Lakers News: LeBron James Close To Eclipsing Kobe Bryant In This Insane LA Stat
When it comes to the NBA right versus the NBA ten years ago, there are some very clear differences. The pace of the overall game is much faster as majority of teams look to get out on the break and attempt more three-pointers than ever. New sponsorships, television deals and ticket sales have also boosted the value of a number of franchises and resulted in higher payrolls for their superstar players.
Every couple of years, the NBA Player's Association meets with league officials to review Collective Bargaining Agreement terms to see if everything is working in the favor of both parties. We have seen more long-term contracts, higher salary totals and more player empowerment as a result.
Take the Los Angeles Lakers for example. They are one of the most cherished and successful franchises in all of sports and they handed out multi-year extensions to Anthony Davis, Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves and Jarred Vanderbilt just to name a couple this offseason.
However, it has been LeBron James who has been able to cash in on his services greatly during his time in LA as he enters the 2023-2024 season set to make $47 million.
Shubham Singh of Essentially Sports broke down how LeBron James has already accumulated over half of Kobe Bryant's total career earnings with the Lakers despite 15 fewer seasons with the team.
"LeBron James is going to enter the second year of his $99 million deal and is set to be paid more than $50 million during the upcoming 2023-24 season. Before this, he signed a two-year $85 million deal, which was an extension. Apart from that, his first contract with the Lakers was a four-year $153 million one. Overall, James’ earnings have hit around $197 million at the end of his fifth season with the Lakers. If we compare Bryant’s 20 season’s $323,312,307 and James’ five-season $197,966,106 with the Lakers, LBJ has already covered 60% of Bryant’s earnings."
(Via Essentially Sports)
Two very different eras of basketball!
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