Highest-paid NBA player on each team in 2023: Which teams are spending max contracts wisely?

Who is the highest-paid NBA player on each team? Are teams spending their max contracts wisely like the Denver Nuggets with Nikola Jokic and the Los Angeles Lakers with LeBron James?

NBA teams have a limited amount of resources to build a championship team. The salary cap, Bird rights, max contracts, salary cap exceptions, two-way contracts, and veteran minimums to name a few.

To build a team capable of lifting the Larry O’Brien trophy, teams usually have to optimize almost all of these, with little margin for error for big market teams and practically zero margin for error for small market teams.

The NBA is also a star-driven league, making max contracts – or at least your franchise’s highest-paid contract – easily the most important part of building a contender. While there are truly only a select few players in any given season – usually no more than 7-10 – worthy of a max contract, most NBA teams have at least one player signed to a max contract.

So, is your team getting fair value for their highest-paid player? Is he even your best or most important player? How were they acquired? Do they seem likely to be on your team this season and beyond?

Let’s dive into that, for all 30 NBA teams.