Athletistic/Basketball. For the ninth consecutive year, the leader of the foreign club “Lakers” LeBron James tops the list of the highest paid players according to Forbes.
The Lakers leader’s total income in 2022 was $124.5 million. 44.5 million will be LeBron’s NBA salary, an additional 80 million the 37-year-old will receive from advertising and other off-court projects.
Top 10 highest paid NBA players in 2022:
- LeBron James (Lakers) $124.5 million ($44.5 million on the court; $80.0 off the court)
- Stephen Curry (Golden State) – 95.1 (48.1; 47.0)
- Kevin Durant (Brooklyn) – 88.0 (43.0; 45.0)
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee) – 86.5 (42.5; 44.0)
- Russell Westbrook (Lakers) – 82.1 (47.1; 35.0)
- Klay Thompson (Golden State) – 60.6 (40.6; 20.0)
- Damien Lillard (Portland) – 60.5 (42.5; 18.0)
- James Harden (Philadelphia) – 53.0 (33.0; 20.0)
- Paul George (Clippers) – 51.0 (42.5; 8.5)
- Jimmy Butler (Miami) – 49.7 (37.7; 12.0)
Note that there is very little time left before the start of the new season of the most prestigious league on the planet – already on October 19 the first games will be held in the NBA. Thus, the players of “Boston” and “Philadelphia” will be the first on the field of the new season, which will compete on the night of October 18-19, Moscow time. In a few hours, San Francisco will take over the new season, where the local Golden State Warriors take on the Los Angeles Lakers with LeBron up front.
Until then, the teams are holding pre-season meetings and preparing in full force for the next race at the championship rings.
Favorites and contenders
Recall that last season’s NBA playoff final series ended in a predictable victory for Golden State, whose basketball players easily and confidently faced Boston’s young but very bright roster in six games. Already in the coming season, according to analysts, the championship title also has every chance of remaining in San Francisco.
So, according to the television company ESPN, the best chance for the title will be last season’s champion – “Golden State”. The Californians’ opponent in the 2022 final, “Boston”, is in second position.
One of the main contenders for the title last season, Brooklyn and the Lakers took 10th and 17th places in the standings, respectively.
The top ten on the list looks like this:
- “Golden State” (the odds of the team according to the calculations of the betting company Caesars Sportsbook – “+500”)
- Boston (+600)
- Milwaukee (+750)
- “Memphis” (“+1600”)
- Dallas (+1600)
- Miami (+1400)
- “Phoenix” (“+800”)
- Mowers (+800)
- Denver (+2200)
- Brooklyn (“+600”)
It is curious that the general managers of the NBA clubs, among whom the traditional pre-season survey was conducted, did not agree with ESPN’s analyses.
According to officials, Milwaukee Giannis Antetokubo has the best chance of winning the title in the 2022/23 season with 43% of the vote.
The defending champion “Golden State” (25%), the third – “Clippers” (21%), the fourth – “Boston” (11%).
It should be noted that last season Brooklyn was considered the main contender for the title, which received 72% of the vote according to the results of a survey of general managers, but the prediction of officials did not come true – the Brooklyn team flew out of the fight for the title after the first round of the playoffs, ingloriously losing “Boston” with the score of matches – 4:0.
Additionally, former League player turned TV presenter Charles Barkley, who made a bet on the Clippers, also voiced his version of the NBA’s top favorite.
– My favorites next season will be the Clippers. When they bring Kawhi Lenard and Paul George back into the lineup with all the signings and trades they’ve made in 2021-22… Yes, I consider them the favorites for the next championship.
Recall that through trades in the 2021-22 season, the Clippers replenished quality reserve players – Robert Covington and Norman Powell. One of the team leaders Kawhi Leonard missed the season due to a knee injury. Sailboats had a chance to enter the current playoffs, however, the team lost in both games of the play-off tournament.
The schedule for the new NBA season will be available on this page.
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I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
