Anthony Davis, Lakers Agree to 3-Year, $186M Max Contract; Richest AAV in NBA History
Anthony Davis isn't leaving the Los Angeles Lakers anytime soon.
The star big man reportedly signed a three-year, $186 million extension with the team on Friday, Klutch Sports agent Rich Paul told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
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Davis, 30, was already under contract for the 2023-24 season for $40.6 million, and he had a $43.2 million early termination option for the 2024-25 campaign. His new deal will now start in 2025-26, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks.
The Lakers came into the offseason with some serious uncertainty about the future after LeBron James indicated he might consider retirement following the Denver Nuggets' sweep of L.A. in the Western Conference Finals.
That called into question whether Davis would commit to the Lakers long term if James was no longer a part of the equation. That question has been answered given Friday's news.
However, it's still unclear whether the Lakers would have championship upside with Davis as their best player. Former NBA player and current ESPN analyst JJ Redick doesn't believe AD has the "alpha" quality that most top-tier superstars possess:
That very well may be true—his two playoff appearances in seven seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans supports that theory—but the Lakers would be far worse without him.
Davis was always going to get paid. Eight-time All-Stars, four-time first-team All-NBA selections and two-time first-team All-Defensive selections tend to get the extensions they want.
Add in his 25.9 points, 12.5 rebound and 2.0 blocks per game last season, and Davis continues to be one of the league's most dominant big men when healthy.
There are concerns about his ability to take over big games as the top dog, his perimeter shooting (25.7 percent from three last season) and how his body will hold up in his 30s given his history of injury issues.
But this extension was still a no-brainer for the Lakers. Locking him down through the 2027-28 season should keep the Lakers competitive for the foreseeable future.
