Predicting the NBA's All-Underpaid Team This Season
Let's ring in the opening of the 2023-24 NBA calendar by spotlighting some players who will, without question, provide the most outsized bangs for their buck.
Tackling the league's underpaid (and overpaid) ranks is always an inexact science. That makes sticking to baseline criteria incredibly important. And so, in the name of transparency, here's how I'll be determining who makes my All-Underpaid First Team for 2023-24:
- This is not a straight list of the NBA's most underpaid names, period. It's instead a look at the best players who also happen to be generally underpaid.
- Positions are an outmoded construct. But for the sake of archetypal variety, this team will comprise two backcourt slots and three frontcourt members.
- Players on max contracts will not be considered. Anyone on those deals may indeed be underpaid relative to their on-court utility, but the NBA and players union have collectively bargained max-contract terms. There's little point in referring to stars as "underpaid" when they can't actually make more.
- Anyone who signed a "max" deal up against the Arenas Rule is an exception to the above criteria. This includes Austin Reaves and Herb Jones. Though they received the most money possible from their incumbent teams, they were technically restricted free agents who could have signed for more if other teams entered the fray.
- Players on their first contract will also be bounced from the running. This includes players on actual rookie scales as well as second-round picks and undrafted names still on their inaugural deals.
- Finally, I want to place an emphasis on impact. With that in mind, I'm looking for players who will average over 25 minutes per game during the regular season. Expected playoff performances will be treated as cherries on top; players will not be excluded because they rep a projected lottery squad.
On to the results...
The NBA's All-Underpaid 2nd Team (Honorable Mentions)
1 of 6
Backcourt
Russell Westbrook, LA Clippers
- 2023-24 Base Salary: $3,835,738
- Percentage of the 2023-24 Salary Cap: 2.82
Austin Reaves, Los Angeles Lakers
- 2023-24 Base Salary: $12,015,150
- Percentage of the 2023-24 Salary Cap: 8.83
Frontcourt
Caleb Martin, Miami Heat
- 2023-24 Base Salary: $6,802,950
- Percentage of the 2023-24 Salary Cap: 5.00
O.G. Anunoby, Toronto Raptors
- 2023-24 Base Salary: $18,642,857
- Percentage of the 2023-24 Salary Cap: 13.71
Herb Jones, New Orleans Pelicans
- 2023-24 Base Salary: $12,015,150
- Percentage of the 2023-24 Salary Cap: 8.83
Backcourt: Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
2 of 6
2023-24 Base Salary: $26,346,666
Percentage of the 2023-24 Salary Cap: 19.37
Jalen Brunson's contractual arc is, quite frankly, the stuff of legend. Over the course of just a few months, he went from "Should the New York Knicks really have paid him that much?" in the summer of 2022 to "Hey, uh, is he on the league's most team-friendly deal?"
That latter question persists entering 2023-24. He's fresh off averaging 24.0 points and 6.2 assists on 59.7 true shooting. Only five other players spit out those benchmarks for all of last year: Stephen Curry, Luka Dončić, De'Aaron Fox, Nikola Jokić and Damian Lillard. Brunson is the lone member from this clique who didn't make an All-NBA team.
Accounting for some regression is fair. Except, it's not. Brunson is entering his age-27 season. He's not getting any worse.
And not only did he revalidate his place among the Association's splashiest names during the Knicks' 2023 postseason push, but his success came amid less-than-ideal spacing. His herky-jerky, lane-heavy dependency is not a quirk around which New York must work. It is equal parts defining weapon and failsafe.
Backcourt: Mikal Bridges, Brooklyn Nets
3 of 6
2023-24 Base Salary: $21,700,00
Percentage of the 2023-24 Salary Cap: 15.95
Mikal Bridges' four-year, $90.9 million extension looked like a steal when he signed it in October 2021. It mushroomed into highway robbery by the middle of last year, when a combination of injuries and situational limitations necessitated his shouldering a more prominent offensive burden with the Phoenix Suns.
Then, after getting shipped to the Brooklyn Nets, his deal mutated into the mother of all team-friendly bargains.
Through 27 regular-season appearances following the trade, Bridges averaged 26.1 points on 60.7 true shooting while ferrying his usual defensive workload. This was not flash-in-the-pan stuff, either. He laid the groundwork for this leap in Phoenix. Playing on a star-starved Brooklyn squad merely accelerated his usage.
Almost 45 percent of his buckets on the Nets went unassisted, compared to 28.8 percent before the trade. And while his efficiency dipped in the postseason, he still mostly looked the part. His effective field-goal percentage of 53.9 on pull-up jumpers in the playoffs was a top-six mark among 39 players who attempted as many of those shots.
Scant few stars are best-player-on-offense-and-defense material. Bridges is a playmaking jump away from fitting this exact bill.
Frontcourt: Lauri Markkanen, Utah Jazz
4 of 6
2023-24 Base Salary: $17,259,999
Percentage of the 2023-24 Salary Cap: 12.69
Lauri Markkanen just wrapped up one of the most efficient offensive seasons in NBA history. That is not hyperbole.
Here's every player who has averaged more than 25 points per game while downing over 58 percent of their twos and 39 percent of their threes for an entire season:
- LeBron James (2012-13)
- Stephen Curry (2017-18)
- Kevin Durant (2022-23)
- Lauri Markkanen (2022-23)
Holy. Freaking. Cow.
The reigning Most Improved Player could be due for some pullback. Markkanen remains somewhat reliant on quick-decision situations. Exactly 75 percent of his buckets came off assists last year, and he saw a dip in his efficiency once the Utah Jazz overturned their roster. Life won't get easier this season. Utah has zero above-average playmakers currently on the roster.
Holy. Freaking. Nitpicking.
Between holding up at both forward spots, understanding how to torch entire defenses with his size and Utah's spacing and just lights-out play-finishing from every level, Markkanen must still be treated as a potential All-Star. And having one of those on-staff for less than 13 percent of the salary cap is patently absurd.
Frontcourt: Wendell Carter Jr., Orlando Magic
5 of 6
2023-24 Base Salary: $13,050,000
Percentage of the 2023-24 Salary Cap: 9.59
Wendell Carter Jr. isn't just underpaid. He's underrated.
Last year, during his first full season in Orlando, he averaged 15.2 points and 2.3 assists while connecting on 62.4 percent of his twos and 35.6 percent of his triples, all the while displaying off-the-charts versatility.
Need him to dot the corners? No sweat. Slip screens? Easy peasy. Come off a pindown to pop a mid-range J? No problemo. Trail in transition above the break? You got it.
Finish in traffic, punish mismatches deep in the paint, run dribble handoffs, dime up cutters, kick out to shooters? Done, done, done, done and done.
This functional malleability translates to the defensive end. Carter isn't the most formidable rim protector, but he's among the most matchup-proof pick-and-roll bigs in the game. His capacity to hold up versus smaller, more mobile players is a defensive godsend, and the combination of speed and coordination he maintains while backpedaling doesn't make sense.
Finding a player with this entire package is hard. But landing him and then having him on a salary that doesn't even rank in the top 115? That's just silly.
Frontcourt: Nic Claxton, Brooklyn Nets
6 of 6
2023-24 Base Salary: $8,750,000
Percentage of the 2023-24 Salary Cap: 7.08
The Brooklyn Nets better enjoy running out one of the NBA's top bargains at the 5 while it lasts. Even by non-shooting-big-man standards, Nicolas Claxton is in line for a hefty payday during 2024 free agency.
Most people tend to highlight his defensive switchability—and rightfully so. Among all centers who cleared 1,500 minutes last season, only five spent more time checking point guards, according to BBall Index.
Claxton pairs his perimeter mobility with equally versatile rim protection. His straight-up contests at the basket belie his spindly frame, and he can derail point-blank opportunities on the move, guarding primary playmakers stride-for-stride. Opponents hit just 52.3 percent of their shots at the rim against him last season—a top-six mark among 100 players who challenged at least 200 close-range looks.
More recently, though, Claxton has expanded his offensive usage beyond pure rim-running. Last season saw him shoot over 56 percent on 126 drives, showcase reasonable touch on his hook shots and hit more than 57 percent of his two-point jumpers.
Tantalizing still, at only 24, there's a strong chance this cornerstone-material turn is just the beginning.
Unless otherwise noted, stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference, Stathead or Cleaning the Glass. Salary information via Spotrac.
Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.
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