Unbalanced - Brian

Isn't a salary cap supposed to allow every team to compete in their respective sport?

Obviously we see what happens in baseball without a salary cap - the Yankees, and their incredible payroll, have won by far the most championships in baseball.

In football it has worked pretty well. The most a team has is 6 championships out of 44 Superbowls, and they were separated by quite a long span of time. There are even a few with 5 and some with 4. Pretty even if you ask me.

But for some reason, the NBA is different. 33 of the 64 NBA champions have been either the Lakers or the Celtics, and this year will be no different. How is it that this can happen, even though the NBA's salary cap is supposed to prevent this.

Some would argue that the bigger market teams can go over the cap since they can afford to pay luxury taxes, but the Celtics are 14th in revenue, behind teams such as Raptors, the Kings, and the Knicks. Those teams certainly don't succeed to the same degree as the Celtics.

I guess we can just put alot on luck and some on the management of both teams. The teams have obviously made smart decisions, but luck has come into play with how some of their players have developed. When Kobe came out of high school, he wasn't considered the next MJ. He was drafted 13th, and immediately traded to the Lakers. Did the Lakers really know he would turn into one of the best players ever and carry them to 4 titles? If they did, then apparently 13 others teams missed the memo. And with the Celtics, without Rajon Rondo, they would not have beaten the Cavs and come this far. Rondo was drafted 21st and, like Kobe, was traded immediately. No one thought he had the potential to contend for the best point guard in the league, and yet he can make a strong argument.

So it has to do a little with luck, but there must be something else at play for them to be as successful as they have been. I guess we will never know, but I do know that I will live happily ever after if I never see a Lakers-Celtics finals again.