Image via Complex Original
Updated: October 27, 2021
The 2021-22 NBA season has commenced and with it a record 18 Canadians found themselves on opening night rosters. It’s the eighth consecutive season that Canada has the most international-born players in the NBA, part of a group of 109 international players from 39 countries.
We already covered the eight most interesting Canadians to watch this season, but if you’re wondering where these Canadian ballers rank in terms of their salary, we’ve got you covered. Here are the 20 Canadian NBA players (excluding Ignas Brazdeikis and Eugene Omoruyi, who are both on two-way contracts), ranked by their 2021-22 salaries (all figures are in U.S. dollars):
20. Dalano Banton
2021-22 Salary: $925,258
Contract: $2,488,775 over two years
Banton is the first of three Toronto Raptors to make this list, and the first Canadian to ever be drafted to the Raptors. Despite being the 46th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Banton earned himself a two-year NBA contract with the Raptors and has already earned a spot in Nick Nurse’s rotation. You can read more about his story here.
19. Kevin Pangos
20221-22 Salary: $1,669,178
Contract: $3,421,815 over two years
Pangos comes to the NBA after five seasons of playing professional basketball in Europe, where he shot 41.7 percent on his 1072 three-point attempts over that stretch. He finally earned his NBA call-up this summer with the young Cleveland Cavaliers, and will have to impress quickly if he wants to have the second-year of his contract picked up by the team.
18. Oshae Brissett
2021-22 Salary: $1,701,593
Contract: 2,459,046 over two years
Toronto fans will remember Brissett from his time on the Raptors and their G League team, the Raptors 905, from 2019-20, when the team signed him after going undrafted. However, after being waived by the Raptors in 2020, the Indiana Pacers picked Brissett up and liked him enough to offer him a two-year, partially guaranteed contract, where it looks like Brissett and his smooth three-point shooting have finally found a home.
17. Luguentz Dort
2021-22 Salary: $1,701,593
Contract: 2,459,046 over two years
Dort was another undrafted player who turned a two-way contract into a team-friendly four-year NBA deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2020. He did it by being a brick house on the defensive end of the floor, where he uses his linebacker-like body to bottle up small guards. Despite a slowly developing offensive game, Dort is on one of the best value contracts in the league over the next couple years, and will look to earn big when his contract expires in 2023.
16. Trey Lyles
2021-22 Salary: $2,500,000
Contract: $5,125,000 over two years
Lyles is a veteran power forward with six years of NBA experience on four different teams. This offseason, Lyles signed a two-year, partially guaranteed contract with the Detroit Pistons to play under former Raptors head coach Dwane Casey and two other Canadian ballers in Cory Joseph and Kelly Olynyk, who all saw the floor together on opening night
15. Brandon Clarke
2021-22 Salary: $2,726,880
Contract: $12,152,560 over four years
The 21st pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Clarke followed up a hot-shooting rookie season with an epic sophomore slump in 2020-21, where he couldn’t find his rhythm on a young Memphis Grizzlies team. Fortunately, Clarke will have a couple more seasons to rebuild his value before his contract ends in 2023, and playing next to Jaren Jackson Jr. once again after the big man missed most of last season due to a knee injury should help.
14. Nickeil Alexander-Walker
2021-22 Salary: $3,261,480
Contract: $14,349,113 over four years
Alexander-Walker signed a four-year rookie contract with the New Orleans Pelicans after the team drafted him 17th overall in 2019. The 23-year-old combo-guard from Toronto had a phenomenal summer with Team Canada and, after the Pelicans shipped out point guards Lonzo Ball and Eric Bledsoe this summer, Alexander-Walker has gotten a chance to start games for the Pelicans and will play a much larger role on the team this season. With two years left on his deal and a ton of two-way potential, he is on one of the most team-friendly contracts on this list.
13. Chris Duarte
2021-22 Salary: $3,749,400
Contract: $17,704,357 over four years
The rookie out of Oregon, who was born in Montreal, Quebec and raised in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, is already lighting it up for the Indiana Pacers. The 24-year-old was the oldest player in the 2021 draft, but his 6-foot-6 frame and sweet shooting stroke is enabling him to help the Pacers right away, making him a steal whose contract doesn’t expire until 2025.
12. Josh Primo
2021-22 Salary: $3,946,800
Contract: $18,415,445 over four years
From the oldest to the youngest player in the 2021 draft, Primo was selected 12th overall by the San Antonio Spurs, making the 18-year-old Missisauga-native the youngest player to be selected in the draft. The 6-foot-6 combo guard has tantalizing upside with his ability to score the ball from so many spots, but he is still so young and raw that he could see some time with the Spurs’ G League team, the Auston Spurs.
11. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
2021-22 Salary: $5,495,532
Contract: $172,550,000 over five years
Gilgeous-Alexander is technically on the biggest contract of any Canadian in the entire NBA after signing a five-year, $172 million max extension this offseason. Unfortunately for him, this marks his finally year of his rookie contract before that extension kicks in next season, and the $5.5 million he’s making this season makes him the 11th highest paid Canadian in the list and perhaps the best-value contract in the entire league this season, as Gilgeous-Alexander could make his first all-star team and one day… down the line… maybe even an MVP award.
10. Khem Birch
2021-22 Salary: $6,350,000
Contract: $20,002,750 over three years
After three and a half seasons with the Orlando Magic, Birch has found another home in his home country of Canada playing for the Toronto Raptors, where he signed a three-year, $20 million dollar contract this offseason, his third contract of his career. It only made sense after Birch was bought out by the Magic and signed with the Raptors midway through last season, becoming a near-perfect fit in Toronto, where the coaching staff has allowed him to expand his game and grow.
9. Chris Boucher
2021-22 Salary: $7,020,000
Contract: $13,520,000 over two years
The final Raptor on this list and the first player to be an unrestricted free agent after this season, Boucher is in the final year of a two-year, $13.5 million deal he signed to stay in Toronto in 2020. After a breakout 2020-21 campaign, this is a huge season for Boucher to at least maintain his value in order to potentially sign his first long-term contract this offseason, when he will likely be one of the best free agents on the market.
8. Cory Joseph
2021-22 Salary: $7,310,000
Contract: $10,065,000 over two years
Joseph is making just $300k more than Boucher this year after signing a front-loaded two-year, $10 million dollar contract with a player option to stay in Detroit this offseason, which was somewhat surprising given the 30 year olds’ struggles in Sacramento last season and with the Canadian national team this summer. Nevertheless, Joseph is back with his old Raptors head coach Dwane Casey and will be a veteran for a young Pistons squad.
7. RJ Barrett
2021-22 Salary: $8,623,920
Contract: $35,596,275 over four years
Barrett is already one of the best Canadians in the league at just 21 years of age, entering his third season with the New York Knicks after being selected third overall in 2019. With two years left on his rookie contract, Barrett will look to establish himself as a max-level player in the coming seasons, helping the Knicks become playoff regulars with his defensive versatility and offensive shotmaking.
6. Tristan Thompson
2021-22 Salary: $9,720,900
Contract: $18,978,900 over two years
Thompson is set to enter unrestricted free agency at year’s end after signing a two-year, $18.9 million dollar deal with the Celtics in 2020 and being traded to the Sacramento Kings this summer. The 30-year-old big man from Toronto will hope to secure one more big contract in the offseason, but with so many other centers in Sacramento, he might have trouble earning minutes on such a young team.
5. Dwight Powell
2021-22 Salary: $11,080,125
Contract: $33,240,375 over three years
After tearing his right achilles in January 2020, Powell has had to slowly work himself back into the form that makes the mobile big man who he is. Fortunately, Powell had a great summer with Team Canada and it looks like his injury is finally behind him, starting the season as the Dallas Mavericks’ starting center. It’s good timing, too: with two years left on his contract, the 30-year-old Powell still has time to rebuild his value and earn another big deal.
4. Kelly Olynyk
2021-22 Salary: $12,195,122
Contract: $37,195,122 over three years
The 30-year-old Olynyk had a great finish to his season after being traded to Houston last year, where he averaged 19.0 points on 54.5 percent shooting in 31.1 minutes per game. It was enough to earn him a partially-guaranteed three-year, $37 million dollar contract with the Pistons this offseason, giving them three Canadians, with Olynyk their highest paid.
3. Dillon Brooks
2021-22 Salary: $12,200,000
Contract: $35,000,000 over three years
Brooks signed a three-year, $35 million extension in the summer of 2020 after three successful seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies where he went from second-round pick to rugged role player to a consistent two-way contributor. Then, in his first playoff series in 2021, Brooks made good on the money Memphis handed him by averaging 25.8 points on 51.5 percent shooting while guarding the other team’s best players and showcasing that he might have star potential.
2. Jamal Murray
2021-22 Salary: $29,467,800
Contract: $158,253,000 over five years
Murray is entering the second year of his five-year, $158 million max extension that he signed in 2020, but due to a torn ACL in his left knee that he suffered in April 2021, he has barely gotten to play during that period. The good news is that Murray should be back at some point this NBA season, with most ACL injuries taking about a year to fully heal. If he is able to come back relatively healthy, his Denver Nuggets will be in a good position to win the Western Conference.
1. Andrew Wiggins
2021-22 Salary: $31,579,390
Contract: $147,710,050 over five years
And your highest-paid Canadian during the 2021-22 NBA season is: Andrew Wiggins. The Toronto native signed a five-year max extension in 2017 when he was still a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves before getting traded to the Golden State Warriors, where he had the best season of his career last year beside Steph Curry and Draymond Green. Interestingly, Wiggins is one of twelve players on this list who could potentially be free agents in 2023, making it the summer of Canadian free agency in the NBA.