Steph Curry has recovered from his previous chronic ankle issues in recent years and has established himself as a mega star and quite possibly the best player in the NBA over the past three seasons. He has won two league MVPs and an NBA championship while being the alpha dog for a 73 win team.
All the while he has been doing so while being criminally underpaid by NBA standards as a result of the genius and incredibly fortunate timing of Curry’s four-year extension at the beginning of the 2012-13 season. Curry has made $11 million on average per season the past three seasons and will make $12.1 million in the 2016-17 season.
That makes him the 81st highest paid player in the NBA this season. Some notable players who will make more than Curry this season include: John Henson, Miles Plumlee and Timofey Mozgov.
This is precisely why Curry is in for a ginormous pay raise this off-season and according to ESPN.com writer Larry Coon, Curry may be in line for a five-year, $165 million deal.
After consulting the wise @LarryCoon, @espn's new latest estimate for the Steph Curry max next summer is a five-year, $165 million deal.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) September 28, 2016
That would approximately be 3x as much money per year on average than his current contract which is a pretty large raise for an established player in the midst of their prime, which shows what a bargain the Warriors have gotten these past four seasons. A bargain that has enabled the organization to build and retain a super team around Curry.
It will be interesting to see if Curry is able to get the title of highest paid player in the NBA after the 2016-17 season.