By Jay Anderson

Everyone has their vices. Some women (ie: my wife) obsess over expensive shoes. For some people it’s food. For me, it’s basketball, the NBA variety to be exact.

I’m a season ticket holder of a very bad team I’d rather not mention here, but it rhymes with Gizzards. I exemplify the term “fan.” I pay very good money to see a very bad team. My office and man cave at home are chock full of team bobbleheads and merchandise. I have dozens of games from last season on DVR that I watch when I’m bored. I persue team fan blogs with every free moment of my work day.

As the NBA’s lockout drags perilously close to the start date of training camp with no end in sight, I can’t help but think how miserable a sports winter this might be without The Association. Sure, there’s college ball and the NFL, and well, my wife and kids to keep me preoccupied. But it’s hard to imagine the upcoming 2011-12 season wiped out because a bunch of spoiled millionaires and a bunch of greedy billionaires can’t come to a simple labor agreement. Sometimes I wonder if the NBA and it’s players have considered the possibility that people like me don’t care about a few percentage points of a multi-billion dollar pie. We just want to see some hoops.

At the root of this entire debate is just how much of the league’s basketball related income (BRI) should be shared with the players. That number came in at around $3.817 billion last season, and players got around 57% of it in the form of salaries. The NBA contends that that percentage needs to be reduced a few points to keep expenses in line with revenue. The players, obviously disagree, thus the lockout.

Stepping back, I understand the plight of both sides. Players don’t want limits on the maximum length of salaries, a hard salary cap, or other league-proposed restrictions that will essentially limit the amount of that multi-billion dollar pie that the NBA must share with them. The league wants to bring player salaries back in line with earnings, asserting (via some very dubious math, might I add) that nearly 2/3 of the league’s teams are losing money annually.

By Gresham Harkless

The matchup between the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks in this year’s finals will not only be about two of this year’s best teams battling for an NBA Championship, but it will also be a battle between players with some of the highest salaries in the NBA. Though LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh turned down an opportunity for a maximum salary to join forces to win a championship, they, along with Dirk Nowitzki, are still the highest paid athletes in the NBA.

Salary information courtesy of HoopsHype.com.

Dirk Nowitzki

$17, 278, 618

Nowitzki has been playing out of his mind this post season and owner Mark Cuban is shelling out a hefty sum to keep his German sharpshooter happy.

by Steven Barboza

In professional sports, there are often financial incentives tied to winning. How much are they and how do they relate to figures like a team’s valuation, star salaries and revenue generation? The Lakers provide a good case study.

The Los Angeles Lakers, who won their 16th NBA championship, get to take home the Larry O’Brien trophy for the second time in as many postseasons. The team also gets to take home a little pocket change: $2,125,137 in playoff bonus money. In fact, even the losers of the NBA Finals are winners in a sense. The Boston Celtics get to split a $1,408,168 pool, or roughly two-thirds of the Lakers’ take.

In the NBA, there is no championship prize money – just a $12 million bonus pool split by the playoff teams. “Like most professional sports leagues, there is a pool of playoff money generated from a portion of home gate receipts that is allocated to players on playoff teams,” said Patrick Rishe, Director of Sportsimpacts and associate professor of economics at Webster University in St. Louis, MO. “The team amount earned escalates as one’s team advances in the NBA playoffs.”

Considering the relatively high salaries of professional athletes, and considering the fact that we just witnessed one of the best rivalries in sports, the NBA bonus pool isn’t an earthshaking amount.  But it’s hardly chump change either.

The Lakers’ $2.1 million bonus will be split according to each player’s relative value or contribution to the team, but every player comes out looking like a winner. The playoff pool is icing on the cake. The monies come with a year’s worth of bragging rights – and the potential to earn tens of millions of dollars in product endorsements.

“It’s kind of the old saying: ‘to the victor goes the spoils,’ and I think that does translate individually to players in helping them get individual sponsorship deals,” said John Black, director of communications for the L.A Lakers.

In addition to the Lakers’ and Celtics’ share, the $12 million NBA playoff pool is distributed to teams as follows:

Best Record in NBA:  $346,105

Best Record in Conference, $302,841each (for $605,682)

Second Best Record in Conference, $243,411 each ($486,822)

Third Best Record in Conference, $181,706 each ($363,412)

Fourth Best Record in Conference, $142,800 each ($285,600)

Fifth Best record in Conference, $118,990 each ($237,980)

Sixth Best Record in Conference, $81,157 each ($162,314)

Teams Participating in First Round, $179,092 each ($2,865,472)

Teams Participating in Conference Semifinals, $213,095 each ($1,704,760)

Teams Participating in Conference Finals, $352,137 each ($1,408,548)

The recent downturn in the economy seemed to have hit nearly every industry.  However, the lucrative endorsement deals and salaries of these NBA players show no signs of shortage.  In fact, the 2010 NBA playoffs is putting some of the NBA top earners on display. These African-American top earners not only show breathtaking prowess on the floor, but also boast fortunes that afford them a luxury lifestyle outside of the arena. As the NBA finals approach their end, predictions on who will be the reigning unit in the bi-coastal rivalry between the Boston Celtics and LA Lakers are pouring in. Stepping outside of the heated debate, The Atlanta Post observes the teams through an economic lens to present the top 5 earners, based on annual salary, in the 2010 NBA finals.

5. Andrew Bynum

Team: L.A Lakers

Age: 22

Salary: $12.5 million

A relative newcomer to the game, Bynum is a player to watch – he shows great promise and has undeniable potential, but is currently hampered by a lack of consistency. Bynum’s performance has been marked by both flashes of greatness and moments of failure, but it’s already clear the next few years may bring much improvement and shape him into an excellent player. As a new player, Bynum doesn’t have lucrative endorsement opportunities like the other greats on this list, but if his game continues to improve, he’ll certainly attract the attention of companies seeking to put a fresh face on their marketing campaign.