10 NBA Players Who Are Underpaid Today
NBA players are, by and large, worth what the market has determined.
You can argue that a handful of elite stars are underpaid on max contracts, but, for the purposes of this exercise at least, it's hard to consider someone underpaid when they're making as much as possible.
Similarly, there are young players outperforming the pay rates of their rookie contracts, but again, they're not classically underpaid but simply bound by the rules of the collective bargaining agreement.
Those aren't the players we're concerning ourselves with. Rather, we're focusing on players who are signed to non-max, non-rookie-scale contracts who have performed above their pay grades.
It's a subjective designation, obviously, but when you weigh their current salaries against their level of production, you might feel like following 10 players are objectively earning less than they should.
Malik Beasley, Detroit Pistons
1 of 10
Last summer, the Detroit Pistons needed just $6 million to bring Malik Beasley to town in hopes of alleviating their spacing concerns.
They figure to need significantly more if they want to run it back with their new franchise leader in single-season three-point makes (a record he broke before the All-Star break).
All told, the 28-year-old wound up with 319 triples during his go-round in Detroit. It's the eighth-highest total in league history, and he managed to hit that mark while shooting a career-best 41.6 percent from the perimeter. His 16.3 points per game were the second-most of his career and third-most on the sixth-seeded Pistons.
Even if Beasley is largely a one-note contributor, he does the thing that every modern team wants and does it at an exceptionally high level. He could reasonably expect to double his salary this summer—yes, even in this economy.
Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
2 of 10
What would you guess an in-prime MVP candidate might cost at the moment? Well, if you're Nikola Jokić or Giannis Antetokounmpo, the answer sits somewhere north of $48 million.
Jalen Brunson, meanwhile, makes half of that. His $24.96 million salary slots him just 64th overall this season, sandwiched between the almost-always-injured Jonathan Isaac and the colossally disappointing Terry Rozier.
That's a ridiculous bargain, and it doesn't even factor in the roughly $113 million he saved the Knicks on the extension he signed last offseason.
For that relatively minuscule amount, Brunson gave the 'Bockers this season's 10th-most points per game (26—on 48.8/38.3/82.1 shooting, no less) and 11th-most assists (7.3—against just 2.5 turnovers).
Oh, and the 28-year-old has somehow found an even higher level of hooping in the playoffs.
What. A. Steal.
Ty Jerome, Cleveland Cavaliers
3 of 10
The Cavaliers couldn't have expected much when they added Ty Jerome over the 2023 offseason.
If they had, they would have given him more than a two-year, $5 million deal. Yet, that seemed sufficient—maybe even aggressive—for someone who had spent the previous four seasons with three different teams and struggled becoming a full-time rotation player anywhere.
But after his first campaign was undone by an ankle injury, his second has seemed like he was fired out of a cannon. Immediately, he became one of the league's most impactful second-teamers (taking bronze in this season's Sixth Man of the Year voting) while piling up 12.5 points (on 51.6/43.9/87.2 shooting) and 3.4 assists (against 1.3 turnovers) in just 19.9 minutes a night.
"He's made for these moments," teammate Max Strus said after Jerome's 28-point eruption in his playoff debut. "He's made for the spotlight."
Jerome, 27, has been perhaps too good for Cleveland, which could have trouble finding the necessary funds to bring him back in free agency. Even in a cash-strapped market, he looks set to obliterate his salary this summer.
Norman Powell, Los Angeles Clippers
4 of 10
Timing can be everything to an exercise like this. Draw up this list even a year ago, and Norman Powell probably doesn't get a second thought.
Then again, who knew he was about to turn his age-31 season into a full-fledged breakout? While he didn't quite make the cut, he put together a compelling All-Star argument and might have been crowned Most Improved Player had he cleared the required 65-game mark.
All told, Powell capped his 2024-25 campaign with a career-high 21.8 points per game on a sizzling 48.4/41.8/80.4 shooting slash. He made those numbers matter, too, with a plus-7.4 points per 100 possessions net differential.
That's an objectively awesome effort by this season's 88th-highest-paid player at $19.2 million.
Payton Pritchard, Boston Celtics
5 of 10
Payton Pritchard made $6.7 million this season, which, for an NBA veteran, is only slightly more than loose change in the couch cushion. It's basically what the Chicago Bulls paid Jevon Carter to fill a non-rotation spot on their roster ($6.5 million).
What kind of return did Boston see on that investment? Well, Pritchard became just the fourth player in Celtics' history to take home the Sixth Man of the Year award. He was an 88th percentile contributor by estimated plus/minus, per Dunks & Threes, an efficient supplier of 14.3 points per game and a masterful decision-maker as evidenced by his 3.5 assists against 1.0 turnovers.
Pritchard, 27, has since served as Boston's lone reliable reserve this postseason. Not bad for someone who costs less than five percent of the cap.
Austin Reaves, Los Angeles Lakers
6 of 10
Austin Reaves' latest breakout season saw him become one of only 12 players to average at least 20 points, five assists and 2.5 three-pointers.
He was, of course, the only player on that list who spent the campaign as his club's third option, slotting in behind LeBron James and a second superstar (first Anthony Davis, later Luka Dončić).
Reaves, 26, was also one of two players on that list to pocket fewer than $30 million this season. One was Tyler Herro, who took home $29 million while making his All-Star debut. Reaves, meanwhile, made just $12.98 million, which tied him with New Orleans Pelicans stopper Herb Jones for 121st in the league.
In other words, Reaves takes up less than 10 percent of the cap and just served as the No. 3 option on the Western Conference's No. 3 seed.
Naz Reid, Minnesota Timberwolves
7 of 10
It feels like Naz Reid's reputation has often lagged behind his level of play. Or that it hasn't been properly appreciated outside of the Gopher State, at least.
Maybe it's the hangover effect of having entered the league as an undrafted free agent. Perhaps it's the life of a role player in a non-glamourous market. It could be the simple fact that he's yet to start even 20 games in a single season.
Whatever the case, it doesn't feel like the 25-year-old has been given proper due for how absurdly skilled he is, particularly for a 6'9", 264-pounder. He can toggle between the 4 and 5 spots with ease and look like a walking mismatch at either position. Bigger players have a tough time handling his perimeter game and ability to put the ball on the floor. Smaller players can't contain him near the basket.
His per-36-minutes stats paint him as, at least, a rock-solid starter (18.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.9 three-pointers and 2.1 combined steals and blocks), but his $14 million salary is much closer to reserve territory. That will be corrected soon, though, as he'll easily find better in free agency than the $15 million player option he holds for next season.
Myles Turner, Indiana Pacers
8 of 10
The label of a "unicorn" big man might need updating, since many modern centers have expanded their game beyond the position's traditional roles. It's not exactly uncommon to find jumbo shooters who double as intimidating rim-protectors at the opposite end.
All of that said, there still aren't many players who ace that role quite like Myles Turner. As a 6'11", 250-pounder with a three-point success rate that consistently lands above-average, he's almost a cheat-code spacer in the Indiana offense.
Then on the defensive end, the 29-year-old is a two-time blocks champion who held opponents 8.2 percentage points beneath their normal shooting rates within six feet of the basket.
Start thinking of the number of teams who would love to get this combination out of the center spot, and it's quickly apparent Turner could (and soon will) do a lot better than his $19.9 million salary.
That price point feels borderline larcenous considering he just became only the fourth player ever to average two triples and two blocks, all while shooting a career-best 39.6 percent from distance.
Derrick White, Boston Celtics
9 of 10
It feels like an understatement to call Derrick White the NBA's best glue guy. Even with the superlative added, that almost indicates an absence of skill that he doesn't suffer from.
And yet, part of what makes the 30-year-old so great—and so invaluable to the Shamrocks—is that he embodies all of the heart, hustle and versatility that the label implies.
He is a two-way connector in every sense, constantly filling whatever cracks arise on that given night. He is a dominant defender who doubles as a tremendous support player on offense. He's efficient, versatile and good-to-great in virtually all facets.
He's also a bargain. The $18.8 million he made this season ranked 90th overall, just behind Keldon Johnson and right above D'Angelo Russell. White's 8.5 win shares, meanwhile, ranked 16th overall, two spots behind Jimmy Butler and one in front of Anthony Edwards.
Ivica Zubac, Los Angeles Clippers
10 of 10
Ivica Zubac has long ranked among the league's most overlooked and underrated players. He was once infamously traded for Mike Muscala, after all.
Still, it's never been more certain that Zubac also ranks as one of the NBA's most underpaid players. He ranked 140th in salary this season ($11.7 million) while also landing third overall in win shares and 11th in estimated plus/minus.
For those who favor traditional counting stats, he was also fourth in rebounds and second in double-doubles.
There's a non-zero chance he gets honored on both the All-NBA and All-Defensive teams. He's been that dominant this season, you'd just never know it by his pay grade.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference and NBA.com. Salary information via Spotrac.
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