LeBron James
LeBron James is set to beat Stephen Curry as the highest paid NBA star with his current salary of $124.5million.
LeBron James is widely regarded as one of the best players in the game right now, as well as one of the greatest players to ever step on a basketball court. The King has enjoyed a career spanning across two decades where he has won many teams and individual accolades–four NBA Championships, four MVPs, and 15 All-Star selections – breaking plenty of records on the way.
While LeBron James became the first player in NBA history to rack up 10,000 points, assists, and rebounds only last season, he will approach the 20th NBA season of his career looking to break the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time points record. As it turns out, LeBron will maintain another record going into the upcoming season–the highest-paid player in the NBA.
The Los Angeles Lakers superstar will be the highest paid player in the NBA for the ninth season in a row, and, The King is nearly $30million ahead of everyone else on the list – according to the recent list released by Forbes on the highest paid players in the NBA for the upcoming season.
James will make about $44 million from the Los Angeles Lakers this season to wrap up his two-year, $85.6 million deal. He signed a two-year, $97 million extension that will keep him with the Lakers through the 2024-25 season. Forbes estimated James will make about $80 million off the court this year, bringing him to $124.5 million in total – far away from his competition.
The Forbes list also revealed James’ closest competitors.
While Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry is second on the list at $95.1 million, Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant is third on the list at $88 million. Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo follows them in fourth place at $86.5 million and Lakers veteran Russell Westbrook is fifth at $82.1 million.
Klay Thompson, Damian Lillard, James Harden, Paul George and Jimmy Butler close out the top 10, in that order – meaning LeBron is head and shoulders clear of everyone else on the list.