The 10 teams in the NBA that paid the most luxury taxes in a single season, 16 Cavaliers are on the list, 24 Suns are ranked 3rd with 189 million

As the 2024 NBA champion, the Celtics are now facing a financial crisis that is visible to the naked eye. Due to the existing salary agreement, teams that pay luxury taxes continuously will continue to double their investment in this regard. Therefore, if the Celtics still retain their original lineup in the offseason, they will even have to pay more than $500 million in luxury tax next season, which will greatly break the current NBA record! Then we will take stock of the teams that paid the most luxury tax in NBA history, with only 4 teams reaching the finals, and the Suns ranked third with 189 million in 24!

10. In 2019, the Warriors (51.5 million, accounting for 50.6% of the salary cap)

In 2016, the Warriors directly signed Durant with Curry's contract dividend. This operation directly allowed them to win the championship for two consecutive years. However, as time went by, the Warriors could not get the contract dividend. After Curry's maximum salary came into effect in the 2018-2019 season, this led to more and more luxury taxes they had to pay. In fact, the Warriors are not afraid of spending this little money. If they weren't injured in 2019, they would have won three consecutive championships, so the luxury tax they paid was definitely worth the money.

9. In 2018, the Cavaliers (50.7 million, accounting for 51% of the salary cap)

Since James returned to the Cavaliers in 2014, the team has built a championship lineup around him, and James did not disappoint the team. Under his leadership, the Cavaliers reached the finals and won the first championship in team history in 2016. However, Irving's departure in 2017 caused the Cavaliers to be seriously injured. When he was forced to send him away, the Cavaliers only received Thomas and Crowder after the serious injury. After that, not only did the Cavaliers' salary pressure not decrease, but the team's strength also ushered in a cliff-like decline. In 2018, with James' Carry, the Cavaliers barely reached the finals, but their paper strength was completely incomparable to the Warriors, and being swept in the end was also expected.

8. In 2019 Thunder (61.6 million, accounting for 60.5% of the salary cap)

After the first round of the Thunder in 2017, the management still wanted to build a championship lineup around Westbrook, so they traded successively in the offseason, George and Anthony, two All-Star forwards, but in 2018, they were eliminated in the first round. However, the Thunder's goal has not changed. Later, they gave Anthony and gave George a maximum salary. In addition, Westbrook's maximum salary, Adams, Schroeder, Grant, and Robertson also received an annual salary of tens of millions, which also made their luxury tax exceed $60 million. However, in the end, the team lost to the Trail Blazers 1-4 in the first round, and this defeat completely defeated them. Then the Thunder ushered in reconstruction.

7. After the Cavaliers reached the finals in 2016 (54 million, accounting for 77% of the salary cap)

After the Cavaliers reached the finals in 2015, they saw the strength of this lineup. So in the offseason, the teams all renewed Thompson, Shampooter, and Irving with contracts of more than 10 million yuan in annual salary, which also caused their luxury tax to soar. Fortunately, the facts proved that the Cavaliers' investment this time was very correct. After the contract renewal, they won the first championship in team history in 2016. Unfortunately, like Thompson, Shampooter, and JR Smith who later renewed the contract, they failed to maintain excellent competitive state. They all became garbage contracts afterwards.

6. In 2004, the Knicks (39.9 million, accounting for 91% of the salary cap)

Since Ewing's era in the Knicks, the team has made a lot of trouble in order to re-focus on their competitiveness. They formed a combination of Houston, Larry Johnson and Sprayer, and later replaced Larry Johnson with McDyce. Later, Spreeville was replaced with Van Horn, and later introduced Marbury and Francis. These successive operations not only did not lift the Knicks up to a strong level, but instead made their luxury tax pressure increasingly greater. By 2004, the luxury tax they had to pay had already accounted for 91% of the salary cap, but that year they were swept in the first round.

5. In 2021, the Nets (102 million, accounting for 93% of the salary cap)

Durant and Irving both joined the Brooklyn Nets in 2019. The arrival of the two of them instantly made the team the focus of the league, but due to Durant's reimbursement for the first year of the season, they also failed to return to the playoffs. In the 2020-2021 season, the Nets gradually recovered their health. At the same time, the team also made a lot of money to compete for the championship. During the season, former MVP Harden was also traded. In addition, their lineup also includes Jordan Jr., Joe Harris and others who are all receiving annual salaries of tens of millions. Originally, the Nets had a good chance to win the championship in 2021, but since Irving's ankle injury, their championship window has been quickly closed, and the team was eliminated in the second round.

4. In 2003, the Trail Blazers (52 million, accounting for 129% of the salary cap)

The total salary of NBA teams in that era was mostly around $50 million, while in the 2002-2003 season, the total salary of the Trail Blazers that year was as high as $105 million, and they had to pay 52 million in luxury tax alone. During the season, four players on the Trail Blazers all received maximum salary. Pippen, Rashid Wallace, Sean Camp, and Stoudemire all had annual salary of more than $12 million. In addition, Deck Anderson and others also had annual salary of nearly 10 million, but with such huge investment, the Trail Blazers were finally eliminated by the Mavericks in the first round..

3. In 2024, the Suns (189 million, accounting for 152% of the salary cap)

The new Suns boss took office in the 2022-2023 season, and after he took office, he quickly instigated one of the most important deals in team history. In 2023, they traded Durant, and then they exchanged for Bill. In addition, Booker, the annual salary of these three players almost occupied all the salary space. Therefore, the total amount of luxury tax paid by the Suns this season is as high as 189 million, but they have not even scored in the playoffs this year. Next, since Bill, who has the highest annual salary and the worst-scoring game, has the right to trade veto, it is difficult for the Suns to get out of the trap. Unless they send Durant or Booker away to rebuild, they will not only continue to pay high luxury taxes, but the team's combat effectiveness will not be improved at all.

2. The Warriors in 2022 (170 million, accounting for 152% of the salary cap)

Although the Warriors missed the playoffs for two consecutive years after the failure to win the championship in 2019, Curry and Thompson received the maximum salary during the period, and with players such as Green, their salary pressure has not decreased. By the 2021-2022 season, the Warriors' luxury tax was as high as US$170 million, but this year they finally regained their competitiveness, and the team finally successfully won the championship. The Warriors' luxury tax has finally been reduced this season, but the team almost failed to make the playoffs, so they had to trade Butler and sign a maximum salary renewal contract in advance as he wanted. In this way, the Warriors' salary pressure will be back in the future.

1. In 2014, the Nets (90.6 million, accounting for 155% of the salary cap)

In order to win the championship, the Nets in the 2013-2014 season, they traded Pierce and Garnett, who had already gone up and down. In addition, Deron and others in the lineup, their luxury tax surged first compared to their own competitiveness. In the NBA when the salary cap was only more than 50 million, the Nets' luxury tax this season was nearly $100 million. Compared with the Heat, which was striving for three consecutive championships in the same season, it was only 14.4 million. However, after the second round was terminated in 2014, the Nets quickly ushered in the understanding.