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Steph Curry became the first player in the NBA to sign a contract of over $200M in 2017. Reports suggest he could become the first player to sign a $200M contract twice in his career, at the end of this season. The 2021-22 season will be the last year of his current deal.
Steph Curry's sustained greatness even four years after signing his first $200M contract has played a big role in him potentially being the first player to sign for such an enormous amount twice in his career.
Over six players have signed super-max extensions in the NBA. But only four of them, including Curry, signed a contract of more than $200M at once. The likes of James Harden and Damian Lillard signed contracts that added to their previous salaries. As a result, they will be earning more than $200M as well, but they did not sign with that figure on their contracts at the time of negotiations.
Meanwhile, John Wall is the only player to have signed a super-max contract, who won't be projected to cross the $200M mark by the time his deal comes to an end.
Apart from Steph, three other players have gone on to sign a contract worth more than $200M. Interestingly, all these players happened to sign a bigger contract than the Warriors' star, and none of them have won a championship ring yet. Let's find out who these players are.
4 players in the NBA to have signed a contract over $200M
#1 Steph Curry
As mentioned earlier, Steph Curry was the first player to sign a contract worth over $200M. He was a two-time league MVP at the time. The exact amount was $201,158,790, which he was set to earn over the next five years until the 2021-22 season.
Stephen Curry led the Warriors to two finals after signing the deal, winning once in the 2017-18 NBA campaign and losing to the Raptors the following season. He played just five games in the 2019-2020 NBA campaign as he was out with a near-season-ending injury at the start of the year.
Steph Curry is the leading scorer in the league with 31.1 points per game this season. He broke multiple records recently. Amongst the most notable ones, he surpassed Wilt Chamberlain to become the Warriors' all-time leading points scorer. He also crossed Reggie Miller's three-point shooting record and is now third on the all-time list for most three-pointers made in the NBA.
#2 Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook was the next player to sign a contract worth over $200M. He, too, signed it in 2017 after winning the NBA MVP award. The exact amount on the contract was $206,794,070M. The contract runs until the end of the 2021-22 season. But in an interesting turn of events, he was traded to the Houston Rockets after just one season following the signing of his deal.
The OKC Thunder lost to the Blazers in the playoffs that NBA season, and with Paul George deciding to leave, they thought it would be best to start a lengthy rebuild with the Westbrook trade.
Westbrook did not last at Houston longer than one season either and is now playing for the Washington Wizards. For much of his career post-signing the super-max deal, Brodie hasn't performed at his usual level. But he seems to have gained his form back this season and is averaging a career-triple double for the fourth time in his career.
#3 Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis Antetokounmpo's future was up in the air after a poor playoff run by the Milwaukee Bucks last season. There was constant speculation surrounding his future. A few reports suggested that he might leave the Bucks as a free agent, but he ended up staying and signed the biggest contract in NBA history to date.
The reigning DPOY and two-time NBA MVP signed a five-year super-max contract extension worth $228M for five years. Half of the super-max extensions before Giannis' deal weren't successful ones, with only Harden, Curry and Lillard sticking with their teams.
But Giannis is now expected to join the aforementioned list of players and succeed because of solid performances over the last three seasons. Harden and Giannis appear the closest to winning an NBA championship at the end of the season, and it will be interesting to see who joins Curry next as the only player to win a ring after signing a max deal.
#4 Rudy Gobert
Rudy Gobert signed the largest deal for a center in the history of the NBA. The French big man put pen to paper on a $205M deal during the offseason. The two-time DPOY winner committed his future to the Utah Jazz for another five years by doing so.
So far it has turned out to be a great return on investment for the Utah Jazz. They boast the best record in the NBA and have also been the leaders of the Western Conference for the longest time. Gobert has formed a terrific partnership with Donovan Mitchell and the two have become leaders on the team.
Gobert is yet again in contention to win the DPOY award and is the odds-on favorite as well.
Also read: 5 most underpaid players in the NBA right now
