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Research: Which NBA teams spend the most money on stars?
For a league in which star power so greatly determines outcomes, money is more evenly distributed among players than you might expect.
In the last 20 years, All-Star players (roughly 5 percent of the players in any given NBA season) have received only 16.59 percent of total league salaries. For All-NBA players (15 annually), the number would be 10.37 percent.
But which teams spend the most money on those star players?
We tried to find out by focusing on All-NBA selections in the past two decades (since we have 30 teams in the league).
Unsurprisingly, the Los Angeles Lakers top the list, having spent $792.7 million on All-NBA players – 30.61 percent of their total salary expenditure. Interestingly, they rank 29th in spending on non-All-NBA players.
More surprisingly, the small-market Oklahoma City Thunder rank second, investing $484.8 million in All-NBA talent. They also rank last in non-star player expenses. A prime example of efficient resource allocation right there.
For the full ranking, check below:
Share of total salaries: 30.61 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $1,796,803,043 (No. 29 in the NBA)
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Share of total salaries: 21.89 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $1,729,996,839 (No. 30 in the NBA)
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Share of total salaries: 18.19 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $2,046,536,917 (No. 18 in the NBA)
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Share of total salaries: 17.73 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $1,866,701,486 (No. 27 in the NBA)
Harry How/Getty Images
Share of total salaries: 17.00 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $1,920,672,540 (No. 24 in the NBA)
Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Share of total salaries: 15.86 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $1,903,414,510 (No. 25 in the NBA)
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Share of total salaries: 15.29 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $1,966,053,015 (No. 21 in the NBA)
Doug Benc/Getty Images
Share of total salaries: 13.99 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $2,136,234,957 (No. 10 in the NBA)
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Share of total salaries: 11.44 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $1,993,749,234 (No. 20 in the NBA)
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Share of total salaries: 11.23 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $1,998,871,297 (No. 19 in the NBA)
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Share of total salaries: 10.92 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $2,099,239,938 (No. 12 in the NBA)
Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Share of total salaries: 10.84 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $2,236,521,812 (No. 4 in the NBA)
Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images
Share of total salaries: 9.90 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $2,112,216,160 (No. 11 in the NBA)
Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Share of total salaries: 9.73 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $2,187,716,644 (No. 7 in the NBA)
Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports
Share of total salaries: 8.97 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $1,963,813,772 (No. 22 in the NBA)
Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Share of total salaries: 8.89 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $1,958,754,237 (No. 23 in the NBA)
David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Share of total salaries: 8.80 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $2,201,475,212 (No. 6 in the NBA)
Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Share of total salaries: 8.32 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $2,391,995,644 (No. 2 in the NBA)
Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Share of total salaries: 7.27 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $2,093,823,061 (No. 13 in the NBA)
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Share of total salaries: 6.54 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $2,158,024,193 (No. 9 in the NBA)
Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports
Share of total salaries: 6.08 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $2,065,710,742 (No. 16 in the NBA)
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Share of total salaries: 5.50 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $2,596,938,046 (No. 1 in the NBA)
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Share of total salaries: 5.04 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $2,058,914,219 (No. 17 in the NBA)
Sarah Stier/Getty Images
Share of total salaries: 5.03 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $2,333,114,666 (No. 3 in the NBA)
Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Share of total salaries: 4.87 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $1,823,522,819 (No. 28 in the NBA)
Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Share of total salaries: 4.27 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $2,169,603,436 (No. 8 in the NBA)
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Share of total salaries: 3.59 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $2,204,685,506 (No. 5 in the NBA)
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Share of total salaries: 2.93 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $2,070,996,070 (No. 15 in the NBA)
Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Share of total salaries: 2.67 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $2,074,037,710 (No. 14 in the NBA)
Jason Miller/Getty Images
Share of total salaries: 2.17 percent
Money spent on non-stars: $1,893,808,885 (No. 26 in the NBA)
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