Anthony Davis and the Lakers Ink the Highest Annual Extension in NBA History

Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers have signed the biggest annual contract extension in the history of the NBA. The two sides agreed to a maximum three-year $186 million deal last night, which averages $62 million per season. Previously, Davis had two more years to do in LA, during which he would earn $84 million.

This means that the Lakers and the prolific big man extended their cooperation until 2028. The purple and gold plan on keeping Davis beyond LeBron’s potential departure signals he will remain the key piece in the team puzzle for a long time.

Even though many put James at the center of attention, the pundits agree that the Lakers wouldn’t win the title in the bubble if it weren’t for Davis. Also, throughout his tenure in LA, Davis proved to be more impactful to the game than LeBron, with the team posting better results when only he plays, than with LBJ in the same situation.

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, @KlutchSports CEO Rich Paul tells ESPN. Davis lands richest annual extension in NBA history at $62M. pic.twitter.com/bf9kWgD7uz

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 4, 2023

In the 2022/23 campaign, Davis posted 25.9 points, 12.6 boards with two blocks, 1.1 steals and 56.3% FG. He was again one of the most dominant players in the league, but the injury forced him to miss 26 games. In 10 seasons in the league, he averaged 24 buckets, 10.4 boards with 2.3 blocks.

Apart from winning the championship, Davis is an 8-time All-Star, he was the 2017 All-Star Game MVP and was selected to the All-NBA teams on four occasions, plus four more times to the NBA All-Defensive Teams. Before the NBA, Davis had a stellar NCAA career, winning the 2012 championship with Kentucky and becoming the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.

Later on, the New Orleans Hornets picked him as the top pick at the 2012 NBA Draft. He quickly developed into one of the best players in the league, but the Hornets couldn’t do anything notable, apart from two playoff appearances. That’s why he requested a trade in 2019. At the time, it was a highly controversial case because LeBron publicly recruited AD, which caused many to accuse the Lakers of tampering.

Since joining the Lakers, Anthony Davis was labeled as:

• glass
• fragile
• brittle
• always in 'street clothes'

Despite the scrutiny, AD managed to play more games (since 2019-20) than other NBA superstars like the Clippers duo of Kawhi ang PG, Steph Curry, Irving, and KD… pic.twitter.com/9uByLmRdtp

— BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) August 5, 2023

As for the franchise from LA, they currently have a formed team, with LeBron and AD being the cornerstones, while on the other end, adding guys like Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, and others to the roster.

LAL barely made it to the playoffs during the previous campaign, but after that, it managed to reach the conference finals, where the future champions, Denver Nuggets, rolled over them, sweeping the purple and gold 4-0. On their way to the West finals, the Lakers were better than the Minnesota Timberwolves in the play-in, then the Memphis Grizzlies and the Golden State Warriors.

This unit showed the potential for the highest goals, which is why the bookies put him at the top of the favorites list for winning the Larry O’Brien trophy. The way the Lakers played in the playoffs definitely showed that with slight adjustments and a few more players, we can see them in the big finals, even though the competition in the West is fierce. That’s why we can expect to see a few more additions to the Lakers’ roster until the end of the free agency.