The eight NBA teams with the most taxes in the past 11 years, the Lakers ranked 6th with 148 million, and the Warriors ranked 748 million.

Since the NBA introduced the luxury tax rule, the reinforcement of each team in the league has been subject to varying degrees of restrictions. Many teams are more "resistant" to pay taxes. Teams such as Hornets and Pistons, the luxury tax they have paid for so many years is not as much as some strong teams.

According to media statistics, 16 NBA teams have paid a total of more than $10 million in the past 11 years, and the Nuggets are the most cost-effective. They have paid a total of 57.9 million in luxury tax over the years. Considering that they successfully won the first championship in team history in 2023, it is obvious that such efforts are worth it, especially compared to the Mavericks and Timberwolves who pay more taxes than them, which also makes the Nuggets even more lucky.

Among these 16 teams, 8 teams paid a total of more than $100 million in luxury taxes, and they all finally won the championship season in these 11 years. So let’s take a look at which teams are among them!

8. Thunder (106 million)

Although the Thunder won the championship in the 2024-2025 season, the team does not need to pay luxury tax this year due to the dividends of Rookie Contracts of Jewish and Homgren. Therefore, the Thunder's luxury tax expenditure over the years is mainly concentrated in the 2017-2018 season and the 2018-2019 season. In order to win the championship, the Thunder spared no effort to strengthen Westbrook. Therefore, their luxury tax was as high as 61.28 million US dollars in the 2018-2019 season. Unfortunately, the team was eliminated in the first round that year, so they began to rebuild.

7. Cavaliers (136 million)

In 2014, the Cavaliers signed with James and traded to Love. In addition to the original Irving, they formed a Big Three lineup. In this way, although the Cavaliers' salary pressure has increased sharply, their strength has also become stronger. In the 2015-2016 season, the Cavaliers had to pay a luxury tax of 53.58 million yuan, but considering that they also won the championship in the end, such efforts are obviously worth it. Later, in order to maintain the championship lineup, the Cavaliers paid a lot of luxury taxes for three consecutive years, but unfortunately, the Warriors were too strong in those years, and in the end the Cavaliers only got one championship ring.

Now the Cavaliers have re-established the championship lineup around Mitchell and others, so the team has to pay the luxury tax again. Currently, Mitchell, Garland and Mobley are all receiving maximum salary, so their salary pressure will only increase and increase in the future. In this case, their championship window is also closing quickly. If they cannot win the championship, the team will definitely reorganize the lineup. After all, the punishment for continuous payment of luxury tax under the existing rules is much greater than before.

6. Lakers (148 million)

In 2018, the long-silent Lakers finally ushered in another big operation, that is, they got James naked, and the arrival of the latter also gave them hope to return to their peak. Immediately afterwards, the Lakers traded Thick Brows, which led to the team becoming a championship team, and in 2020 they successfully won the cup as they wished.

After that, the Lakers have been building teams around James and Davis, but some wrong decisions not only did not make them pay less taxes, but the team's hopes for the championship have declined. Last season, the Lakers ushered in a turning point again. They sent away the 32-year-old Thomas Brow and exchanged for the 26-year-old Doncic. The team was considered to have completed the reconstruction directly. Later, they only needed to build a team around Doncic, so they could maintain a certain competitiveness.

5. Celtics (170 million)

Since the rise of the Double Tanhua, the Celtics have always been one of the best teams in the East. In order to build a team around them, the team's strength in recent years is also visible to the naked eye, so they obviously paid a lot of taxes, of which the total amount of luxury tax in the 2022-2023 season was as high as 70.2 million. Later in 2024, the Celtics won the championship as they wished, and then they also renewed their contracts with Tatum, White and others. But now Tatum's injury has forced the Celtics to change their plans. The first thing they have to do is to reduce taxes next season, which is hopeless to compete for the championship. In this way, their operations will undoubtedly be very successful this offseason.

4. Bucks (220 million)

Since winning the championship in 2021, the Bucks, who have tasted the sweetness, have paid a large amount of luxury tax for many years in order to continue to return to the podium. In 2023, they once had a luxury tax expenditure of 83.86 million. However, due to Middleton's injury and other factors, the Bucks not only failed to win the championship again, but the team has been eliminated in the first round for three consecutive years. Although the Bucks have been operating continuously this offseason, their competitiveness has not improved significantly as of now. Judging from their current lineup, it will not be surprising to see the first round of the next season. In addition, considering that Antetokounmpo is getting older, the Bucks' window for championship is obviously also moving towards a completely closed direction.

3. Suns (220 million)

In the past 11 years, the Suns did not need to pay taxes for most of the time. Until the new boss took office, the team no longer cared about this expenditure. So the team traded continuously two top-paid players, Durant and Bill, and the team's luxury tax has also risen year by year. By the 2024-2025 season, the total amount of luxury tax paid by the Suns had soared to $152 million, but in the end, they not only failed to return to the championship ranks, but the team also failed to score in the playoffs. In order to avoid the continued doubled luxury tax, the Suns still had no choice but to break up the team in the offseason. The sending Durant away and cutting Bill symbolizes that they are about to start rebuilding..

2. The Clippers (402 million)

With the wealthiest boss in the NBA, the Clippers have been paying taxes for seven seasons in the past 11 years, but obviously for Ballmer, he doesn't care about this little money. Therefore, after the luxury taxes in the past three years were 83.11 million, 140 million and 142 million, respectively, respectively, and the Clippers have not been able to break through the first round, they are still working hard to strengthen their efforts to compete for the championship this offseason. So far, the Clippers' operations have been relatively successful overall. If nothing unexpected happens next season, their competitiveness is likely to improve. However, if you want to break through the siege in the "Devil West", the Clippers may still need some luck, especially Leonard will not be injured again, which is particularly important for them.

1. Warriors (748 million)

Since the rise of Curry and others, the Warriors have quickly become the new NBA powerhouse, especially after signing Durant in 2017, they have played a historical dominance. At the same time, with the influence of the team stars and their own style of play, the Warriors have become one of the most popular teams in the 21st century, so their market value has been soaring. In this case, the boss is not stingy in paying luxury taxes.

In these 11 years, the Warriors have to pay taxes for eight seasons, and since 2021, their luxury tax has exceeded hundreds of millions of dollars for four consecutive years. However, among so many teams, the Warriors are also the most successful. In addition to their market value, they have firmly ranked in the top three in the league, and during this period, the team has also won 4 championships.