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Lakers, Pistons and Celtics: The Championship-Caliber Contracts of 1985-1989

By N.B. Lindberg

LOS ANGELES, CA - May 1988: Kareem-Abdul Jabbar #33, head Coach Pat Riley, James Worthy #42, owner Jerry Buss and Mychal Thompson #43 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrate in the locker room after defeating the Detroit Pistons in the 1988 NBA Finals, at The Forum, Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - May 1988: Kareem-Abdul Jabbar #33, head Coach Pat Riley, James Worthy #42, owner Jerry Buss and Mychal Thompson #43 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrate in the locker room after defeating the Detroit Pistons in the 1988 NBA Finals, at The Forum, Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by: Rick Stewart/Getty Images)
(Photo by: Rick Stewart/Getty Images) /

1988 NBA Champion: Los Angeles Lakers
League Salary Cap: $6,164,000
Championship-Caliber Contract: Byron Scott & AC Green

The Lakers finally won back to back championships and became the first team since the Bill Russell-era Celtics to win consecutive championships. Magic Johnson and James Worthy were undisputedly the team’s two best players and were compensated accordingly. The Lakers won a tough seven-game series over the Detriot Pistons in the finals and NBA history might have been very different if it wasn’t for the valiant contributions from Byron Scott and AC Green.

Scott was on a $600,000 salary, 9.7 percent of the salary cap, and Green was paid a minuscule $218,750, 3.5 percent of the cap. These two combined still made less than half of the $2 million Kareem Abdul-Jabbar earned. Scott was an incredibly productive player and provided the Lakers with 13 Win Shares, good for $1.9 million in value, and Green produced 9.7 Win Shares for $1.4 million in value.

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The duo’s production was equivalent to 30.8 percent of the cap for Scott and 22.7 percent of the cap for Green. The Lakers received $2.48 million in surplus value from the duo, which was just $20,000 short of Magic Johnson’s $2.5 million contract. Laker fans will no doubt remember James Worthy’s Finals MVP performance and Magic Johnson’s continued brilliance in the 1988 finals, but it is Byron Scott and AC Green who helped the Lakers overcome the upstart Pistons.

While the Lakers made the finals the next season, one of the untold reasons they weren’t able to threepeat was that Byron Scott saw his salary increase from $600,000 to $1 million. Scott was worth the money but the Lakers lost a Championship-caliber contract and a championship in the process.