10 most valuable contracts in the NBA
By Bryce Olin
2. LeBron James (2 years, $42.1 Million)
Surprised the King isn’t THE most valuable contract in the NBA? I don’t think you will be when you see who it is.
If LeBron James’ contract with Cleveland was for two-years, $100 million, James would still hold the second spot. There’s no way anyone can talk me out of it. James is the best player in the world right now. In the last three seasons, only Durant has come close to him, but it’s not really even that close. James has become an efficiency machine.
Last season, James finished behind Durant for the highest PER in the league. James’ PER was 29.40, and Durant’s was 29.90. Durant beat James fair and square, no doubt about it. However, James took a lot plays off last season, more than he did any other season in Miami. James was obviously fatigued from playing in three straight NBA Finals and an Olympics in three years. Plus, there was nothing really to play for in the East. Miami and James knew they were better than Indiana. There was no reason to exhaust himself night after night when it didn’t matter until June anyway.
| Season | MP | FG% | 3P% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 ★ | 37.7 | .567 | .379 | .750 | 6.9 | 6.3 | 1.6 | 27.1 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/22/2014.
James’ stats from last season are freaky. He shot 57 percent from the field and he also took 16.8 shot attempts per game. On one hand, those are great numbers. On the other, imagine if James shot more. Say, for instance, he took five shots more per game? Of course, his percentages would go down, but he’s got to make one, maybe two, of those shots, which would bring his PPG above 30. That’s crazy.
James is the best player in the world, and there’s basically no amount of money a team could pay him per year that would make me move him from the two-spot, unless it was less money, of course.