LeBron Says Players Can Earn $200M Contract in NBA if They Can Defend, Shoot Corner 3

LeBron James feels players who can fit into the 3-and-D mold at the NBA level can make quite a lucrative living for themselves.

"If you come in as a guy whose offensive game is not developed, come in and you defend, you get extra possessions, you get extra rebounds for the guys," he said on his Mind the Game podcast while interviewing Luka Dončić (25:46 mark). "And then the next year you work on your game in the offseason. There's only one or two, three guys maximum, who will be handling the f--king ball anyways. We don't need you to have a bag. ... You can make $200 million in the NBA if you defend and shoot a corner three-pointer."

James noted that the Los Angeles Lakers were one of the rare teams who had three ball-handlers in himself, Dončić and Austin Reaves. But most teams need a variety of role players supporting the stars, and in the modern NBA, long and athletic wings who defend at a high level and can stretch the floor as shooters are nearly as valuable as the stars themselves.

Everybody wants to be a James or a Dončić. But to LeBron's point, OG Anunoby is currently playing on a five-year, $212.5 million contract with the New York Knicks.