A quick Google search will say Los Angeles Lakers superstar Lebron James is already worth a billion dollar. According to Forbes, he is the sixth highest-paid athlete last year with a total earning of $133 million.
This is why some fans are not buying when he said last week that he only got a small portion of that earnings in his bank account.
“Now y’all want me to start lying?” James said during an interview with Complex’s 360 with Speedy.
“Google search is a lie… It’s wrong. It’s less. It’s way less… It’s a couple thousand in my bank. I got a couple thousand. That’s it.”
His teammate Austin Reaves is not having it. He thinks James is super rich that he does not need the last six years to fatten up his pocket.
“In my opinion, he’s the best player to ever touch a basketball,” Reaves said in The Young Man and The Three podcast.
“He probably could have retired six years ago and people would still say the same thing. He has enough money regardless of what he was saying on that podcast the other day. He has enough money.”
So why is Lebron James still playing?
Reaves, who has been teammates with James since 2021 and is expecting a huge contract himself, said the four-time MVP is no longer playing because he wants to be paid. He continues to suit up in as much as games as he can because of his love for the sport.
“The only reason he’s still playing basketball, it’s because he loves the grind,” Reaves continued.
“He loves the game. He wants to continue to get better. Even when, you know, you’re at that level, there’s still things that he thinks he can work on to become a better player. I think that’s the most incredible thing about him is how he conducts himself on and off the court.”
Lebron earned a guaranteed $48 million last season through the Lakers before the endorsement. He is set to earn around $52 million this NBA calendar year.
He may be known mostly for his basketball greatness but he is also an astute businessman, earning through his various ventures like Nike, Blaze Pizza, and Fenway Sports Group. He also partly owns Liverpool Football Club in UK’s Premier League.
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