Anthony Davis follows LeBron James by signing monster contract extension with Lakers

LeBron James’ partner in crime Anthony Davis will ensure the dream team in LA continues after agreeing to a mammoth contract extension.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis will remain the dream team.

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed Anthony Davis to a five-year contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars just one day after they locked up superstar LeBron James with a two-year extension, US media reported on Friday (AEDT).

Davis’ contract is worth $AUD255 million and it comes on the heels of his first season in Los Angeles where he combined with James to lead the Lakers to their 17th NBA championship.

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ESPN reported Davis formally agreed to the monster deal on Friday morning, which will come as welcome news to Lakers fans hoping his partnership with James can drive the franchise to another championship.

On Thursday, James’ agent said the NBA icon had agreed to a two-year, $115 million contract extension which would keep him with the team through 2023-24.

The deal puts James on the path to playing with whichever team may draft son Bronny at the 2023 NBA Draft, with the four-time MVP saying his dream is to one day share the court with his kid.

Bronny, who has been touted as an even better prospect than his father by Magic Johnson, completes high school in 2023.

The rules around Draft eligibility, which requires players to spend their first year out of high school either in college or in professional leagues around the world, are expected to be reviewed in coming years — opening the door for James to live out his “once in a lifetime” goal of playing with his offspring.

The dream steam is sticking together.

Together, James and Davis lifted the hapless Lakers out of six consecutive seasons of turmoil and losing to form the centrepiece of the team’s offence.

The 27-year-old Davis spent seven season with the New Orleans Pelicans before being traded to Los Angeles in June 2019 for three players, including Lonzo Ball, and several draft picks.

Davis opted out of the final year of his contract to become a free agent in the days after the Lakers won the title in the quarantine bubble in Florida. He can now make $58 million in the final year of his new deal.

He was 10th in the NBA in scoring at 26.1 points per game and averaged 9.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 2019-20 with the Lakers.

Davis was the first pick in the 2012 NBA entry draft.

With staff writers

Originally published as Anthony Davis follows LeBron James by signing monster contract extension with Lakers