Who’s got the biggest payroll in the NBA? Who’s got the biggest luxury tax bill? Which team’s cap spending produced the most (and fewest) wins, dollar-for-dollar? You have questions, we have answers.
The NBA salary cap is an interesting thing — first and foremost because there’s actually two of them. There’s a soft salary cap above which teams may spend, but must pay a luxury tax penalty to the league. There’s additionally a hard cap that certain teams meeting certain conditions may not spend above under any circumstance.
A similar conversation is currently raging on in baseball: Do you have to spend money to make money in this league? That got us thinking about whether this year’s best NBA teams have anything in common when it comes to spending on player salaries.
With numbers via Spotrac, check out the highest and lowest spenders in the league on NBA team salaries as of the conclusion 2021-22 regular season. We’ll also look at each team’s estimated luxury tax bill, how much salary each team already has committed on the books for 2022-23, and whose salary dollars went the furthest in terms of wins and losses.
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Highest NBA Team Salaries of 2021-22
Dollar figures as of April 11 following end of 2021-22 regular season. Reflects a “soft” salary cap of $112.414 million, a luxury tax threshold of $136.606 million, and a $143,002,000 luxury tax apron for hard-capped teams.
1. Golden State Warriors: $184,024,769
- Estimated luxury tax bill: $170,331,206
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $209,273,363
2. Brooklyn Nets: $172,836,362
- Est. luxury tax bill: $97,731,568
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $190,176,263
3. Los Angeles Clippers: $166,162,398
- Est. luxury tax bill: $83,114,696
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $188,867,078
4. Minnesota Timberwolves: $165,399,845
- Est. luxury tax bill: None
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $196,933,851
5. Milwaukee Bucks: $161,923,369
- Est. luxury tax bill: $58,647,698
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $180,383,183
6. Los Angeles Lakers: $160,861,720
- Est. luxury tax bill: $45,113,318
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $176,124,090
7. Philadelphia 76ers: $157,918,194
- Est. luxury tax bill: $13,876,627
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $160,298,854
8. Washington Wizards: $155,635,311
- Est. luxury tax bill: None
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $182,611,483
9. Toronto Raptors: $149,214,621
- Est. luxury tax bill: None
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $174,697,483
10. Utah Jazz: $147,734,336
- Est. luxury tax bill: $19,094,825
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $164,402,671
11. Dallas Mavericks: $146,277,124
- Est. luxury tax bill: None
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $181,213,707
12. Denver Nuggets: $139,598,426
- Est. luxury tax bill: None
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $182,018,186
13. Miami Heat: $138,804,919
- Est. luxury tax bill: None
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $151,132,407
14. Chicago Bulls: $136,118,673
- Est. luxury tax bill: None
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $169,797,542
15. Indiana Pacers: $136,079,770
- Est. luxury tax bill: $296,738
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $155,726,733
16. Phoenix Suns: $135,402,949
- Est. luxury tax bill: None
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $188,502,897
17. Cleveland Cavaliers: $134,807,579
- Est. luxury tax bill: None
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $152,797,356
18. New Orleans Pelicans: $134,663,536
- Est. luxury tax bill: None
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $155,790,287
19. Boston Celtics: $134,479,372
- Est. luxury tax bill: None
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $160,292,157
20. Atlanta Hawks: $134,273,339
- Est. luxury tax bill: None
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $207,114,913
21. Sacramento Kings: $133,876,503
- Est. luxury tax bill: None
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $153,734,594
22. Houston Rockets: $131,228,440
- Est. luxury tax bill: None
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $141,507,452
23. Portland Trail Blazers: $131,015,888
- Est. luxury tax bill: None
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $165,621,159
24. Detroit Pistons: $129,107,124
- Est. luxury tax bill: None
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $127,253,022
25. Orlando Magic: $128,381,240
- Est. luxury tax bill: None
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $174,561,056
26. San Antonio Spurs: $126,419,926
- Est. luxury tax bill: None
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $125,320,703
27. Charlotte Hornets: $120,990,744
- Est. luxury tax bill: None
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $149,253,671
28. New York Knicks: $120,376,240
- Est. luxury tax bill: None
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $127,635,865
29. Memphis Grizzlies: $115,994,102
- Est. luxury tax bill: None
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $142,219,753
30. Oklahoma City Thunder: $90,513,233
- Est. luxury tax bill: None
- Salary on the books for 2022-23: $128,835,476
2021-22 NBA Team Salary Spending Per Win
Teams listen in ascending order. Reflects 82-game regular season only.
1. Memphis Grizzles (56-26): $2,071,323.25
2. Phoenix Suns (64-18): $2,115,671.08
3. Miami Heat (53-29): $2,618,960.74
4. Boston Celtics (51-31): $2,636,850.43
5. Dallas Mavericks (52-30): $2,813,021.62
6. Charlotte Hornets (43-39): $2,813,738.23
7. Denver Nuggets (48-34): $2,908,300.54
8. Chicago Bulls (46-36): $2,959,101.59
9. Utah Jazz (49-33): $3,014,986.45
10. Cleveland Cavaliers (44-38): $3,063,808.61
11. Philadelphia 76ers (51-31): $3,096,435.18
12. Toronto Raptors (48-34): $3,108,637.94
13. Milwaukee Bucks (51-31): $3,174,968.02
14. Atlanta Hawks (43-39): $3,122,635.79
15. New York Knicks (37-45): $3,253,411.89
16. Golden State Warriors (53-27): $3,472,165.45
17. Minnesota Timberwolves (46-36): $3,595,64.88
18. San Antonio Spurs (34-48): $3,718,233.12
19. New Orleans Pelicans (36-46): $3,740,653.78
20. Oklahoma City Thunder (24-58): $3,771,384.71
21. Brooklyn Nets (44-38): $3,928,099.14
22. Los Angeles Clippers: (42-40): $3,956,247.57
23. Washington Wizards (35-47): $4,446,723.17
24. Sacramento Kings (30-52): $4,462,55.01
25. Portland Trail Blazers (27-55): $4,852,44.03
26. Los Angeles Lakers (33-49): $4,874,597.58
27. Indiana Pacers (25-57): $5,443,19.08
28. Detroit Pistons (23-59): $5,613,353.22
29. Orlando Magic: (22-60): $5,835,510.91
30. Houston Rockets (20-62): $6,561,422
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