The Los Angeles Lakers have made a sizable long-term commitment to NBA All-Pro forward Anthony Davis.
The two sides agreed to a three-year, $186 million maximum contract extension, ESPN’s NBA insider Adrian Wonjarowski reported in breaking the story.
“BREAKING: Lakers star Anthony Davis has agreed on a three-year $186M max extension, tying him to franchise thru 2028 for total of $270M-plus,” Wojnarowski tweeted.
“KlutchSports CEO Rich Paul tells ESPN. Davis lands richest annual extension in NBA history at $62M.”
Davis had two years and $84 million left on his contract. The Lakers, however, wasted no time in signing him to the major extension when he became eligible for a new deal on Friday.
The Lakers originally landed Davis in 2019 in a blockbuster deal with the New Orleans Pelicans. As Wojnarowski noted, Davis averaged 26 points, 12.5 rebounds and two blocks a game for the Lakers—while shooting a career-high 56 percent from the field—during last year’s campaign that ended in the Western Conference Finals.
Davis is a four-time All-NBA first-teamer and has averaged 25 points and two blocks in a season five teams, trailing only Shaquille O’Neal and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, according to ESPN Stats and Information.
The NBA world was quick to react to the Lakers making a massive commitment to making Davis a cornerstone of their team for years to come:
$62 million per year is absolutely absurd https://t.co/xcIbLF5q7g
— Shehan Jeyarajah (@ShehanJeyarajah) August 4, 2023
[ESPN]