Anthony Davis set to sign max contract extension with Los Angeles Lakers

LeBron James re-upped his commitment to the Lakers by adding a two-year deal to his contract Wednesday afternoon.

That was enough for Anthony Davis, who is set to sign a five-year, $190 million deal to stay on with LA for the next half a decade, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported. Let’s just say it’s a good day for the Lakers.

“The deal includes an early-termination option prior to the fifth year of the deal in 2024-25, Paul said,” according to Woj.

They’re going to be top-tier Finals contenders for at least the next three seasons behind their superstar duo, the same duo that won the unprecedented 2020 NBA Finals that were held in October, not June.

Davis joined the Lakers last season, a year after James had signed with the storied franchise.

The Lakers, with just James, missed the playoffs, but after trading several young talents and multiple first-round picks to New Orleans, they got James’ third superstar running mate. You could argue Davis is his best yet as well.

In his first season with the Lakers, Davis was his typical dominant self. He averaged 26.1 points per game, silencing all those that doubted he could put up superstar numbers on a LeBron James-led team.

That said, Davis stepped up his game even further in the postseason, averaging 27.7 points per game. What makes Davis even more elite is that he put up those numbers while shooting over 57 percent from the field.

Cheated out of Defensive Player of the Year, Davis is arguably the best two-way player in the NBA. He’s easily deserving of a max-level contract, and with a history of dominant big men, the Lakers franchise should be overly happy to have him around for a while.

Here’s how Bobby Marks reported Davis’ contract will break down.

“According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, Davis would make $32,742,000 this season, $35,361,360 in 2021-22, $37,980,720 in 2022-23, $40,600,080 in 2023-24 and $43,219,440 in the fifth year of the deal.”

Seven-time All-Star and four-time All-Defense team member, Davis was the No. 1 overall pick out of Kentucky in the 2012 NBA Draft.