Lakers News: Anthony Davis signs richest annual contract extension in NBA history

Former Kentucky star, 2012 national champion and national player of the year Anthony Davis has signed the richest annual contract extension in NBA history.

According to ESPN NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski, Davis signed a 3-year, $186 million maximum extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul told ESPN on Friday, the first day he was eligible to re-sign.

Davis had two years and $84 million left on his original contract. The new deal–which averages $62 million per year–is the richest annual contract extension in NBA history.

It’s the third max contract Davis has signed in his NBA career. Previously, Davis signed a 5-year, $145 million extension with the New Orleans Pelicans in 2015 and a 5-year, $190 million extension with the Lakers in 2020. His career earnings currently top $226 million.

It’s the 15th max contract or extension signed by a Kentucky player in the John Calipari era. DeMarcus Cousins, Enes Kanter, John Wall (twice), Devin Booker (twice), Karl-Anthony Towns (twice), Jamal Murray, De’Aaron Fox, Bam Adebayo and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have also signed max deals.

In his 11th NBA season, Davis averaged 25.9 points, a career-best 12.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.0 blocks, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting a career-high 56.3% from the floor in helping lead the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals. During the Lakers’ 2023 playoff run, Davis joined Shaquille O’Neal and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the third player in franchise history to record 50 blocks in a single postseason.

An 8-time NBA All-Star and 4-time First Team All-NBA selection, Davis became the first Calipari-coached Kentucky player to win an NBA championship in 2022 and was also named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.

Over the course of his 11-year NBA career, the former No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick has averaged 24.0 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.3 steals per game for the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans.

As a college freshman in 2011-12, Davis enjoyed not only one of the most decorated seasons in the one and done era, but in college basketball history. Davis became Kentucky’s first Naismith and Wooden Award winners for National Player of the Year to go along with Final Four Most Outstanding Player, National Freshman of the Year, National Defensive Player of the Year, SEC Player of the Year, SEC Defensive Player of the Year, and SEC Freshman of the Year in leading the Wildcats to the 2012 national championship.

Davis averaged 14.2 points and 10.4 rebounds while shooting 62.3 percent and leading the nation in blocked shots with 4.7 per game in leading the Wildcats to a 38-2 record, which tied the NCAA single-season mark before going on to become the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. He also won a gold medal with the United States at the 2012 Olympics in London.

Last summer, Davis donated $350,000 to flood relief in eastern Kentucky.