Excluding those ever-so-valuable rookie contract players, names as big as Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Al Jefferson, Deron Williams, etc., who are the most valuable (fiscally valuable) players through the first half of the 2007-2008 season?

This is why the Reina Value, an unbiased system which identifies those who overachieve and underachieve in relation to their contract, was created.  The Reina Value is determined by calculating the percentage difference between the salary a player 'deserves' and actually makes.

Below is a list of the top-23 overachievers who are ranked amongst the top-200 in season FIC.

- Season Floor Impact Counter/Per 40 FIC/Reina Value

- LeBron James (823, 21.6, +53) ? While he still has a long way to go as a defender, James has improved on this side of the floor dramatically this season as the Cavaliers have regressed overall.

- Steve Nash (818, 21.3, +73) ? It is difficult to forget that Nash?s now very affordable sticker price was deemed too expensive by a billionaire who typically flaunts his fearlessness of spending big.

- Marcus Camby (791, 21.0, +73) ? Camby will be an even better value in 09-10 when his contract dips from $11.25 million to $10.9 million.

- Carlos Boozer (725, 18.9, +41) ? Boozer is and will continue to be one of the best values in the NBA as long he remains healthy, much the same as Camby.

- Caron Butler (658, 15.9, +71) ? Not only did Ernie Grunfeld salvage the Kwame Brown pick of the previous regime with Butler, he also inked him early to an extremely affordable extension.

- Jose Calderon (646, 18.5, +456) ? Nine players on the Raptors make more than Calderon?s $2.47 million salary for 07-08.  The long gone but not forgotten Rob Babcock plucked Calderon from TAU Cer?mica, and the point guard will probably be the Barack Obama of the 2008 free agency class.

- Chris Kaman (655, 17.1, +60) ? Donald Sterling reportedly lost faith in Mike Dunleavy?s personnel decisions following Kaman?s contract, but he has truly broken out this season in Elton Brand?s absence.

- Chauncey Billups (654, 17.9 +38) ? Letting Ben Wallace (-43 RV) walk and keeping Billups the following offseason has allowed Detroit to maintain their greatness and still be fiscally responsible.

- John Salmons +88 (440, 11.9, +88) ? Similar to what happened with Boozer in Cleveland, Salmons was all set to become a member of the Toronto Raptors in 2006 before backing out of the sign-and-trade agreement.  With Salmons officially breaking out, it is easy to see why both the Raptors and Suns jockeyed hard for his services.

- Grant Hill (431, 14.0, +370) ? Very quickly, Hill has gone from having one of the worst contracts in sports to one of the best.  As was always the case in Orlando, Hill is valuable whenever he?s on the floor.

- Leandro Barbosa (12.5, 434, +55) ? Unlike Boris Diaw?s annual $9 million contract, Barbosa is a bargain at $5.6 million.

- Brendan Haywood (429, 15.0, +69) ? Haywood was a 12.6 per 40 FIC player last year in few minutes while splitting time with Etan Thomas last season.

- Travis Outlaw (366, 12.6, +59) ? While learning to play bigger, Outlaw has improved from his 9.8 per 40 FIC in 06-07.

- Jamario Moon (339, 11.7, +1,316) ? Moon has the distinction of playing for the NBA minimum ($427k) which is actually less than what some people who report on the NBA make annually.

- Beno Udrih (320, 10.5, +655) ? There is little doubt Udrih needed a fresh start, but the weary-looking Spurs could certainly use his minutes now.

- Anthony Carter (307, 12.7, +614) ? Carter, who played in just two games last season, has found his shooting touch as he is shooting 46% from the floor.

- Kelenna Azubuike (297, 11.3 +656) ? Like Moon, Azubuike is an undrafted D-League bargain.

- Keith Bogans (287, 8.6, +95) ? Bogans doesn?t have the per minute efficiency of some of the other players, but his importance to the Magic extend beyond the box score.

- Bonzi Wells (264, 11.0, +83) ? I?m not sure if Bonzi has fully relinquished the figurative broken beer bottle, but he has bounced back from his 7.25 per 40 FIC a season ago.

- Brandon Bass (236, 11.6, +419) ? Bass is rebounding about as well as he did last season, but he has significantly improved his efficiency as a scorer.

- Eddie House (235, 11.1, +164) ? House has always been a gunner and is a $1.5 million off the bench scoring machine.

- Brevin Knight (220, 10.7, +127) ? Knight was slightly better last year when he had a 12.3 per 40 FIC.

- Brian Skinner (202, 12.5, +350) ? Skinner has given the Suns much-needed interior toughness.

Click here to view the full list of current player rankings with the Reina Value

Christopher Reina is the executive editor of RealGM.com