The Los Angeles Lakers have had a relatively quiet offseason, largely due to their significant financial commitments to existing players. With the new CBA making roster building more challenging, the importance of contracts in the NBA has increased.
Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report highlighted Anthony Davis’s three-year, $175.4 million extension as a contract that might “age the worst” in the league.
“Anthony Davis agreed to a three-year, $175.4 million contract extension last year that will begin in the 2025-26 season. Consequently, his salary will escalate from $43.2 million in 2024-25 to $62.8 million by 2027-28, assuming Davis picks up his player option,” Swartz wrote on July 16. “Considering his age and injury history, this is concerning. While Davis remains one of the top players in the NBA, having played 76 games last season, he has averaged only 52 healthy appearances over the past four years. This contract places Davis in the same financial bracket as Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo, who have each won multiple MVP awards and led their teams to championships. Both are also two years younger than Davis, who is likely to be a No. 2 option on a championship team moving forward.”
**Davis Is Worth the Investment**
Despite his injury history, Davis has proven himself as one of the NBA’s best when healthy. He earned first-team All-Defense and second-team All-NBA honors in the 2023-24 season. His performance was crucial in the Lakers’ 2019-2020 championship win, where he averaged 26.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks.
After the Lakers traded significant assets to acquire him from the New Orleans Pelicans, re-signing Davis was a logical move. If Davis can replicate last year’s performance, playing in 76 games, and stay healthy for 60+ games and the playoffs, his contract will be justified.
**Potential Future Challenges**
A concern for the Lakers is how Davis’s contract will impact the team as he ages. By the time he is 34, his salary will consume nearly 35% of the team’s cap space. Meanwhile, LeBron James, turning 40 in the 2024-25 season, will occupy 34.6% of the cap space.
Davis will account for 30.7% of the cap space next season, and while this complicates roster building, it’s a reality in the NBA’s current era. Teams must pay their stars to remain competitive, even if it means facing financial constraints.
The Lakers’ alternative would have been losing Davis and needing to find a similarly valued player to partner with James, a role Davis has already proven he can fulfill.
