All-NBA Teams: Players who received more money by being selected
All-NBA selections have become a higher-stakes award ever since the new CBA was implemented in 2017. That is due to the introduction of higher maximum salaries for players that either earn All-NBA honors, win Defensive Player of the Year, or MVP ahead of their next contract.
Eligible veterans, who aren’t traded after their fourth season, and who earn All-NBA honors in either their seventh or eighth season or their fifth and sixth seasons, become eligible to sign the 35 percent maximum contract reserved for players with 10 years of service. Also, players on their rookie contracts who earn All-NBA honors in their fourth campaign or second and third seasons, become eligible to sign the 30 percent maximum contract reserved for players with at least seven years of service.
This year there is a lot of money on the line with veterans like Jayson Tatum, Pascal Siakam and Jaylen Brown all being able to secure supermax eligibility with an All-NBA selection this season. Ja Morant, meanwhile, has close to $40 million on the line if he isn’t named one of the six All-NBA guards for this year.
Here are the players who have met the criteria for a higher maximum salary in the short history of the newest CBA.
Stephen Curry
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Stephen Curry was an unrestricted free agent in 2017 and became the first player to sign a designated veteran contract. His five-year, $201.2 million deal with the Warriors was the biggest contract at the time and made him the first NBA player to earn a $40 million salary. Curry was worth every penny as he helped bring two more championships to Golden State since. He continues to play at an All-NBA level and was rewarded with his second $200-plus million contract in 2021.
John Wall
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John Wall became the first player to agree to a designated veteran extension when he signed one for four years and $171.1 million with the Wizards. This contract presented the downside that could come with rewarding players that weren’t elite and weren’t consistently All-NBA. Wall suffered multiple major lower body injuries in the seasons ahead of this extension kicking in and only ended up playing in one season for 40 games during that deal. When factoring in the $7 million he gave back to Houston in his buyout, Wall earned an average of $4.1 million per game on that contract.
James Harden
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James Harden signed a lucrative extension in 2016 with Houston but was allowed by the league to sign a supermax extension in 2017 upon meeting the criteria. Harden lived up to the value of the deal to the very end. He won an MVP, led Houston to a Conference Final, and has consistently been an All-NBA player who is making a strong case to be selected this season.
Russell Westbrook
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Russell Westbrook, who signed an extension with the Thunder in 2016 like James Harden, was also allowed to sign a supermax in 2017 upon meeting the criteria. He was already eligible with enough All-NBA selections but was locked into signing it coming off winning MVP. He played like a max-level player until 2021-22 when he was dealt to the Lakers.
Anthony Davis
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Anthony Davis met the criteria for the supermax after earning All-NBA honors in both 2016-17 and 2017-18. This made him eligible to sign the extension with the Pelicans following the 2018-19 season after accruing his seventh year of service. He never intended on signing that extension and would go on to request a trade to the Lakers in 2019. He would then re-sign with them in 2020 for five years, $189.9 million, which was roughly $32 million less than the supermax he wasn’t eligible for that year.
Kemba Walker
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Kemba Walker qualified for the supermax in 2018-19 after making 3rd Team All-NBA. Despite qualifying, the Hornets never offered him the deal though he reportedly would’ve re-signed with them for less. The Hornets reportedly offered him a five-year deal worth $160 million, which was less than the standard 30 percent maximum amount he was eligible for. He would go on to sign a four-year maximum contract with the Celtics, which was roughly $80 million less than the supermax he was eligible for.
Damian Lillard
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Damian Lillard met the criteria for a supermax by making 2nd Team All-NBA in 2018-19. He would go on to extend with the Trail Blazers that offseason for the four years, $176.3 million he was eligible for. Lillard would go on to make an All-NBA season in each subsequent year, except for his injured 2021-22 campaign, and is on track to make it again this season.
Rudy Gobert
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Rudy Gobert qualified for the supermax extension following the 2018-19 season having won Defensive Player of the Year in both his fifth and sixth seasons. However, he needed to wait a year and gain his seventh year of service before he could officially sign it. In the 2020 offseason, he signed a five-year extension with the Jazz worth $205 million. It wasn’t the most he was eligible for but it was more than he would’ve been able to get had he not qualified.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
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Giannis Antetokounmpo became eligible for the supermax following the 2019-20 season when he won MVP and by earning All-NBA honors in his fifth and sixth seasons. Like Gobert, he also had to wait a year to officially sign the extension since he didn’t have enough years of service. In the 2020 offseason, he signed a five-year extension worth $228.2 million, which was the biggest contract in history at the time.
Ben Simmons
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Ben Simmons met the criteria for a higher maximum rookie-scale contract with Philadelphia when he made 3rd Team All-NBA in the 2019-20 season. He didn’t get the full 30 percent maximum contract since he had provisions in his rookie-scale maximum extension for him to earn 28 percent of the salary cap for making 3rd Team All-NBA. Simmons has only given one good season of production on this deal before missing the entire 2021-22 season and completely falling off after that.
Pascal Siakam
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Pascal Siakam qualified for a higher maximum rookie-scale contract with Toronto when he earned All-NBA honors in 2019-20. Like Ben Simmons, he had provisions in his rookie-scale extension for him to earn 28 percent of the salary cap for making 2nd Team All-NBA. Siakam has elevated his game since, earning another All-NBA selection in 2021-22, and still has an opportunity to qualify for the supermax if he meets the criteria in either this or next season.
Luka Doncic
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Luka Doncic became the fastest player to qualify for the 30 percent maximum contract by earning All-NBA honors in his second and third seasons. He’s without a doubt a maximum player in this league on track to earn his fourth consecutive All-NBA selection and remains a candidate to win MVP one of these years. He could qualify for the supermax if he makes All-NBA in the next two seasons or wins one MVP.
Trae Young
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Trae Young signed a maximum rookie-scale contract in the 2021 offseason with provisions to get the 30 percent maximum salary if he made an All-NBA team in 2021-22. He would go on to have one of the best offensive performances that season and secured a 3rd Team All-NBA selection.
Joel Embiid
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Joel Embiid qualified for the supermax when he earned All-NBA honors in 2020-21, his seventh season in the league. He would go on to sign a four-year maximum deal projected at $210 million, which is set to kick in the 2023-24 season. The two-time MVP runner-up may finally dethrone Nikola Jokic and win it this season.
Nikola Jokic
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Nikola Jokic met the criteria for the 35 percent maximum salary when he won his first MVP award in 2020-21. Like Giannis Antetokounmpo, he had to wait one year to officially sign the five-year supermax extension, projected at $270 million, since he only had six years of service. Jokic is an MVP frontrunner again and if he keeps this up for the rest of his career, he could go down as one of the best regular-season players ever.
Devin Booker
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Devin Booker met the criteria for the 35 percent supermax when he made 1st Team All-NBA in 2021-22. He went on to sign a four-year extension projected for $224.2 million with the Suns, which is set to kick in for 2024-25.
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