Despite playing 15 fewer NBA seasons in Los Angeles, LeBron James already earns 60% of what Kobe Bryant earns with the Lakers

Giving a Lakers jersey is a dream for many basketball players. So why not? This incredible team has 17 titles, most of them tied with the Celtics. It has given birth to Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain and other glorious legends of the old era. Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant have graced the Lakers’ home court since the 1980s. Bryant played for the team the most times in their 20 seasons together, which is incredible.

So it’s only natural that LeBron James would want to be a part of this legendary team. Let’s take a look at the salary of Kobe Bryant, a lifelong Laker, and James, a Laker for five seasons.

The background behind Kobe Bryant’s contract with Lakers

In today’s NBA, it is common for superstars to receive contracts worth $60 million per year. Jaylen Brown signed a five-year, $304 million contract and Anthony Davis a three-year, $186 million contract. In comparison, Kobe’s highest annual salary was a three-year contract of $83,547,447 signed after 2010. The deal is still below the $30 million per year mark. But those numbers still make him the highest-paid athlete.

But even until his final season, he was still the highest-paid player. Therefore, it is valuations that have skyrocketed in the post-Kobe era. A player like him could easily get a bigger contract than Jaylen Brown.

Therefore, when comparing the contract values ​​of KB24 and LBJ, it is important to note the difference in valuations. The comparison becomes more complicated if we also take inflation into account. When Kobe came in in the late 90s, the contracts were many times cheaper with the exception of MJ. If we take into account his overall performance, including his seven-year, $136 million contract, the player earns approximately $323 million.

Now, let’s take a look at James’ contract as a Lakers athlete.

LeBron James is enjoying the fruits of the current market

LeBron James will enter year 2 of his $99M contract and will get paid That will exceed $50 million during the upcoming 2023-24 season.

Before that, I signed a two-year contract worth $85 million, which was considered a contract extension. In addition, his first contract with the Lakers was a four-year, $153 million contract. Overall, by the end of his fifth season with the Lakers, James had earned around $197 million. If we compare Kobe’s $323,312,307 in 20 seasons with the Lakers to James’ $197,966,106 in 5 seasons with the Lakers, LBJ has accounted for 60% of Kobe’s income.

At the current rate, it appears that if James has two seasons left after next season, his contract number will exceed that of Kobe Bryant’s Lakers contract. Will he achieve that goal in the next free agency?

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