Sports
LeBron James to Become Highest-earning Player in NBA History
After guiding the Los Angeles Lakers to their first NBA title in 10 years, superstar forward, LeBron James, has signed a new two-year-deal with the NBA champions.
The new contract will keep the 35-year-old in LA till the 2022- 2023 season.
“LeBron James is a transcendent basketball player and human being,” said Lakers general manager, Rob Pelinka. “This contract extension paves the way for LeBron to further solidify his legacy as an all-time Lakers great.”
James’ annual salary will steadily increase in the course of the next three years. The American great will be paid $39.2 million in the 2020-2021 campaign, while the figure will rise to $41,180,544 in the 2021-22 season. King James will earn $44,474,988 in the final year of his new deal.
By the end of his new Lakers contract in 2023, James’ career earnings would be approaching staggering $435 million, putting him well clear of the rest of the field in all-time NBA salaries.
In fact, he is already set to move to No. 1 in 2021, jumping above Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant.
At the end of the 2020-2021 season, the projected NBA all-time earnings leaderboard will look like this:
- LeBron James – $349,330,556
- Kevin Garnett – $346,862,398
- Kobe Bryant – $328, 237,108
- Chris Paul – $300,177,385
- Shaquille O’Neal – $292,198,327
- Kevin Durant – $272,151,842
- Dirk Nowitzki – $255,371,800
- Russell Westbrook – $247,545,187
- Dwight Howard – $246,235,755
- Tim Duncan – $245,964,351
If James sees out his new Lakers contract, he would have played 20 seasons in the NBA, having previously spent 11 seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers across two spells, and four with the Miami Heat. He will be 38 when his contract ends.
James is being rewarded for a superb season in LA when he helped the Lakers end their decade-long wait for a 17th NBA title. Prior to last season’s success, the Lakers had been a pale shadow of their once-mighty selves, failing to reach the playoffs in each of the previous six years.
James transformed the Lakers’ fortunes, averaging 25.3 points and a league-best 10.2 assists per game. He capped a superb campaign with an MVP-winning display in the finals against former team Miami Heat.
The forward is now the only player to win NBA titles with three different franchises, having claimed two titles with Miami, and one with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James isn’t the only key Lakers player to sign a new deal in the last week. Seven-time NBA all-star, Anthony Davis has also put pen to paper on a contract extension with the Lakers, signing a five-year deal worth a reported $190 million.
The 27-year-old Davis was an able ally to James last season, contributing 26.1 points per game and grabbing an average of 9.3 rebounds during the regular season. He was even more dominant in the postseason, averaging 27.7 points and 9.7 rebounds as the Lakers powered to the NBA title.
Having tied down two of their most-prized assets to long-term deals, the Lakers will hope for an extended period of dominance, similar to what they had in the 2000s when Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal combined to make LA one of the most fearsome teams in the league.
With their 2020 success, the Los Angeles Lakers moved level with the Boston Celtics with 17 titles, making them the joint-most successful franchises in the NBA.
Many bookmakers already have the Lakers as favourites to retain their title next season, and stand alone on top of the leaderboard. If you fancy an early punt on the Lakers, you can do so on any of these top betting sites in Nigeria. They have great range and depth in their basketball sections.
The Lakers get their NBA title defence underway on 22 December, when they battle local rivals, Los Angeles Clippers.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s Super Falcons have failed to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup after suffering a 2-1 defeat to South Africa in their play-off encounter on Thursday night.
The Nigerian team, reeling from a 1-0 loss to Cameroon in the quarter-finals of the CAF Women’s African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) on Sunday, showed no signs of putting their misery to bed as they went two goals down to the Bayana Bayana team. It took a late penalty scored by Christy Uchebe to halve the deficit after the South Africans went down to 10 players.
The Super Falcons needed a victory against their opponents to progress to the next stage of the qualification process and secure one of the two available tickets to the intercontinental play-offs. The defeat ended their hopes of making it to the 2027 tournament, which will be hosted by Brazil.
The result brings an end to Nigeria’s remarkable record of appearing at every edition of the Women’s World Cup since the tournament was first held in 1991.
The play-offs were introduced to determine the final African representatives after four teams were eliminated at the quarter-final stage of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Two qualification tickets were available, with Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire battling for the opportunity to advance.
Ghana secured one of the available tickets after defeating Côte d’Ivoire 2-1, while South Africa claimed the other following their victory over the Super Falcons.
The Super Falcons had featured in all previous editions of the tournament, making their absence from the 2027 World Cup a significant moment in the history of Nigerian women’s football.
It also raises fresh questions about the direction of Nigerian national football after the Super Eagles also failed to qualify for the recently concluded FIFA World Cup held in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
European football returns with a bang as the new season kicks off. The dust has barely settled on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but European football wastes no time getting back to business. Over the next two weeks, the continent’s prominent competitions will launch in quick succession, giving fans a dense run of fixtures across the UEFA Super Cup, the FA Community Shield, La Liga, the Premier League and Serie A.
Paris Saint-Germain, fresh off back-to-back Champions League triumphs, faces Aston Villa in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday 12 August at 8pm which will be airing on Supersport across DStv & GOtv, with the French side chasing a second successive Super Cup crown against an Aston Villa team that has become an increasingly serious force in European competition.
England’s traditional curtain-raiser follows four days later. The FA Community Shield, staged in Cardiff on Sunday 16 August at 3pm, pits Premier League champions Arsenal against FA Cup holders Manchester City, the latter beginning life under new manager Enzo Maresca, while Arsenal look to reinforce their status as the team to beat.
Spain gets moving over the same weekend, with La Liga’s opening round running from Saturday 15 to Monday 17 August. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have all been given extended rest following Spain’s World Cup win, leaving the door open for the chasing pack to set an early pace before Matchday 2 arrives from 20 to 24 August.
The Premier League then starts the following weekend, running from Friday 21 to Monday 24 August. Champions Arsenal open their title defence at home to promoted Coventry, before a full round of fixtures featuring Manchester United, Tottenham, Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea, among others, round out the opening weekend. Serie A joins the calendar on the same weekend, from 22 to 24 August, with holders Inter Milan starting their title defence against Monza and Napoli, Juventus, Milan and Roma all in early action.
With five major competitions launching inside a fortnight, the new European season promises an unrelenting start. All the action will be available live on SuperSport, across DStv and GOtv.
A blockbuster week of sporting action awaits DStv and GOtv subscribers, with the decisive stages of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), UEFA Super Cup, FA Community Shield and Trophée des Champions among the major attractions.
Football takes centre stage as WAFCON reaches its business end in Morocco, with the semi-finals scheduled for Wednesday.
Defending champions Nigeria will not be involved after the Super Falcons were eliminated by Cameroon in the quarter-finals, losing 1-0. Their exit means a new champion will be crowned when the tournament concludes on Sunday.
The first semi-final will see Algeria face Malawi on Wednesday before hosts Morocco take on Cameroon at 21:00 WAT, later in the day. Both matches will be broadcast live on SuperSport. The third-place play-off is scheduled for Saturday, with the final taking place in Rabat on Sunday at 20:00 WAT.
European silverware will also be at stake on Wednesday when Paris Saint-Germain face Aston Villa in the UEFA Super Cup at Stadion Salzburg in Austria. The fixture pits Champions League winners PSG against Europa League winners Aston Villa and will be shown live on SuperSport 20:00 WAT.
The action continues on Sunday with the FA Community Shield, as Arsenal take on Manchester 15:00 WAT. The traditional curtain-raiser for the English season will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
French football will also have early-season silverware at stake when Lens host PSG in the Trophee des Champions on Sunday at Stade Bollaert-Delelis. The match kicks off at 20:00 WAT and will be live on SuperSport.
The new La Liga season gets underway on Saturday, with Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and the other leading Spanish clubs beginning their campaigns.
Beyond football, cricket fans will have plenty to enjoy as The Hundred reaches its climax on Sunday, with the women’s final followed by the men’s final. Both matches will be available on SuperSport Cricket.
Combat sports will also take the spotlight with UFC 330 from Philadelphia on Saturday, adding another major attraction to SuperSport’s weekend line-up.
