Loyalty has a price, and Damian Lillard's with the Portland Trail Blazers, a franchise that hasn't been able to be important in the playoffs for years, is already legendary. As will his salary, because the shooting guard extended his contract for two more years this morning, until 2027, for which he will earn a whopping 122 million dollars (58.5 the first and 63.3 the second) .
Right now nobody charges those amounts in the NBA. It serves as a reference that the NBA player who will earn the most in the 2022-2023 academic year will be Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors) with 48.07 million. Right now nobody charges those amounts in the NBA. It serves as a reference that the NBA player who will earn the most in the 2022-2023 academic year will be Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors) with 48.07 million. This figure is already the largest in the history of the NBA. The previous mark, from this same season and Curry himself, was 45.78 million.
The Warriors point guard has led the highest-paid player category for the last five years. Something that LeBron James (Cleveland), Kobe Bryant (LA Lakers), Kevin Garnett (Minnesotta and Boston), Shaquille O'Neal (Miami), Patrick Ewing (New York) or Michael Jordan (Chicago) did in their time, who in 1997 set a record of 33.14 million that Curry surpassed in 2017, 20 years later.
Right now, Lillard has $42.49 million (sixth-highest paid in the league, tied with Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, both of the Los Angeles Clippers).
In any case, the extension of Lillard's contract consolidates him as one of the most sought-after stars in the NBA and also as the backbone of these Blazers, who chose him in the 2012 draft and with whom he has been playing for ten years.
A six-time All-Star and member of the official list of the 75 best players in NBA history, which was unveiled last season on the league's 75th anniversary, Lillard underwent surgery in January due to an injury to his abs and did not play the rest of the season with a Blazers out of contention for the playoffs. With all this, Lillard only played 29 games last season in which he managed an average of 24 points, 4.1 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game.
