In nine seasons from 2017-18 to 2025-26, Josh Hart's production never ranked behind his salary
In 2017-18 the Los Angeles Lakers paid Josh Hart $1.4M, the 371st-highest salary among 408 rated players.
His production that season ranked 138th of that same group. The pattern of the whole record was there in the first year: Hart produced well ahead of where his pay placed him.
In 2018-19 the gap narrowed. Hart played 67 games for the Lakers, more than the year before, and his production ranked 211th on a salary ranked 339th.
The record moves him to the New Orleans Pelicans for 2019-20. On $1.9M, his production climbed back to 141st of 405 rated players.
His salary rose to $3.5M in 2020-21, the 251st-highest. He appeared in 47 games, fewer than in any other season on the record, and his production total still ranked 169th.
The Portland Trail Blazers paid him $12.0M in 2021-22, the 101st-highest salary of 418.
His production that season ranked 100th, in 54 games. On the whole record, that is the closest his production rank and his salary rank ever stood.
In 2022-23 he played for the New York Knicks on $13.0M, a salary ranked 110th. His production ranked 56th, and the distance between the two opened up again.
The salary did not change in 2023-24. Hart played 81 games, the most of any season on the record, and his production ranked 63rd.
In 2024-25 his pay rose to $18.1M, ranked 93rd.
His production that season ranked 11th of 427 rated players, and his WAGE Score reached 90, the highest of his nine seasons.
In 2025-26 the Knicks paid him $19.5M, the 87th-highest salary of 435 rated players. He played 66 games, and his production ranked 54th, a season the site rates Smart Money.
Across the nine rated seasons from 2017-18, the record gives Hart a career WAGE Score of 71 and a WAGE Surplus of +158. In none of those nine seasons, on four teams and at salaries from near the bottom of the league to inside its top 100, did his production rank behind his pay.
The last season of the record ended in a title. The Knicks won the 2025-26 NBA championship, and Hart played 19 playoff games, contributing 11% of the team's playoff production.