As the world's most watched basketball event, the NBA brings together more than 400 top players from all over the world, with the most professional broadcast equipment, to dedicate a wonderful game for fans. Each team's unique team culture, as well as the inheritance between superstars, make the cold arena full of warm moments worth remembering.
10. Player salary payment system
When it comes to NBA player salaries, most fans' first impression is "high", and the team's salary cap has increased year by year, resulting in a continuous increase in the amount of top salary contracts, of which Curry signed a contract with the Warriors last year with an average annual salary of $53.75 million, setting a new record in NBA history.
Many fans will mistakenly think that the salary of NBA players is once a year, but in fact, it is not, the NBA, like most companies in China, has a fixed payday, generally default to the 1st and 15th of each month, from the beginning of the regular season to the end of the six months, about 12 times.
When signing a contract with a team, NBA players can modify the time and number of salary payments according to their actual situation, which can be the regular 12 times in 6 months, or it can be changed to 24 times in 12 months. If you choose the first one, this means that players will not be paid to play in the playoffs and offseason; the second type of players will have an income throughout the year, which is more suitable for some players who take the bottom salary to support their families.
In addition to the basic salary of players, each team will also set bonus terms for different players, such as attendance, team performance or weight control, etc., which mainly play a role in motivating players to perform better. Like Holliday, who helped the Bucks win the championship last season, he met the incentive terms stipulated in the contract and received a $1 million reward.
9. Taxes on the NBA
Not long ago, Chinese star Jeremy Lin was asked about tax issues in an interview, he said that before his salary arrived, he had evaporated 64%, of which 50% needed to pay taxes, 10% to the NBA player league, 4% to agents, and the actual arrival was 36% of the annual salary of the contract.
Such exaggerated taxes have also made domestic fans feel that the salary of the CBA League is reliable, and the domestic tax of $3 million is equivalent to the NBA's annual salary of $10.8 million, so it is no wonder that the stars eliminated by the NBA like to come to China to play.
Athletes who play in the United States generally need to pay federal taxes (that is, national taxes), provincial taxes or state taxes (that is, local taxes), and athlete taxes, but because the tax policies of different states or provinces are different, the amount of tax paid by athletes will vary greatly. Just like players in Texas and Alaska do not need to pay "land taxes", the more prosperous California "land taxes" are close to 13%.
Because of the different tax policies in different places, there will be players with higher annual salaries on paper, and the actual salary will be less, for example:
Curry's annual salary this season is $45.78 million, because the team is in California, the actual arrival of $20.14 million (44%), while Texas-based lone ranger Porzingis, this season's annual salary of $31.65 million, strength to 16.14 million US dollars (51%). The difference in annual salaries between the two is $14 million, and the actual difference is only $4 million, which is the tax rule in the United States.
As for how athletes pay taxes, the NBA generally adopts a proxy system, that is, the boss first gives the player's salary to the league, and the league gives the athlete a post-tax salary on the payday according to the number of games and places the player plays, and the tax payable is paid directly to the tax department. Because players are required to play half of their home games each season, the tax rate of the state or province where the home team is located directly determines the actual amount of salary.
8. NBA's division settings
I believe that many fans have heard of other names for games such as "Texas Inside Line" and "Los Angeles Battle of kings", which are all civil wars with state teams, and such games are often played fiercely because of "grudges".
The league is also divided into six divisions according to the eastern principle according to the region where the team is located, with five teams in each season, teams in one season need to meet 4 times, other teams need to play 2-3 times, and the situation of "strong west and weak east" in previous years is mainly caused by the rules of the division.
Western Union
- Pacific Division: Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings
- Southwest Division: San Antonio Spurs, Memphis Grizzlies, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans
- Northwest Division: Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers, Oklahoma Thunder, Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets
Eastern Union
- Atlantic Division: Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors, New York Knicks
- Southeast Division: Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets, Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic
- Central Division: Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers
Judging from the team's record ranking this season, the overall strength of the east and west is balanced, the Suns and Warriors lead the league, and the Pacific Division is undoubtedly the well-deserved king of the six major divisions because of the Lakers, Suns and Warriors. The southwest division, because it is located in the middle of the United States, the economic development is relatively lagging behind, and it can only recruit superstars to join through the tax reduction policy.
7. How NBA teams make money
In 2019, Tsai Chongxin spent $2.35 billion to fully acquire the Brooklyn Nets, setting a new record for the amount of transactions for an NBA team, allowing a "cunning" businessman to spend nearly 1/4 of his wealth to invest, which is enough to show how terrible the commercial value behind the team is. Let's take the Nets, for example, this season's total salary exceeded $170 million, what does an average NBA team rely on to make money:
(1) Competition broadcast rights
The sale of game broadcast rights is the main source of income for the NBA league and various teams, for example: the NBA's broadcast contracts with ESPN and TNT, the amount of which is as high as 24 billion US dollars for 9 years, an average of 2.66 billion US dollars per year; our well-known domestic sports platform has spent more than a billion US dollars to buy the exclusive broadcast rights of NBA games.
These broadcast fees, the league will be issued to each team in a certain proportion, which team has a high degree of game traffic, and the broadcast dividend will be higher. At the same time, the team can also sell the game broadcast rights separately, just like Time Warner bought the Lakers' regional broadcast rights for the next 20 years for $3 billion, and the Nets, which owns the Big Three this season, will not have less than $130 million in broadcast costs alone.
(2) Ticket revenue
Ticket revenue is closely related to the city where the home team is located, for example: the Knicks in the Manhattan block of New York, last year's playoff home minimum ticket price of $1,000, the highest ticket price reached $13,200, according to the average ticket price of $2,000, a game of 20,000 spectators, the Knicks only need a home game to harvest $40 million in revenue, "king of gold" title is worthy of the name.
The Brooklyn Nets, whose lowest playoff ticket price is just $109, is just $109, and the sadness of the small-ball market is vividly reflected at this moment. But because the team has a big three, the Nets' attendance rate is still very impressive, and we calculate based on 41 regular season games, the Nets' revenue from tickets alone in a season will not be less than $50 million.
(3) Advertising revenue
Commercial advertising is the most stable source of income for NBA teams, and they often appear on billboards on the sidelines of the game, large screens during suspensions, player jerseys, corridors of the arena, etc., depending on the influence of the team. For teams like the Nets, advertising revenue in a season will generally not be less than $30 million, while teams like the Warriors and Knicks will undoubtedly double their advertising revenue.
6. NBA pension
As the world's most professional basketball event, the NBA not only has the top athletes and broadcast equipment, but also its welfare benefits are the most perfect, such as the pension issue that all athletes are most concerned about, the NBA has clear regulations:
The league will take out 1% of the total income each year to protect the health and wealth of retired players, and any player who has played in the NBA for three seasons or more is eligible for a pension at the age of 45, and the amount of each month is equal to $306.34× the NBA's years of service × 2/3; if the pension starts from 50, it is $306.34× years of service in the NBA.
Take Yao Ming as an example, he has played in the NBA for a total of 9 seasons, according to the above calculation formula, starting from the age of 45, he can receive a pension of about $1836 per month; at the age of 50, the monthly pension is $2758, which is equivalent to nearly 18,000 yuan per month.
5. NBA player trading rules
The NBA has been established for 75 years, and in this long period of time, in order to ensure the normal and smooth operation of the league and the team, the league has introduced many rules on player trading, and has made a clear division of all kinds of player transactions, ensuring the interests of the team and players to the greatest extent. Here are a few of the more well-known player trading terms:
(1) Bird Clause
The deal, also known as the "loyalty bonus," allows teams above the salary cap to sign free agents with their own team at the highest salary, provided that the player has played three seasons at home and has not been sacked or joined another team as a free agent. Because Green Army star Larry Bird was the first player in the league to implement this clause, it is also known as the Bird Clause.
(2) Ross Clause
This clause is also known as the rookie benefit, which is obtained on the condition that the MVP is elected during the rookie contract, or two starts to be selected as an All-Star, or twice to be selected to the Team of the Year, and to meet any of the three items to sign a maximum salary contract with the team that accounts for 30% of the team's salary cap. After this clause was passed, only Rose in the entire NBA at that time met the requirements, so this agreement was called the "Rose Clause", and the first person to enjoy this clause was star Kevin Durant.
(3) Special cases of transactions
This exception is a humane rule that allows teams that exceed the salary cap to find a replacement for players in the team who cannot play (which can be adapted to the death of the player), and the maximum salary of the replacement must not exceed 50% of the salary of the injured player. This clause is very friendly to teams that aspire to win the championship but unexpectedly suffer injuries to their main players.
4. Players who change the rules of the NBA
(1) Buckley: 5 seconds back violation
Barkley is less than two meters tall, but he has a pair of huge hips, coupled with his excellent low-post offensive skills, using his hips to open the way has become his most labor-saving and efficient means of scoring. Before the back-to-back play rule of not exceeding five seconds came out, Buckley often had to torture his opponent with his ass for ten seconds, making the game lose its ornamentality, and the league tailored a rule for Barkley not to exceed five seconds of back-back singles in order to prevent such things from happening again.
(2) O'Neill: Three-second zone violation
As one of the most dominant centers in NBA history, O'Neal is 2.16m tall, has an arm span of 2.28m and weighs a terrifying 150kg. At the peak of his career, O'Neal averaged 29.7 points, 13.7 rebounds and 3 blocks per game, and he could kill all sides on the inside based on his weight alone, which also forced the players defending him to use all their strengths, the most famous of which was the "shark cutting tactic". In order to limit O'Neal's play on the inside, the league introduced a rule that players cannot attack for more than three seconds in the three-second zone.
(3) Yao Ming: All-Star vote
In 2002, Yao Ming was selected by the Houston Rockets with the first pick in the first round, the big man who carried the hopes of hundreds of millions of fans across China, averaging 13.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game in his rookie season, far from reaching the height of an All-Star. However, due to the All-Star voting format, Yao Ming was elected as the starting center in the final result (27.5 points, 11.1 rebounds), and ranked second in the league after Kobe Bryant in terms of total votes!
This year's All-Star East-West start list:
- East: Carter, O'Neal Jr., Wallace, Iverson, Maddie
- West: Duncan, Garnett, Yao Ming, Kobe Bryant, Francis
In addition to Yao Ming's large Chinese base, Rocket guard Francis also let Chinese fans choose the All-Star starter, and then the league made reforms to the All-Star vote in order to prevent such embarrassing things from happening again, diluting the weight of Chinese fans in the voting.
3. The 5 most successful bosses of the NBA investment
(5) Former Nets owner: Prokhorov
Acquired the team for $220 million and sold to Tsai Chongxin for $2.35 billion, an increase of $2.15 billion
A former nets owner, Prokhorov was once Russia's richest man, and his family's business spanned a wide range of industries, including mining, finance, real estate, infrastructure, science and technology and other high-margin industries.
(4) 76ers bosses: Joshua Harris, Rubin
It cost $280 million to acquire the team, and the current team has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, an increase of $2.4 billion
Harris is the general manager (private equity) of Apollo Global Management, which manages more than $350 billion in assets from around the world, and Rubin is the leader in the U.S. ski industry and the owner of sports equipment brand KPR sport.
(3) Lone Ranger Boss: Cuban
The acquisition of the Lone Ranger cost $280 million, and the current team's market value is $2.73 billion, an increase of $2.45 billion
As the NBA's most humane owner, Cuban successfully acquired the Dallas Mavericks (now the Maverick) for $285 million in 2002, and he subsequently became a team's most loyal fan, and his friendship with Nowitzki became the only remaining warmth in the NBA where interests were paramount.
(2) Green Army bosses: Baker, Pagreka
It cost $360 million to acquire the team, and the current team market value is $3.46 billion, an increase of $3.1 billion
In 2002, Gross Baker and Pagreka spent $360 million to acquire more than 50% of the green army's equity, obtained the actual operation rights of the team, as the NBA's old giant team, before the two took over, they had won 16 championships, tied with the Lakers for the first place in the league.
(1) Warriors bosses: Lacob, Guber
The acquisition of the Warriors cost $450 million, and the current team's market value is $6.15 billion, an increase of $5.7 billion
Lacob is a world-renowned venture capital expert, whose main investment areas are medical, Internet, new energy, life sciences and so on. Due to his limited salary, he chose to join forces with Mandalay Film and Television founder Guber to buy the Golden State Warriors for $450 million.
2. The leader of the NBA's five data records
Top 5 players in the all-time block list:
- Olajuwon: 3830
- Mutombo: 3289
- Jabbar: 3189
- Mark Eaton: 3064
- Tim Duncan: 3020
Top 5 players in the all-time steals table:
- Stockton: 3265
- Jason Kidd: 2684
- Michael Jordan: 2514
- Gary Payton: 2445
- Chris Paul: 2433
Top 5 players in the all-time rebounding chart:
- Chamberlain: 23,924
- Russell: 21,620
- Abdul-Jabbar: 17,440
- Moses-Malone: 16,212
- Tim Duncan: 15,091
Top 5 players in the all-time assists list:
- Stockton: 15,806
- Jason Kidd: 12,091
- Chris Paul: 10,840
- Steve Nash: 10,335
- Mark Jackson: 10,334
Top 5 players in the all-time scoring list:
- Abdul-Jabbar: 38,387 points
- Karl Malone: 36,928 points
- LeBron James: 36,500 points
- Bryant Bryant: 33,643 points
- Michael Jordan: 32,292 points
1. The history of the NBA
In June 1946, the owners of eleven ice hockey halls and gymnasiums in the United States gathered together, in order to improve the use value of the free period of the stadium, several people invested in a new sport to increase income, and basketball was unanimously approved because of the low requirements for the playing field, the small initial capital investment, and the huge market potential.
In this way, the 11-team Basketball League of America (BAA) was officially established, and after three seasons of trial operation, the league system and system have stabilized. In August 1949, the American Basketball League (BAA) merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) to form the National Basketball League (NBA), at which point the league's number of teams expanded to 17, and George McCann became the first superstar, helping the Lakers win 5 championships in the six seasons that followed.
After more than 20 years of development, the NBA has become increasingly mature in terms of talent training, draft system, and player protection, and has accumulated a large number of loyal fans, successfully making basketball one of the four major balls in the United States (football, ice hockey, baseball, basketball), although the influence, market value, and fan base are at the bottom, but it can also be regarded as having its own place in the American sports circle.
In 1976, in order to increase the league's influence, the NBA chose to annex the American Basketball Association (ABA), so that the total number of teams increased to 22, and in the 80s and 90s, seven more teams joined, counting the Charlotte Bobcats (now the Hornets) in 2004, the league's team expansion to the current 30 teams.