t’s no secret that NBA players earn an eye-watering amount of money, but with each team having 15 players, this means that a lot of time can be spent warming the bench.
With this in mind, a new study has revealed the most expensive benchwarmers in the NBA, and Chicago Bulls Patrick Williams features, earning $17,588 per minute of play.
OLBG have revealed the NBA’s most expensive benchwarmers by looking at the number of minutes each athlete played in the 2021/22 season against their annual salary to calculate who earned the most money for the least amount of time played.
| Rank | Player | Team | Salary | Minutes Played | Earnings per Minute |
| 1 | Markelle Fultz | Orlando Magic | $16.5m | 360 | $45,833 |
| 2 | Brook Lopez | Milwaukee Bucks | $13.3m | 298 | $44,639 |
| 3 | Joe Harris | Brooklyn Nets | $17.4m | 423 | $41,033 |
| 4 | Klay Thompson | Golden State Warriors | $38.0m | 941 | $40,362 |
| 5 | Derrick Rose | New York Knicks | $13.4m | 636 | $21,140 |
| 6 | Udonis Haslem | Miami Heat | $1.7m | 83 | $20,111 |
| 7 | Michael Porter Jr. | Denver Nuggets | $5.3m | 265 | $19,844 |
| 8 | Thomas Bryant | Washington Wizards | $8.7m | 439 | $19,742 |
| 9 | Ricky Rubio | Cleveland Cavaliers | $17.8m | 970 | $18,351 |
| 10 | Patrick Williams | Chicago Bulls | $7.4m | 422 | $17,588 |
The research revealed the following:
- Orlando Magic’s Markelle Fultz has been named the most expensive bench warmer in the study – after appearing in 18 games during the 2021-22 season, Fultz is estimated to have played an average of only 20 minutes per game.
- Brook Lopez’s back injury on the opening night of the 2021-22 season meant the player didn’t return to the squad until March 2022 following his operation – this break from play didn’t stop the basketballer earning $44,639 per minute on the court that season.
- Joe Harris’s 423 minutes were capped after a recurring ankle injury which saw his involvement in the season cut short – this has led to him taking rank as the 3rd most expensive bench warmer after earning $40,362 per minute of play.
You can view the full study here: https://www.olbg.com/us/blogs/earnings-on-the-bench