NBA Today: 3 players that will surprisingly earn more than LeBron James during the 2019-20 NBA season
Despite his advancing years, LeBron James is still widely regarded as the best player in the NBA. The superstar signed a four-year, $154 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers last summer, and the four-time MVP will lead LA's charge for a title over the next three seasons.
LeBron has historically been among the NBA's highest earners, and the 34-year-old will earn $37.4 million throughout the 2019-20 season. However, six NBA players will receive a larger paycheck than James over the next 12 months.
While names like Steph Curry understandably top LeBron's annual salary, here we will look at three players who surprisingly earn more than the four-time MVP.
#3 Kevin Durant - Brooklyn Nets - $38,199,000
Kevin Durant ruptured his right Achilles tendon during Game 5 of the NBA Finals, and the 2014 MVP was subsequently ruled out for the entire 19-20 season. However, his status as one of the NBA's biggest stars meant that teams were not put off in free-agency, and Durant headed to the Brooklyn Nets on a four year, $165 million contract.
Upon signing for the Nets, much was made of KD's decision to take less than the max so that he could bring DeAndre Jordan to Brooklyn with him, although the 30-year-old will still earn almost $1 million more than James during the 19-20 season.
Some will ask how this is possible, and the answer is that Durant signed his four-year contract with the Warriors before being shipped to Brooklyn in the sign-and-trade that sent D'Angelo Russell to Golden State.
This allowed Durant to command a higher salary than he could have accepted from the Nets, and the All-Star is set to earn $38.1 million for sitting on the sidelines this season.