"It [the salary cap] is essential to long-term success and viability of a professional sports league." This quotation of the popular and powerful NBA commissioner for over 25 years David Stern, is the impetus for the main problem analyzed in this thesis - the effectiveness and efficiency of the salary cap system in the NBA. Is the statement of David Stern supported by economic analysis? For an economic evaluation the following core questions are the main points of analysis:- Why was the salary cap system introduced? Does the labor market for basketball players not work properly without the cap? - What are the elements of the salary cap system and how do they work? What are the objectives of the single instruments? - How can the single elements of the salary cap be described with economic theory? How can market efficiency be assessed given the impact of the several regulative elements? - Which further problems and perspectives result from the current system?