The LA Lakers’ win over the Indiana Pacers at the In-Season tournament Final means that each player will now receive the promised $500,000 cash prize. The varying range of the salaries in the team’s roster means that the amount represents a huge bonus for some, while others can live without it. For example, according to journalist Frank Michael Smith, for the 24-year-old D’Moi Hodge, the $500,000 payment represents a huge 89% bonus with respect to his overall salary.
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However, for the GOAT suspect that is LeBron James, the In-Season tournament win represents a very slight uptick with respect to the overall amount he will take home this year, as salary. The 38-year-old will earn a whopping $47,607,350 during the current season with the LA Lakers, according to Sportrac. That represents a puny 1% bonus to his overall take-home.
That is, of course, an insanely comfortable position to be in. However, for a range of other stars, winning the In-Season means much more, as far as the financials are concerned. Hodge is joined by Colin Castleton and Alex Fudge who are all on $560,000 contracts which means the incoming $500,000 is an 89% bonus.
5 Lakers are receiving a more than 25% bonus
LeBron James $47.6m 1%
Anthony Davis $40.6m 1%
D’Angelo Russell $17.3m 3%
Rui Hachimura $15.7m 3%
Austin Reaves $12.0m 4%
Gabe Vincent $10.5m 5%
Jarred… pic.twitter.com/MLn4f5bVwj
— Frank Michael Smith (@frankmikesmith) December 10, 2023
For Cam Reddish who earns a healthy $2.3 million, the half a million is a cool 23% bonus. The Lakers’ biggest stars in the form of Anthony Davis and LBJ both stand at 1%, while most of their other regulars are in the range of 5-20%, as the tweet suggests.
While the money might not mean much, winning the first-ever iteration of the NBA’s cup competition definitely will have some historical significance, even if only in due time. LeBron seemed determined throughout to take his team over the finish line and was aptly named the MVP of the competition.
Hence, while the trophy might not stand much when it comes to his overall salary, James was certainly as inspired to produce his best, as anyone.
Anthony Davis deserves praise for inspiring the Lakers in the Final
While LeBron was consistently the Lakers’ best player, that was not true when it came to the Final. Instead, under-fire star Anthony Davis produced an epic 40-20 performance, finishing with 41 points and 20 rebounds in the match.
The Lakers were thoroughly dominant inside the paint, scoring a whopping 87 points, with AD as the driving force throughout the night. LeBron was certainly needed to help the team see through some critical moments. However, the In-Season final proved to be a rare occasion when it was AD who took charge and demanded the ball on every possible occasion.
Set to make $40,600,080 as part of his contract this year, Davis also only got a 1% bonus by winning the In-Season. However, he was able to shut down naysayers on the way, and will not be looking to use the performance as inspiration for the rest of the season.
