LeBron says Curry is worth $400 million
When the Golden State Warriors met the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA championship series, it was a fascinating clash. The Warriors were defending champs and flew through the regular season, while the Cavs was a franchise finding its feet back under the wing of LeBron James. It was also, James, the de facto best player in the NBA, against Stephan Curry, a player with multiple MVPs and hunting LeBron’s crown.
As we know, LeBron won the series for the Cavs and silenced his own critics. Fast forward to this season and the teams met again, this time with the Cavaliers the defending champs. The story was different, the Warriors looked untouchable in romping to the title.
On the surface, and indeed tabloids would love this, there should be plenty of needle between Curry and LeBron. In fact the opposite is true, and it is widely reported that the pair are “cool” with each other. So, when Steph Curry became the best paid player in the NBA this weekend, did it anger LeBron, who is arguably the best player in the association?
Not at all, and in fact LeBron has insisted that Curry deserved more money. In a tweet, James highlighted the pay cap on NBA players and said Curry is worth more. Over five years, the Warriors hot shot will earn over $40 million per season ($201 million total). James believes this is not enough, and thinks $400 million would be a fair number.
So tell me again why there's a cap on how much a player should get?? Don't answer that. Steph should be getting 400M this summer 5yrs. #JMTs https://t.co/jMYfI0umWK
— LeBron James (@KingJames) July 1, 2017
This speaks a lot about LeBron. A focused player who has won the MVP on multiple occasions, he has also become something of a spokesman for players, especially when it comes to pay. Arguably the most amazing fact amongst myriad amazing LeBron facts is that he has never been the best-paid player in NBA. Indeed, a guy who has been the best player in the league over the last decade, has never even been the best-paid on his team.
It is an undeniable fact that James is not paid as he deserves. Of course, he will not be crying poverty any time soon, not when earning $33 million (his Cavaliers salary for 2017/2018), but the fact remains James is underpaid in terms of NBA salaries.
So, he has always pushed the idea that players deserve to be paid what they bring to a team and franchise. James and Curry bring a lot to both their respective teams and organizations.
It is easy to dismiss such issues as petty moaning. For the normal folk who flood arenas to watch the NBA and pay their cable bills to watch it on TV, the salaries are already obscene. That’s not really the point, though. Pay should reflect what the market is, and for players it sometimes fails that basic logic.
The Golden State Warriors was purchased by Lacob for $450 million in 2010. In just 7 years, the value of the franchise has sky rocketed and is now worth $2.6 billion. It is the players who bring home this money, so why is there a cap on their wages? It is a question LeBron is first in line to ask.