The Los Angeles Lakers will continue to rely on Anthony Davis in the future – the contract with the power forward was extended early and makes him filthy rich.
Davis has been playing for the Lakers since 2019 and originally had a contract valid until 2025. That has now been extended early by another three years until 2028. For the period between 2025 and 2028, the 30-year-old will receive the huge sum of 186 million US dollars.
In terms of annual salary, it is the most expensive contract extension in NBA history. Davis will then – as of now – become the highest-paid player in the league, as he will earn 62 million dollars per year. Currently, the eight-time All-Star earns “only” 42 million per year.
Davis has developed into a real leading figure alongside LeBron James at the record champions, and also played a major role in helping the Lakers to become champions in the Corona season in 2019/20. Nevertheless, “AD” is anything but uncontroversial, mainly because of his injury-proneness: in the past three seasons, he missed a whopping 104 of 236 games in the regular season. For general manager Rob Pelinka, this is no reason not to give the player his new contract. “I couldn’t think better of him, he’s an unbelievable leader. “
Davis and James: a winning duo in L.A.
In fact, Davis is one of the Lakers’ mainstays alongside James. Last season, he shined in the main round with a double-double average. 12.5 rebounds and 25.9 points are respectable, a 56.3 percent rate from the field even more – career bests.
The 30-year-old is certainly strong offensively, but defensively he is a stunner: Last season, he became only the third player after Shaquille O’Neal and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to break the 50-block mark for the Lakers in the postseason. L.A. failed in the Conference Finals against the eventual champion Denver Nuggets.
But one question remains: How long will the Davis/James duo be around in the City of Angels? James will turn 39 in December and only has a fixed contract for the 2023/24 season and a player option for the following season.
