Fox Sports analyst believes LeBron James is being unfairly criticized for not taking a pay cut with the Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers’ management and fans recently breathed a sigh of relief after LeBron James’ longtime agent and Klutch Sports CEO, Rich Paul, confirmed to ESPN that James will exercise his $52.6 million player option with the franchise for the 2025–26 NBA season.

This means James will once again make history by becoming the first player in NBA history to play 23 seasons in the league. The 40-year-old is currently tied with NBA legend Vince Carter for the most seasons played.

Paul added that James is eager to win another NBA championship and will closely monitor the Lakers’ offseason moves—particularly how management positions the team to contend for the title in the upcoming season.

However, the 40-year-old has come in for criticism from various quarters over his decision to opt into his contract rather than take a pay cut to help the franchise improve its title chances.

Fox Sports analyst Nick Wright has come to LeBron’s defense, arguing that it is unfair to question the superstar when he is still better than the majority of players in the league despite his age.

“We can say, well, he has made the most money—but all of the best players have made hundreds of millions of dollars. LeBron, last year, finished sixth in MVP voting, got the sixth most All-NBA votes, and the fact that he makes slightly less than Zach LaVine makes me feel like he is, at the very least, unfairly compensated,” Wright said.

Damn Nick Wright cooked him pic.twitter.com/K6MEjRcxMQ

— Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) July 23, 2025

“Steph Curry—who LeBron, by every vote, award, and metric, was better than last year—is the highest-paid player in the league, and no one has a problem with it. So there’s that piece of it.”

There have also been rumors that the Dallas Mavericks are interested in acquiring James, although Wright believes that the move doesn’t make sense, as James is less likely to win a title in Dallas than with the Lakers.

“I don’t know if I agree with you that next year, Cooper Flagg might be better than Austin Reaves—maybe—but let’s just say that’s a push. Obviously, Anthony Davis is better than Deandre Ayton, but there is one guy on the Lakers… oh yeah, Luka Dončić. Who’s the guy on the Mavs that cancels out Luka Dončić on the Lakers? I’m just curious,” he added.

It’s reported that the Lakers’ front office has not received any indication from James or his camp that he is seeking a trade or buyout. To their credit, the front office has been active this offseason, making a couple of smart moves—acquiring a proven center in Deandre Ayton and a strong perimeter defender in Marcus Smart.

There is no doubt that James prefers playing alongside a solid center, as evidenced by his partnership with Anthony Davis, which helped lead the Lakers to the 2020 NBA championship—his most recent title.

It will be intriguing to see whether LeBron can add a fifth NBA championship to his illustrious resume or whether he will decide to move to another team in search of that title once his contract with the Lakers expires next season.

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