In the 2023-24 NBA season, only one of the Top 15 paid players from this season made the Final Four. Rudy Gobert is the sole player from that list to continue. Of the top 15 contracts, 11 belong to players on the West conference and only four on the East (Joel Embiid, Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jimmy Butler). Including Gobert, only Nikola Jokic played in the conference semifinals, and looking at the top 20, only Luka Doncic would join Gobert.
The list's top 15 players belong to 10 teams. Let's take a look at some reasons of why the highest-paid players, who are theoretically the best, haven't reached the conference finals.
There could be many excuses, such as injuries (Kawhi, Giannis), others not reaching the expected level (Beal, George), or not having the team to compete (LeBron, Davis). The point is that none of them reached the goal or even came close (Stephen Curry), and in a way, it doesn't reflect well on the league when your best players are in Cancun resting when the best basketball is being played. We'll see if they have a thirst for revenge because the new generation of players is already dominating the league.
As for the four remaining teams here's how they look in the list of the top paid players.
In the Eastern Conference finals are the Pacers, runner-up of the first in-season tournament, their highest-paid player is Myles Turner ranked 64th this season. Pascal Siakam (71), acquired via trade in January follows, and T.J. McConnell (154) completes the top three. This is because the Pacers are, on average, a young team, as they started the season as the eighth youngest in the league.
The're led by Tyreese Haliburton, who earns just under 6 million this year and is still on his rookie contract. Haliburton signed a 5-year, $204,450,000 contract with the Indiana Pacers, including $204,450,000 guaranteed, making him one of the top 35 highest-paid NBA players for next season.
On the other side, the top-seeded team, the Boston Celtics who have reached six of the last eight Eastern Conference finals but have no players in the top 20. Their four stars are all within the top 45, indicating a good distribution of the salary cap by General Manager Brad Stevens. New to the team this season, Kristaps Porzingis (22) and Jrue Holiday (27) are the highest paid on the team, followed by the "Jay's" Jayson Tatum (35) and Jaylen Brown (43). Brown signed the richest deal in NBA history ($303.7M) before the season started, which will take effect next season. Brown also will be the seventh highest-paid player in the 2024-25 season.
In the Western Conference, the Timberwolves have Rudy Gobert at 13, the 4-time Defensive Player of the Year, known for his defense as he averages just over 12 points per game in his illustrious career. Next is 2015 Rookie of the Year Karl-Anthony Towns (22), and veteran Mike Conley (55) complete the top 3. The team's star, Anthony Edwards, like Haliburton in Indiana, is finishing his rookie contract and will both be at place 31 next season. Anthony Edwards signed a 5-year, $204,450,000 contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves, including $204,450,000 guaranteed which will start next season.
The Dallas Mavericks have Luka Doncic at 16 and Kyrie Irving at 21, undoubtedly the best-paid and, in my opinion, the most complete offensive star pair remaining. Two veterans eager to showcase their quality and silence the haters. Tim Hardaway Jr. (79) completes the top 3 for the Texan team.
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