It was expected that when the Houston Rockets traded for Kevin Durant in the offseason, the two sides would work on an extension at some point. Luckily, things worked out a few days before the start of the regular season, as Durant agreed to a two-year, $90 million extension with the team
With Durant's latest extension, he has now passed LeBron James in career earnings, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.
“Kevin Durant now holds the record for the highest career earnings in NBA history at $598.2 million based on current and future salaries, surpassing LeBron James ($583.9 million). He has a total of three years and $144.7 million on his current contract,” Charania wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
James and Durant have always been close to each other when it comes to career earnings, but with the Los Angeles Lakers' star opting into the final year of his contract this season, Durant had a chance to surpass him. For Durant, he could have signed for more, but he wanted to make sure the team had enough money to save so they could continue to build out the roster.
“Durant was eligible for a max extension of $120M, but understood when he chose the Rockets as a trade destination that he'd be sacrificing money – in this case around $30M less – so that the sides can partner for the long term and give the franchise team-building flexibility,” Charania wrote.
The Rockets were one of the teams that had a big offseason, and many are expecting them to be one of the better teams in the Western Conference. Unfortunately, things may have changed with Fred VanVleet suffering a season-ending injury before the season, but they still have the players to make up for his absence.
As long as Durant is on the team, the Rockets should have a chance to be a top team in the West.
