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Which of the top 20 paid NBA players are playing in the 2024 Conference Finals?

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The 2024 NBA Conference Finals get underway on Tuesday (21 May) with the Boston Celtics taking on the Indiana Pacers in the East, while the West clash between the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves gets going on Wednesday (22 May).

Pacers make Conference Finals ahead of Curry, LeBron and Durant

Having finished as sixth seeds in the Western Conference, few envisaged the Pacers in particular getting to this stage, with victories over the Milwaukee Bucks, missing the injured Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the New York Knicks raising plenty of eyebrows.

Indiana’s progress to the conference finals has come at the expense of a number of “bigger names,” as show by the list of top-earning NBA players in 2024 who have already been eliminated from the postseason action.

Of course, the league’s very best paid player this year according to Spotrac, Stephen Curry, didn’t even feature in the playoffs after the Golden State Warriors were eliminated in the first round of the play-in tournament.

  1. Steph Curry (Warriors) - $51.92 million
  2. Kevin Durant (Suns) - $47.65 million
  3. Joel Embiid (76ers) - $47.61 million
  4. LeBron James (Lakers) - $47.61 million
  5. Nikola Jokic (Nuggets) - $47.61 million
  6. Bradley Beal (Suns) - $46.74 million
  7. Damian Lillard (Bucks) - $45.64 million
  8. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks) - $45.64 million
  9. Kawhi Leonard (Clippers) - $45.64 million
  10. Paul George (Clippers) - $45.64 million
  11. Jimmy Butler (Heat) - $45.18 million
  12. Klay Thompson (Warriors) - $43.22 million
  13. Rudy Gobert (Timberwolves) - $41 million
  14. Fred VanVleet (Rockets) - $40.81 million
  15. Anthony Davis (Lakers) - $40.6 million
  16. Luka Doncic (Mavericks) - $40.06 million
  17. Trae Young (Hawks) - $40.06 million
  18. Zach LaVine (Bulls) - $40.06 million
  19. Tobias Harris (76ers) - $39.27 million
  20. Ben Simmons (Nets) - $37.89 million
  21. Pascal Siakam (Pacers) - $37.89 million

The Phoenix Suns’ Kevin Durant, second on the list, was swept by the Timberwolves in round one, the stage at which Joël Embid’s Philadelphia 76ers and LeBron James’ LA Lakers were also dumped out. They are in joint-third spot along with this year’s MVP Nikola Jokic, who did at least reach the conference semifinals with the Denver Nuggets.

Gobert the only player on top-15 contract in NBA Conference Finals

To find the highest earning player still in with a chance of winning this year’s NBA Championship, we have to go all the down to 13th place and the Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert. Many have questioned whether the Frenchman is deserving of the contract he is on, although he will silence his doubters if he can help Minnesota to their first ever conference and NBA victories.

Looking slightly further down the list and there are two more players inside the top 20 that could still get their hands on the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.

The Mavs’ Luka Doncic (joint 16th) comfortably has the most points per game (33.9) across the 2024 season and will hope to stop Gobert’s Timberwolves, while the Pacers’ Pascal Siakam (joint 20th) will look to team up with Tyrese Haliburton to conjure up another shock against the Pacers.

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