-salary contracts would increase to approximately $129.1MM (25%), $154.9MM (30%), and $180.7MM (35%).

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.