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The most expensive teams in modern NBA history (relative to league average)

Although money can help NBA teams win championships, you can still spend a whole lot of money and come away with nothing.

Knicks fans know this well because historically, New York has spent a lot with hardly any hardware to show for it.

In this article, we take a look at the most expensive teams in modern NBA history, beginning with the 1990-91 season (the earliest date in our database). We determine this by comparing the teams with the biggest spending on player salaries to the league average for each year.

Per our research, out of the 30 most expensive team payrolls since 1990, 11 belong to the Knicks. Five of those teams didn’t even make the playoffs.

Yikes.

1996-97 Chicago Bulls

Anne Ryan-USA TODAY

Team payroll: $58,270,000
League average payroll: $27,712,800
Percentage over league average: 110.26%
Highest-paid player: Michael Jordan ($30,140,000)
Season results: 69-13 record, NBA champion

Perhaps the end of the Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls’ era could have been handled better by the team’s front office but they certainly couldn’t be faulted for not spending, as this was the most expensive team on record relative to league-average spending.

Not only was Jordan the league’s highest-paid player that year, earning more than twice as much as the No. 2 player (Horace Grant), Dennis Rodman was Top 10 in salary that season, too.

Of course, it helped that Scottie Pippen was on one of the most valuable contracts ever, earning just $2.3 million, making him the 128th highest-paid player in 1996-97.

2005-06 New York Knicks

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Team payroll: $126,631,098
League average payroll: $63,248,999
Percentage over league average: 100.21%
Highest-paid player: Allan Houston ($19,125,000)
Season results: 23-59 record, 15th in Eastern Conference

The first of many appearances for the New York Knicks on this list, particularly from the James DolanIsiah Thomas era, New York deserves credit for really going for it, just doing so in very convoluted ways that did not lead to success.

The second-most expensive team relative to league average ever, the 2005-06 Knicks had Allan Houston as the third highest-paid player that season (even though he didn’t play) and Stephon Marbury tied for sixth ($16.5 million).

1994-95 Los Angeles Lakers

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Team payroll: $42,068,300
League average payroll: $22,174,957
Percentage over league average: 89.71%
Highest-paid player: Magic Johnson ($14,660,000)
Season results: 48-34 record, lost 2-4 in Conference Semifinals to Spurs

The post-dynasty Los Angeles Lakers in the ’90s tried to remain an elite team, spending like it had championship aspirations but falling short until much later in the decade.

Still, at least the ’94-95 Lakers won almost 50 regular-season games and made it out of the first round of the playoffs. Though not with the team, Magic Johnson was the highest-paid player that season, earning twice as much as No. 2 (David Robinson, $7.3 million), while James Worthy was No. 3, making $7.3 million himself.

1997-98 Chicago Bulls

Anne Ryan-USA TODAY

Team payroll: $61,330,670
League average payroll: $32,708,207
Percentage over league average: 87.51%
Highest-paid player: Michael Jordan ($33,140,000)
Season results: 62-20 record, NBA champion

Like their predecessors the year before, the 1997-98 Bulls also spent a huge amount of money compared to the rest of the league. The Last Dance Chicago squad made so popular recently on Netflix had Jordan as the league’s highest-paid player

1991-92 Boston Celtics

AP Photo/Mark Duncan

Team payroll: $25,343,000
League average payroll: $13,688,222
Percentage over league average: 85.14%
Highest-paid player: Larry Bird ($7,040,000)
Season results: 51-31 record, lost 2-4 in Conference Semifinals to Cavaliers

The 1991-92 Boston Celtics were in a similar boat to the Lakers team we just talked about, trying to maintain their glory-day status from years prior, spending the money to remain an elite squad.

And although that year the Celtics were not great, they did win 51 regular-season games and made it out of the first round of the playoffs.

That season, Boston had three of the league’s four highest-paid players, with Larry Bird sitting at No. 1, Kevin McHale at No. 3 ($3.5 million) and Reggie Lewis at No. 4 ($3.3 million).

2002-03 Portland Trail Blazers

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Team payroll: $105,595,657
League average payroll: $57,580,407
Percentage over league average: 83.39%
Highest-paid player: Scottie Pippen ($19,727,524)
Season results: 50-32 record, lost 3-4 in first round to Mavericks

When you spend as much as the 2002-03 Portland Trail Blazers did, you are hoping to at least compete for a championship, not lose in the first round of the playoffs. That’s exactly what happened to them, though, after going 50-32 in the regular season.

Team owner Paul Allen deserved credit for his willingness to spend, particularly for compensating Pippen with the money the Bulls didn’t pay him, even though it was after his prime. However, this may not have been the most prudent financial decision.

In the 2002-03 season, Pippen ranked as the fifth highest-paid player, while Rasheed Wallace took the seventh position with a $16.2 million salary, and Shawn Kemp stood at 11th in the NBA, earning $13.7 million.

Mind you, Pippen averaged 10.8 points that season while Kemp put up 6.1 points. So, again, Allen was spending in a splashy way, though maybe not in the savviest one.

2006-07 New York Knicks

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Team payroll: $117,350,866
League average payroll: $64,645,788
Percentage over league average: 81.53%
Highest-paid player: Stephen Marbury ($17,184,375)
Season results: 33-49 record, 11th in Eastern Conference

Another appearance for the Dolan-Thomas Knicks, the 2006-07 New York team was at least somewhat better, going 33-49, a 10-win improvement over the year prior.

That Knicks team had Marbury as the ninth highest-paid player in the league and Steve Francis as No. 21, two ball-dominant guards who never really meshed together.

1995-96 New York Knicks

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Team payroll: $43,329,000
League average payroll: $24,974,743
Percentage over league average: 73.49%
Highest-paid player: Patrick Ewing ($18,724,000)
Season results: 47-35 record, lost 1-4 in Conference Semifinals to Bulls

The 1995-96 Knicks squad at least predates James Dolan, who started running the team in 1999.

As such, although the ’96 Knicks spent a whole lot of money, they at least did so somewhat savvily, reaching the second round of the playoffs that year.

In 1995-96, Patrick Ewing was the highest-paid player in the league by a wide margin, earning almost twice as much as the second highest-paid player that season, Clyde Drexler ($9.8 million).

No other Knicks player that year was in the Top 50 in salary, though.

2004-05 New York Knicks

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Team payroll: $102,567,539
League average payroll: $59,122,201
Percentage over league average: 73.48%
Highest-paid player: Allan Houston ($18,724,000)
Season results: 33-49 record, 11th in Eastern Conference

More mid-2000s Knicks futility, the 2004-05 New York team had three of the eight highest-paid players in the league, Houston ($17.5 million, No. 3), Marbury ($14.6 million, tied for eighth) and a way-after-his-prime Penny Hardaway (tied for eighth) making $14.6 million while averaging 7.3 points per game.

2000-01 Portland Trail Blazers

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Team payroll: $87,395,140
League average payroll: $51,853,886
Percentage over league average: 68.54%
Highest-paid player: Scottie Pippen ($18,083,564)
Season results: 50-32 record, lost 0-3 in first round to Lakers

The 2001-02 Blazers were a good team, just not a great one, which is unfortunate considering they spent at a historical rate. Pippen was the fifth highest-paid player in the league that year while Wallace was eighth at $14.4 million.

1997-98 New York Knicks

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Team payroll: $53,974,881
League average payroll: $32,708,207
Percentage over league average: 65.02%
Highest-paid player: Patrick Ewing ($20,500,000)
Season results: 43-39 record, lost 1-4 in Conference Semifinals to Pacers

The ’97-98 Knicks made the second round of the playoffs, upsetting the No. 2 seed Miami Heat in five games (first-round series only went five games back then) before falling in the Conference Semifinals. Ewing was the second highest-paid player in the league that year while Larry Johnson was the 14th highest-paid ($8.5 million).

1999-00 Portland Trail Blazers

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Team payroll: $73,898,705
League average payroll: $45,314,984
Percentage over league average: 63.08%
Highest-paid player: Scottie Pippen ($14,795,642)
Season results: 59-23 record, lost 3-4 in Conference Finals to Lakers

The one Blazers team from this era that was elite and nearly competed for a championship, the ’99-00 Portland squad won nearly 60 regular-season games and lost in the Western Conference Finals in seven games to the early-dynasty Lakers. No shame in that.

Pippen was the fifth highest-paid player in the league that year while Wallace was 17th.

1998-99 New York Knicks

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Team payroll: $59,945,400
League average payroll: $36,892,181
Percentage over league average: 62.49%
Highest-paid player: Patrick Ewing ($18,500,000)
Season results: 27-23 record, lost 1-4 in NBA Finals to Spurs

The lockout-shortened 1998-99 campaign was a strange one, though perhaps not too strange considering the Knicks still spent at a historical rate that season. New York, still led by Ewing then, got all the way to the NBA Finals despite entering the playoffs as the East’s No. 8 seed. Ewing was the highest-paid player in the league while Johnson was 12th and Latrell Sprewell was 23rd.

2002-03 New York Knicks

AP Photo/Chris Carlson

Team payroll: $93,452,379
League average payroll: $57,580,407
Percentage over league average: 62.30%
Highest-paid player: Allan Houston ($14,343,750)
Season results: 37-45 record, 9th in Eastern Conference

Back to the Dolan-era Knicks, this was the first season that Thomas had joined the fray, so things hadn’t gone fully off the rails quite yet. As such, the team finished a respectable 37-45 that season, just missing out on the playoffs. Houston ranked No. 9 in salary that season while Antonio McDyess was 14th, earning $12.6 million.

2001-02 New York Knicks

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Team payroll: $85,993,039
League average payroll: $53,744,919
Percentage over league average: 60.00%
Highest-paid player: Allan Houston ($12,750,000)
Season results: 30-52 record, 13th in Eastern Conference

Pre-Thomas but under Dolan control, the Knicks make the ranking yet again in what was another bad season, finishing 30-52 in 2001-02 and 13th in the Eastern Conference. That Knicks team had three players in the Top 20 that year in salary in Houston, Sprewell and Johnson.

1999-00 New York Knicks

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Team payroll: $72,288,001
League average payroll: $45,314,984
Percentage over league average: 59.52%
Highest-paid player: Patrick Ewing ($15,000,000)
Season results: 50-32 record, lost 2-4 in Conference Finals to Pacers

If you’re a Knicks fan and still looking at this list, kudos to you, as your team makes it here yet again. At least the 1999-00 Knicks team was good, as the last season Ewing was there saw the team win 50 regular-season games and get all the way to the Eastern Conference Final before falling in six games to the Indiana Pacers. That NYK team had three players in the Top 25 in salary, led by Ewing, who ranked No. 4 in salary that year.

1992-93 Boston Celtics

AP Photo/John Kuntz

Team payroll: $25,217,000
League average payroll: $15,888,377
Percentage over league average: 58.71%
Highest-paid player: Robert Parish ($3,513,000)
Season results: 48-34 record, lost 1-3 in first round to Hornets

The first post-Bird campaign for the Celtics, the ’92-93 squad was still good enough to win 48 games thanks to the likes of Robert Parish, McHale and Lewis, who all ranked Top 9 in salary that season, led by Parish at No. 5 league-wide.

2001-02 Portland Trail Blazers

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Team payroll: $84,292,850
League average payroll: $53,744,919
Percentage over league average: 56.84%
Highest-paid player: Scottie Pippen ($18,083,564)
Season results: 49-33 record, lost 0-3 in first round to Lakers

Another Allen-era team for the Blazers, the 2001-02 Blazers were once again one of the better teams in the West but ran into the buzzsaw dynasty Lakers in the playoffs and were ousted unceremoniously without winning a game in the postseason. The Blazers had two players (Pippen and Wallace) in the Top 8 in salary that year and three in the Top 13 (Kemp).

2005-06 Dallas Mavericks

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Team payroll: $98,454,832
League average payroll: $63,248,999
Percentage over league average: 55.66%
Highest-paid player: Michael Finley ($15,937,500)
Season results: 60-22 record, lost 2-4 in NBA Finals to Heat

By all accounts, this should have been a glorious season for the Dallas Mavericks, spending at a historical rate but doing so for a championship team. Unfortunately for Mark CubanDirk Nowitzki and the rest of the Mavericks, though, Dwyane Wade went nuclear in the Finals after Dallas went up 2-0 in the championship series.

Still, this wasn’t a case of poor spending by Cuban, as Nowitzki, an all-time great in his prime, didn’t even lead the team in salary or rank second; Michael Finley did while Keith Van Horn checked in at No. 2.

Nowitzki made $13.8 million that year, placing him 21st league-wide in salary. Mind you, that year, the legendary 4-man was an All-Star and made 1st Team All-NBA, making his contract that season greatly valuable.

2004-05 Dallas Mavericks

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Team payroll: $91,908,443
League average payroll: $59,122,201
Percentage over league average: 55.46%
Highest-paid player: Michael Finley ($14,609,375)
Season results: 58-24 record, lost 2-4 in Conference Semifinals to Suns

By the same token, the 2004-05 Mavericks likewise spent a lot of money but did so in a smart way, with the team paying a 1st Team All-NBA, All-Star Nowitzki $12.6 million, the 27th-highest salary in the NBA that year. The team was successful in 2004-05, too, going 60-22 before falling in the second round of the playoffs to the Suns. The West so brutal back then, a 58-win Mavericks team was the conference’s No. 4 seed that year.

2003-04 New York Knicks

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Team payroll: $89,444,820
League average payroll: $57,676,465
Percentage over league average: 55.08%
Highest-paid player: Allan Houston ($15,937,500)
Season results: 39-43 record, lost 0-4 in first round to Nets

Another Dolan-Thomas appearance for the Knicks, this time around, New York at least made it to the playoffs despite finishing the year below .500, though was swept in the first round by the then-New Jersey Nets. This was the last year of Houston’s prime before his career fell of a cliff, ending after just one more season.

2013-14 Brooklyn Nets

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Team payroll: $102,589,967
League average payroll: $67,629,677
Percentage over league average: 51.69%
Highest-paid player: Joe Johnson ($21,466,718)
Season results: 44-38 record, lost 1-4 in Conference Semifinals to Heat

Speaking of the Nets, they, under the ownership of Mikhail Prokhorov and impatiently wanting to win, went all in during the mid-2010s, acquiring Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett from Boston for a boatload of draft capital, with the payoff being a 44-38 season and a second-round playoff appearance.

That Nets team had three players – Joe Johnson (No. 6), Deron Williams (14th) and Pierce (20th) – in the Top 20 in salary that year, with Garnett and Brook Lopez also earning eight-figure salaries.

2012-13 Los Angeles Lakers

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Team payroll: $100,131,988
League average payroll: $67,197,944
Percentage over league average: 49.01%
Highest-paid player: Kobe Bryant ($27,849,000)
Season results: 45-37 record, lost 0-4 in first round to Spurs

The 2012-13 Lakers revamped things, picking up two superstars and looking like favorites in the preseason to come out of the West. Little did they know Dwight Howard would prove a poor fit on the team alongside Pau Gasol and that Steve Nash, despite coming off an All-Star season, would see his play fall off the way it did.

Needless to say, that Lakers team failed to live up to expectations.

Bryant led the NBA in salary that year, with two other Lakers joining him in the Top 10, Howard ($19.3 million) at No. 8 and Gasol ($19.0 million) at No. 9.

1998-99 Portland Trail Blazers

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Team payroll: $54,725,500
League average payroll: $36,892,181
Percentage over league average: 48.34%
Highest-paid player: Rasheed Wallace ($9,000,000)
Season results: 35-15 record, lost 0-4 in Conference Finals to Spurs

The ’98-99 Blazers had three players earning Top 20 salaries: Wallace, Damon Stoudamire and Arvydas Sabonis, all earning $9.0 million. At least they reached the Western Conference Finals that year.

2007-08 Dallas Mavericks

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Team payroll: $101,694,879
League average payroll: $68,796,241
Percentage over league average: 47.82%
Highest-paid player: Jason Kidd ($19,728,000)
Season results: 51-31 record, lost 1-4 in first round to Hornets

Another Cuban-funded Mavericks team makes the list, as the 2007-08 season ended with more disappointment for Dallas, falling four games to one in the first round to the then-New Orleans Hornets. Yet again, Nowitzki wasn’t the highest-paid player on that Mavericks team, nor was he even second. Jason Kidd led the way for Dallas that year in salary while Finley checked in at No. 2 ($18.6 million) and Nowitzki third ($16.4 million).

1995-96 Orlando Magic

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Team payroll: $36,526,560
League average payroll: $24,974,743
Percentage over league average: 46.25%
Highest-paid player: Shaquille O’Neal ($5,700,000)
Season results: 60-22 record, lost 0-4 in Conference Finals to Bulls

The final season of Shaquille O’Neal’s tenure with the Orlando Magic was a successful one, though not successful enough for him not to leave for L.A. the following offseason. Still, 60 wins and an Eastern Conference Finals appearance are nothing to scoff at for a team like the Magic.

In O’Neal’s final year with the Magic, he was No. 8 in salary in the NBA (teammate Anfernee Hardaway was 12th at $5.2 million). The following season, O’Neal’s first in Los Angeles, he was already up to fourth in salary at $10.7 million.

1995-96 Phoenix Suns

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Team payroll: $36,525,000
League average payroll: $24,974,743
Percentage over league average: 46.25%
Highest-paid player: Danny Manning ($6,833,000)
Season results: 41-41 record, lost 1-3 in first round to Spurs

The 1995-96 Suns had three players in the Top 16 in salary but the top two of those players weren’t even named Charles Barkley. Barkley checked in at No. 3 on that Suns team in salary at $4.8 million, with Danny Manning and AC Green ($6.5 million) leading the way. Green averaged 7.5 points that season, by the way, while Manning put up 13.4 points in an injury-shortened 33-game season.

1996-97 Orlando Magic

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Team payroll: $40,149,100
League average payroll: $27,712,800
Percentage over league average: 44.88%
Highest-paid player: Horace Grant ($14,857,000)
Season results: 45-37 record, lost 2-3 in first round to Heat

In their first post-Shaq year, the Magic still went 45-37 and made the playoffs, which speaks to the greatness of Hardaway before injuries ended his prime. But it wasn’t Hardaway who led that team in salary. That honor went to Horace Grant, who was actually No. 2 in the NBA in salary.

2003-04 Portland Trail Blazers

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Team payroll: $82,956,768
League average payroll: $57,676,465
Percentage over league average: 43.83%
Highest-paid player: Rasheed Wallace ($17,000,000)
Season results: 41-41 record, 10th in Western Conference

The 2003-04 Blazers spent at a huge rate yet again under Allen but didn’t have the success of some of the franchise’s other appearances on this list. They missed the playoffs while finishing at .500.

2000-01 New York Knicks

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Team payroll: $74,007,738
League average payroll: $51,853,886
Percentage over league average: 42.72%
Highest-paid player: Larry Johnson ($11,000,000)
Season results: 48-34 record, lost 2-3 in first round to Raptors

It’s only right that the final team in these rankings is the Knicks, who made this list more than any other franchise. At least the 2000-01 Knicks did make the playoffs, though, after a solid regular season that saw them go 48-34. It helped that New York had Marcus Camby averaging 12.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks while making just $5.8 million, the 75th-highest salary that season.

Story originally appeared on HoopsHype