Joe Johnson was one of the better players in the NBA during his 18 seasons in the league. He came into the NBA as the 10th overall pick of the 2001 NBA Draft out of Arkansas and as a player with a lot of promise, he showed why he earned the nickname “Iso Joe”.
In an article by Frank Urbina and Raul Barrigon of HoopsHype, Johnson was listed as the 21st-most overpaid player in NBA history. This was a bit surprising given that Johnson made the All-Rookie Team for the 2001-02 season, made All-NBA for the 2009-10 season, and made seven All-Star teams, including one during his 3+ seasons with the Brooklyn Nets.
HoopsHype created this list using their “Real Value” metric, which measures how much salary a player’s performance is worth and compares that to the player’s actual salary. For example, Johnson made over $217 million in his career, but according to HoopsHype’s Real Value metric, Johnson’s play over his career should have earned him a little over $155 million.
Here’s what HoopsHype had to say about Johnson’s landing on this list:
“Real Value may believe Joe Johnson was overpaid a lot throughout his career but he was definitely a better player than his reputation indicates. Johnson was a seven-time All-Star and one-time 3rd Team All-NBAer for a reason. Nevertheless, Johnson’s most overpaid year, according to Real Value, came in 2015-16 when he split time between the Nets and Heat, averaging 12.2 points and 3.9 assists on 43.9 percent shooting while making $22.3 million. Real Value valued Johnson at $6.0 million that season, making that a $16.4 million overpay.”
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