NBA 2018-19 Season: Average player salary for every NBA team
The NBA has become one of the best-paid leagues in the world following the Collective Bargaining Agreement of 2016, which raised the soft salary cap of the league from $70 million in 2015-16 to $84 million in 2016-17, resulting in the rise of the luxury tax threshold from $93.5 million to $112 million.
This led to Kevin Durant being able to sign with the Warriors and destroy the competitive balance of the league, which in turn has led to teams overpaying in search of the requisite talent to beat the two-time defending champions Golden State.
As things stand, however, the Warriors are more than able to recompense their luxury tax bill with their wins through endorsements and their image as the most recognizable basketball team on the planet today.
Do they top the list of teams sorted by average annual salary, or are there teams that pay even higher wages to their players? Read on to find out:
#30-28
Sacramento Kings - $88.69 million
Highest-paid player: Zach Randolph ($11.7 million)
Average player salary: $5.22 million (17-player roster)
Boasting the lowest payroll across the league, the Kings are leveraging all of their young talent currently on great contracts with respect to their value to the team to stay above the .500 mark in win-loss terms through the 2018-19 season.
Currently, on a 16-14 record and in possession of the 9th seed in the West (tied with 8th-seeded Memphis), the Kings are for real this season. Breakouts from De'Aaron Fox and Willey-Cauley Stein have fueled this run for them.
Phoenix Suns - $104.54 million
Highest-paid player: Ryan Anderson ($20.42 million)
Average player salary: $5.80 million (18 players active)
The Phoenix Suns have floundered in the early part of this season to fall to a 7-24 record through the first 31 games of the season.
Part of the reason is that their highest-paid player is also their biggest net negative on the court through this season, and the best way to describe his contract is to term it an albatross on the neck of the front office who traded the lone recognized (albeit injured) point guard on their roster for one of the most overpaid players in the league.
Hopefully, Kelly Oubre's value-for-money contract will help them out to a better record this season.
Philadelphia 76ers - $104.71 million
Highest-paid player: Joel Embiid ($25.47 million)
Average player salary: $6.54 million
The Sixers have completed the more dreary, despair-filled part of The Process initiated by Sam Hinkie in 2013, and are now in win-now mode.
That much was made clear by the franchise when they went on a 16-game winning streak to end the 2017-18 season before trading for Jimmy Butler mid-way through the 2018-19 season.
Embiid is playing like an MVP candidate, Simmons is a surefire All-Defensive Team member right now and Jimmy Buckets has taken to life as a Sixer like a duck to water. Things could be rosier for Philly fans than they are right now.