Success in the NBA, much like everything else in the world, comes with a price. For the Los Angeles Lakers and their NBA record 17 championships, that price has been paying some of the most elite talent in the history of the NBA an astronomical amount of money. From the hundreds of millions of dollars they gladly shelled out for the franchise’s greatest players to the tens of millions they have given for players to simply fill a role, the Lakers have never been a franchise to be stingy with their checkbooks.
- 1. Kobe Bryant – $328,237,108
- 2. LeBron James – $245,573,456
- 3. Anthony Davis – $173,777,179
- 4. Shaquille O’Neal – $144,749,716
- 5. Pau Gasol – $120,116,000
- 6. Lamar Odom – $77,459,717
- 7. Russell Westbrook – $75,262,848
- 8. Luol Deng – $64,544,067
- 9. Andrew Bynum – $49,987,258
- 10. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – $49,958,196
Let’s take a look at the highest-paid players in the history of the Los Angeles Lakers and break down what it took for the team to find the success it has over the years.
1. Kobe Bryant – $328,237,108
Earnings Per Game: $209,602
Lakers Stats: 25.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 4.7 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.5 BPG
It is only right that the greatest player in the history of the Lakers franchise also tops the list as their highest-paid player. Over the course of 20 seasons, Kobe Bryant made just under $330 million in earnings which comes out to slightly over $200 thousand per game. For the first four seasons of his career, Bryant was making under $10 million per season but once he won his first NBA championship, the checkbook began to open up.
From 2001-2008, Bryant made between $10 million and $20 million per season. During that time, the Lakers would win three NBA championships with five Finals appearances and Bryant took the NBA and the world by storm. In 2009 and 2010, Bryant would make just over $21 million and $23 million respectively as he brought back-to-back championships and Finals MVP awards to Los Angeles.
From 2011 through his final season in 2016, Bryant made upwards of $23 million per season. This included a career-high $30,45 million in 2013-14, Overall, Bryant accumulated nearly $330 million in his NBA career making him far and away the highest-paid Lakers player in team history.
2. LeBron James – $245,573,456
Earnings Per Game: $792,172
Lakers Stats: 27.1 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 7.9 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.7 BPG
In just six seasons of service to the franchise, LeBron James has skyrocketed toward the top of the list of highest-paid players in franchise history. When we include his 2023-24 salary, James is just $83 million shy of matching Bryant atop the list.
Since arriving with the Lakers in 2018-19, James has made a minimum of $35.6 million per season with his annual salary ballooning to $47.6 million in 2023-24. The pay has been worth it in the eyes of many Lakers fans and supporters with an NBA championship coming in 2020 and a Western Conference Finals appearance in 2023.
James is currently signed through the 2023-24 season with a player option worth $51.4 million in play for 2024-25. This means it would take just two more seasons in total at this rate for James to surpass Bryant as the Lakers’ all-time leader in player salary. This is an amazing statistic considering James has been tenured by the Lakers for less than half the time Bryant was in their careers.
3. Anthony Davis – $173,777,179
Earnings Per Game: $765,538
Lakers Stats: 24.7 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.3 SPG, 2.2 BPG
From the moment Anthony Davis arrived in Los Angeles via trade just before the 2019-20 season, the hype surrounding a duo with him and LeBron James has been incredible. In their first season together, the wealthy duo would lead the Lakers to their first NBA championship in a decade, defeating the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals in the Bubble.
With the Lakers, Davis has made over $27 million every season since his arrival and over $32.7 million since 2020-21. The one gripe that most fans have had with Davis is his inability to stay healthy despite making such an incredible amount of money in doing so. While Davis’ health has improved over the last two seasons, the Lakers are still searching for their first NBA title since 2020 with Davis’ salary making up a huge chunk of their payroll.
This past summer, Davis signed a three-year, $186 million contract extension that will keep him under team control through the 2027-28 season. In 2023-24, he is making $40.6 million. That annual salary is expected to increase steadily to $70.2 million by the final year of his deal in 2027-28.
4. Shaquille O’Neal – $144,749,716
Earnings Per Game: $227,593
Lakers Stats: 27.0 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 3.1 APG, 0.6 SPG, 2.5 BPG
Shaquille O’Neal’s eight-year tenure with the Lakers from 1997 through 2004 is one of the most dominant stretches by a player in NBA history. In those eight seasons, O’Neal would help the Lakers win three NBA championships from 2000-2002 with three Finals MVP awards and an MVP award in 2000.
During this time, O’Neal was also one of the highest-paid players in the game, and rightfully so considering how he dominated the competition at his position handily every time he stepped on the court. From 1997 through 1999, O’Neal was making between $10 million and $15 million annually with the franchise but with his impending domination came an increase in his salary.
During the Lakers’ three-peat as NBA champions from 200-2002, O’Neal made between $17.1 and $21.4 million annually. In 2003, when his contract was up, O’Neal signed an extension worth $88.5 million over the next three seasons. Of course, O’Neal never played the entirety of that contract due to internal rifts with teammate Kobe Bryant and management as he was traded to Miami following the 2003-04 season.
5. Pau Gasol – $120,116,000
Earnings Per Game: $230,107
Lakers Stats: 17.7 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 3.5 APG, 0.6 SPG, 1.4 BPG
When Pau Gasol arrived with the Lakers via trade during the 2007-08 season, it was seen as a lifeline for Kobe Bryant and the Lakers who were struggling in the seasons following Shaq’s departure. What followed was three straight trips to the NBA Finals from 2008-2010 and back-to-back NBA championships in 2009 and 2010.
During this time, Gasol would be rewarded handsomely with an annual salary that ranged from $13.7 million to $19.3 million in those seven seasons. Gasol’s salary reached an all-time high in his career in 2013-14 when he earned $19,285,850 for the season. Gasol is not only considered one of the greatest players in Lakers history but is one of the greatest international players in NBA history as well.
6. Lamar Odom – $77,459,717
Earnings Per Game: $127,400
Lakers Stats: 13.7 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 3.7 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.9 BPG
In the deal that sent Shaquille O’Neal, the Lakers’ biggest asset they received in return was veteran wing Lamar Odom. In seven full seasons with the team, Odom would help them win two NBA championships in 2009 and 2010 while earning $77.5 million in the process.
In his first season with the Lakers in 2004-05, Odom was earning just $10.55 million in annual salary. His salary would reach a high of $14.2 million in 2008-09, the year that the Lakers would win an NBA title over the Orlando Magic. Odom would take a pay cut in his final two seasons with the team, earning $7.5 million in another championship season in 2010 and $8.2 million in 2011.
7. Russell Westbrook – $75,262,848
Earnings Per Game: $578,944
Lakers Stats: 17.4 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 7.2 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.3 BPG
Most Lakers fans would like to forget the experiment that brought Russell Westbrook to the team for the 2022 season and part of the 2023 season. During this time, Westbrook’s contract did not match the results on the court as the team struggled, missing the playoffs in 2022 and lasting just 52 games into the 2023 season.
In the 2021-22 season, Westbrook earned $44.2 million with the Lakers but was moved to the sixth-man role before the season’s end as the team went 33-49 and missed the playoffs entirely. He would also earn over $29 million with the team in 2022-23 before being dealt to and then bought out by the Utah Jazz.
8. Luol Deng – $64,544,067
Earnings Per Game: $1,132,352
Lakers Stats: 7.5 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.4 BPG
The Los Angeles Lakers’ signing of Luol Deng in 2016 as a free agent is among the team’s biggest mistakes of the last 25 years. Deng’s contract ranks among the worst in NBA history as he signed for four years and $72 million, a contract that would not see its end with Deng even in uniform for the team he agreed upon it with.
In the two seasons that Deng even suited up for the Lakers, he would play just 57 games citing injuries and personal issues as his reason. He would make $18 million in 2016-17 with the team as well as $17.2 million the following season and $14.4 million in 2018-19. When it came time to buy Deng out of the contract, the two sides agreed upon a deal that would pay Deng $5 million each season from 2020 through 2022 even though he was no longer a member of the team or in the NBA.
9. Andrew Bynum – $49,987,258
Earnings Per Game: $107,268
Lakers Stats: 11.7 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.3 BPG, 1.6 BPG
When the Lakers made Andrew Bynum their 10th overall pick in 2005, expectations were high for the 7-footer to start his NBA career. Over the next seven seasons, Bynum would become an All-Star and two-time NBA champion with the franchise which was ultimately overshadowed by how his tenure ended with the team.
The first four seasons of his career in Los Angeles were on a rookie deal that paid Bynum between $1.8 million and $2.8 million per season. In 2009-10, his salary increased to $12.5 million annually, reaching a high of $14.9 million in his final season with the team in 2011-12. By this time, concerns about his foot and knee ailments had reached an all-time high and the Lakers traded Bynum to Philadelphia in a deal that landed Dwight Howard with Los Angeles.
10. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – $49,958,196
Earnings Per Game: $157,101
Lakers Stats: 11.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.7 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.2 BPG
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers may have lasted just four seasons in total but the money he earned was enough to break into the top 10 for the highest-paid players in team history. Caldwell-Pope was one of Los Angeles’ prized acquisitions during the 2017 offseason, but it came with a heft price tag.
During his first season with the team in 2017-18, he would earn $17.75 million and $12 million the following season in 2018-19. During their 2020 championship run, Caldwell-Pope was their starting shooting guard for the magical run, earning just $8.1 million for his efforts. In his final season with the team in 2020-21, Caldwell-Pope would earn $12.1 million once again before being dealt to the Denver Nuggets.
In 2023, Caldwell-Pope would help Denver capture their first championship in franchise history, earning just over $14 million while doing so.
