The NBA deals returning the least per dollar — high salaries carrying a weak Contract Value Index grade.
The NBA’s apron era punishes bad money harder than any league. The contracts here are the ones our grading flags as the weakest returns on the board: heavy salaries paired with a soft Contract Value Index (CVI) grade.
This is a value verdict, not a talent ranking. A respected veteran on a max can still land here if the dollars have outpaced his impact, because a top-of-the-payroll deal that underdelivers limits everything a front office can do around it.
Treat it as a flexibility map — the contracts most likely to drive a stretch provision, a salary-dump trade, or a hard conversation with the luxury tax bill.
Across the 20 most overpaid NBA contracts on the board, teams have committed about $333.7M per year for the weakest returns our grading sees, with PF the position most often flagged.
Salary figures are average annual value. Cuts and releases are excluded — the Contract Value Index is not a valid signal on a non-contract move. Grades reflect value to the team, not raw talent.
Above-median NBA salaries paired with the weakest Contract Value Index (CVI) grades. Ranked by how far the grade falls, then by the size of the commitment.
| # | Player | Avg / Yr | CVI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Khris MiddletonSF · Dallas Mavericks | $33.3M | F F |
| 2 | Jordan PoolePG · New Orleans Pelicans | $31.8M | F F |
| 3 |
A contract lands here when a team is paying above-median money for one of the weakest Contract Value Index (CVI) grades on the board — a lot spent for light return. It is not a verdict on the player’s talent; a great player on a market-resetting deal can still grade as overpaid if the dollars outrun the value. Read the full methodology.
| $25.9M |
F F |
| 4 | Jonathan KumingaPF · Atlanta Hawks | $23.8M | F F |
| 5 | Harrison BarnesPF · San Antonio Spurs | $19.0M | F F |
| 6 | Rui HachimuraPF · Los Angeles Lakers | $18.3M | F F |
| 7 | Luguentz DortSF · Oklahoma City Thunder | $18.2M | F F |
| 8 | Patrick WilliamsPF · Chicago Bulls | $18.0M | F F |
| 9 | Klay ThompsonSF · Dallas Mavericks | $16.7M | F F |
| 10 | Bogdan BogdanovicSG · Los Angeles Clippers | $16.0M | F F |
| 11 | Corey KispertSF · Atlanta Hawks | $14.0M | F F |
| 12 | Kelly OlynykC · San Antonio Spurs | $13.4M | F F |
| 13 | Dorian Finney-SmithPF · Houston Rockets | $12.7M | F F |
| 14 | Jarred VanderbiltPF · Los Angeles Lakers | $11.6M | F F |
| 15 | Gabe VincentPG · Atlanta Hawks | $11.5M | F F |
| 16 | Mike ConleyPG · Minnesota Timberwolves | $11.5M | F F |
| 17 | Maxi KleberSF · Los Angeles Lakers | $11.0M | F F |
| 18 | Sam HauserPF · Boston Celtics | $10.0M | F F |
| 19 | Brook LopezC · Los Angeles Clippers | $8.8M | F F |
| 20 | Zeke NnajiPF · Denver Nuggets | $8.2M | F F |