$8.58-Million Laker Payroll Tops NBA

The champion Lakers have the most expensive payroll in the National Basketball Assn., paying out nearly $2 million a year more than any other team, according to a league survey obtained by the Houston Chronicle.

The Lakers, who have two of the league’s three best-paid players--Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar--have a payroll of $8.58 million, the newspaper said. Johnson makes $2.5 million a year, while Abdul-Jabbar earns $2.03 million.

Second on the list are the Philadelphia 76ers (whose Moses Malone is the second-highest-paid at $2.14 million) at $6.86 million. Third is New York at $6.65 million, followed by Boston, $6.11 million; New Jersey, $5.79 million; Seattle, $5.24 million; Detroit, $4.63 million; Chicago, $4.42 million; the Clippers, $4.29 million, and Houston, $4.26 million.

The rest of the list: Golden State, $4.26 million; Washington, $4.23 million; Phoenix, $4.19 million; Sacramento, $4.18 million; San Antonio, $4.07 million; Portland, $3.98 million; Dallas, $3.93 million; Indiana, $3.78 million; Cleveland, $3.62 million; Atlanta, $3.62 million; Denver, $3.42 million; Milwaukee, $3.35 million; Utah, $2.92 million.

Boston’s Larry Bird, at $1.8 million, ranks fourth in the league, followed by Seattle’s Jack Sikma at $1.6 million, Philadelphia’s Julius Erving at $1.49 million, New York rookie Patrick Ewing at $1.25 million, Houston’s Ralph Sampson at $1.17 million, the Lakers’ Mitch Kupchak at $1.15 million, New Jersey’s Otis Birdsong at $1.1 million, the Clippers’ Marques Johnson at $1.1 million and Boston’s Kevin McHale at $1 million.