Five seasons, five champions and a sixth favorite team for the 2024 edition. The NBA is experiencing a period of great renewal and this is not to displease Adam Silver. While his predecessor David Stern had experienced the hegemony of the Celtics and the Lakers in the 80's, that of the Bulls in the 90's, then the ” threepeat » of the Lakers at the start of the 2000s, the league commissioner manages a particularly open championship. And Silver does not hide his satisfaction.
Interrogates at a press conference On Wednesday, the NBA boss smiled when we mentioned the twelve teams currently counting between 44 and 49 victories. “ I'm excited about the level of competition, and I think what fans ultimately want is to see great competition across the league » said Adam Silver. “ I'm not anti-dynasties, but you want dynasties to be created wherever possible with a level playing field. But if teams draft well, develop players well, make good trades, they are all operating on the same bases so to speak. »
A sporting, but also financial, balance
For this, the league has equipped itself with new tools in recent seasons to try to level the competition, like the “aprons” the different levels of the ” luxury tax“, which will limit the room for maneuver of high-spending teams from next season. This, without affecting the cash flow for the franchises and their owners.
“ You can never predict what will happen with the competition in my opinion. But what we decided to do, both with our collective agreement and with our revenue sharing system, was to give the 30 teams the opportunity to be competitive and, if managed well, to having the ability to make a profit… This is what allows them to reinvest in the organization, build new facilities and grow the franchise. »
So much the worse for the posters that make history, the iconic duels, LeBron against Curry? The new generation of league stars like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and even Victor Wembanyama have the potential to offer a new breath of fresh air to the NBA in the coming seasons. And shake up a hierarchy in perpetual motion a little more.
Luxury tax : in the NBA, the salary cap is not strict, and the NBA authorizes the richest franchises to exceed the threshold set with a tolerance margin of around 22%. In this case, next year, franchises will be able to spend up to $171 million. Then, for each dollar spent above this ceiling, franchises must pay the “luxury tax” to the NBA. A kind of tax that can be very expensive, and candidates for the title generally pay tens of millions of dollars each year. A sum then returned to franchises, good students, who have not paid the “luxury tax”
