The NBA Lockout's Biggest Victims

By Brian Reed

The first two weeks of the season have been cancelled, and the NBA labor agreement is still far from resolved.

While it is hard to call these 10 multi-millionaires victims, it's also difficult to imagine losing a paycheck that amounts to an unfathomable fortune every two weeks.

[For more on star athlete salaries, read 30 of the Highest Single-Game Paychecks in Sports.]

Methodology:

During the 1998-99 lockout, players lost pay based upon games missed. So, if a player missed one game due to the lockout, he lost 1/82nd of his salary. However, since all players have slightly different schedules, we calculated pay according to a standardized methodology.

Players are only paid during the regular season and receive checks bi-weekly for work that occurs the prior two weeks. The 2011-12 NBA season was scheduled to start on November 1 and end on April 18. Over the course of the season, that can be divided into 13 bi-weekly paychecks. The numbers were calculated by dividing each player's 2011-12 salary by 13 to find what he earns every two weeks during the season.

With that in mind, here are the 10 players who will lose the most money as the lockout lingers on. 

10. Joe Johnson -- Atlanta Hawks, $1,387,583 per paycheck

Atlanta's $119 million man, Johnson was one of the surprisingly large signings in 2010.

Unfortunately, now he's also been dubbed the poster child for why so many NBA teams are suffering financially.

Johnson's contract pays him $18 million in 2011 and increases each year until reaching $24.9 million by 2015.

Even if the lockout causes Johnson to suffer a bit this year, his future looks good.

Photo courtesy of Flickr.

9. Amar'e Stoudemire -- New York Knicks, $1,401,362 per paycheck

Stoudemire is likely eager to get back on the court to jel with the new Knicks team that was swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round of last year's playoffs.

The series was particularly hard for Stoudemire, who played through injuries with disappointing results.

Unfortunately, the cancelled preseason jeopardizes the jelling process and missing the first two weeks will cut into his $18.2 million salary.

Photo courtesy of Flickr.

8. Carmelo Anthony -- New York Knicks, $1,423,077 per paycheck

Anthony signed an $18.5 million extension with the Knicks for the 2011-2012 season.

If the lockout continues, Melo misses out on a whopping $1.42 million per paycheck.

Photo courtesy of nydailynews.com.

 

7. Pau Gasol -- Los Angeles Lakers, $1,439,550 per paycheck

 

Sure, Gasol could spend the lockout performing surgery in his native Spain (he enrolled in medical school at the University in Barcelona when he was 18, and has sat in on surgeries in L.A.), but he is still unlikely to pull in the kind of cash he would make playing basketball.

Prior to the cancelled games, he was set to bankroll over $18.7 million this year, which is over $1.4 million per paycheck.

Photo courtesy of Flickr.

6. Dirk Nowitzki -- Dallas Mavericks, $1,468,683 per paycheck

The lockout has to have put a damper on the celebratory summer for the reigning NBA final MVP and the World Champion Dallas Mavericks.

The champs will lose momentum with the cancelled preseason, and the nearly $1.5 million Nowitski will lose every paycheck has to hurt, too.

Photo courtesy of Flickr.

5. Gilbert Arenas -- Orlando Magic, $1,482,254 per paycheck

2010 was a tough year for Arenas. He was traded to the Magic (for Rashard Lewis) after a troubling stint in Washington where he pleaded guilty to felony weapons charges, was suspended indefinitely by the NBA and spent 30 days in a halfway house.

However, earning almost $19.3 million annually has to take off a bit of the sting (even if he loses almost $1.5 million a paycheck for missed games).

Photo courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org.

4. Kevin Garnett -- Boston Celtics, $1,630,769 per paycheck

Garnett will likely be chomping at the bit to avenge last year's disappointing playoff loss to the Heat.

While his numbers have dipped a bit in recent years, Garnett is still one of the most dominant power forwards in the game and his $21.2 million salary this year shows how much he means to the franchise.

Yet, with his contract expiring at the end of the season, there's already speculation about Garnett's future with the Celtics.

The sooner the lockout ends, the sooner Garnett can silence critics and prove he is worthy of his $1.6 million bi-weekly paychecks.

Photo courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org.

3. Tim Duncan -- San Antonio Spurs, $1,638,462 per paycheck

Duncan has an Early Termination Option (ETO) on his contract that gives him the right to terminate his contract early and become a free agent. But thanks to Duncan's paltry averages last season (13.4 points and 8.9 rebounds per game), he probably wouldn't get another team to match his current $21.3 million contract.

With only one year left on his contract, it's likely Duncan will stay in San Antonio, where he has played his entire career.

Photo courtesy of Flickr.

2. Rashard Lewis -- Washington Wizards, $1,704,000 per paycheck

Lewis signed a massive six-year, $118 million contract with the Orlando Magic in 2007, but was traded to the Washington Wizards for Gilbert Arenas in December 2010.

Lewis is supposed to earn over $22.1 million in 2011, so a prolonged lockout would be as disappointing to him as last season's numbers (11.7 points, 5.1 rebounds per game) were for the Wizards.

Photo courtesy of Flickr.

1. Kobe Bryant -- Los Angeles Lakers, $1,941,846 per paycheck

Bryant is widely regarded as the best player in the league and he is paid accordingly. Last April he signed a three-year, $83.5 million extension that will continue to make him the highest paid player in the NBA.

He also raked in $25 million in endorsements last year.

Still, I'm sure Bryant won't enjoy missing his nearly $2 million paycheck every two weeks.

Photo courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org.

Note: Vince Carter has an $18 million team option on his contract, but is expected to be bought out for $4 million by the Phoenix Suns, making him an unrestricted free agent.

[Read more about the financial lives of sports stars: 12 Star Athletes Making a Second Fortune With Savvy Investments and the 20 Star Athletes Who Went from Millions to Bankruptcy Court.]