The NBA just released the list of luxury taxes paid by the teams and there were some popping numbers. A total of $488 million was paid by the 30 teams but there were two teams that were ahead of everyone else by a mile.
And it is the Golden State Warriors and the Brooklyn Nets who account for more than half of the entire bill.
The Warriors and the Nets are among some of the few teams in the league which have three max players on the team. The Warriors are the only team with four: Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, and Stephen Curry.
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While the Nets had James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving as their three max stars, they traded Harden for Ben Simmons, who is also a max extension. The two teams combined to pay over $268 Million which was more than half of the entire league’s bill.
NBA Fans go nuts hearing about the bill for Golden State Warriors and Brooklyn Nets
When fans heard about the luxury tax bill, they went nuts. They appreciated the owners who put up this enormous bill. Here are the best reactions:
we better get a ring dawg https://t.co/uSw9cqn8ZA
— osa (@bigpposa) June 4, 2022
https://twitter.com/RHud4477/status/1533377926959357953?s=20&t=SNJjgGDh4zV44c2SBnDLew
https://twitter.com/RC161476/status/1533157309387624448?s=20&t=SNJjgGDh4zV44c2SBnDLew
https://twitter.com/michaelgscott24/status/1533156744150523905?s=20&t=SNJjgGDh4zV44c2SBnDLew
Nets did all that to get swept by this dude pic.twitter.com/m2GA3m3qzc
— Max Loeb (@loebsleads) June 4, 2022
Warriors can afford that… The Nets, I don't know.
— ノル(NicoBrav)® 🇯🇵🇪🇸🇳🇮 (@NicoBravAlv) June 4, 2022
https://twitter.com/JH8475195720574/status/1533156909058076672?s=20&t=SNJjgGDh4zV44c2SBnDLew
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Don't the "owners" get all of that money?? How exactly do people who don't contribute in the entertainment get paid from the entertainment revenue generated by the entertainers who in this particular case are the NBA players??
— Omar King (@OmarKin01119481) June 4, 2022
Way to pay to keep your players and be competitive. Ain't our money. All teams should compete means spend money
— BobBrown (@jagbubba9044) June 4, 2022
Jeanie Buss when it’s time to pay up & Keep Caruso pic.twitter.com/gH7YzXwHzC
— 🌟Fake (@LALeBron23) June 4, 2022
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Why did the Warriors and Nets pay such high luxury taxes?
The Warriors have the highest-paid player in the NBA this season in Curry. And then they had offered Green and Thompson max contracts a few years ago. And they got Andrew Wiggins in a trade who was on a max extension as well. The Warriors are one of the repeat offenders, as the owners are very happy to pay for the bill as long as they are contending for the title.
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The Nets are in the chase for their first championship and they had three max players. Harden was on a Supermax and KD and Irving were on max contracts. And they had huge contracts with their role players as well. This season was a miss as they got swept in the first round. They also suffered from a lot of injuries as well. The Nets will most likely have a huge bill again next season.