Outlandish, perhaps even out-of-control spending has become such a problem for NBA payrolls that the league went out of its way to penalize the most egregious ball clubs which spend more than $17.5 million over the league’s luxury tax line in the new collective bargaining agreement recently agreed to by the Association and the Players’ Union.
And with a total of 17 championships to their name over the history of the league, you would think that the Boston Celtics would be among the franchises with some of the most expensive payrolls over that stretch. But in a new analysis of such clubs compared to the spending in the rest of the league put together by our friends at Hoops Hype, the Celtics have only landed in the 30 most expensive teams in history twice. You might be surprised which years it was so, as well.
Let’s take a look at both.
Decades ago, in the Louisiana native’s prime with Boston in the 1960s, Russell decided to endorse a shoe made right here in New England. https://t.co/FK5EKVDCxB
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) April 2, 2023
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 the first round to Charlotte 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 (Reggie) Lewis, who all ranked Top 9 in salary that season, led by Parish at No. 5 league-wide,” writes H/H.
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,” suggests H/H.
“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.”