Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James recently made headlines after reports that he would be willing to take a cut on his annual pay if the franchise could bring in an “impact player”. Having failed to do so, he made himself eligible to receive one of the best deals ever made to a member of the league: a 2-year $104 million extension. LeBron will now make more money in his two years than Michael Jordan ever made in his career. This update has caused Rashad McCants to question why the same ‘respect’ wasn’t granted to another Lakers legend: Kobe Bryant.

On the latest episode of Gilbert Arenas’ long-time running podcast series, he outrightly defended Bryant, saying the Lakers didn’t treat him the same way as they are with James. “They wouldn’t give my man Kobe (Bryant) that bread. They made my man retire.” Despite being told by the Arenas and the other co-hosts that “it was a different time. The ‘bread’ was different”, he was still not convinced.

“That year fu**ed him up,” said McCants about the Black Mamba’s final year. “I’m just saying, even that last year, he didn’t want to end it, not making it to the playoffs. So, I think that if he could have ran it back, he’d ran it back and end it at playoff.”

To set some context, Kobe Bryant was playing under a 2-year, $48.5 million contract during his final year with the NBA. By the time his contract was approaching an end in 2015, he had already devoted over 19 years of his life to the professional sport and to the Los Angeles Lakers. Unfortunately, both the players and fans knew that he could not go on for long. Since 2013, the player had been suffering from injuries that varied from a torn Achilles tendon and a fractured kneecap to a torn rotator cuff that ended his run during the 2014-15 season early. As 2015 came to a close, the player officially announced his retirement after the season ended.

Rashad McCants believes that the 5x NBA Champion had the potential to be as much of a long-lasting player as LeBron James and Michael Jordan. Had it not been for all those injuries in his final year, Kobe could also have secured a nine-figure contract before the All-Time Leading Scorer.

This brings us to the ultimate question. Were his co-hosts right?

Why was Kobe Bryant’s final NBA contract met with backlash?

When we talk about a 2-year $48.5 million contract today, it wouldn’t be too outlandish and nobody would bat an eye! Modern-day NBA players are earning the same during the 2024-25 season and still do not make it to the bracket of the top 50 salaries in the league. But back in 2013, things were pretty different. When Kobe was awarded this contract, people’s hearts skipped a beat.

Per “SLAM”, Bryant’s extension deal was one of the most infuriating contracts for people at the time. People threw in all kinds of criticism at the Black Mamba. People questioned that he should have taken way less than what was on the table, so as to give the Lakers a wider financial arena to work out more players into the roster. Plus, it did not help his cause that he was sidelined on various occasions, all thanks to his injuries. Some even pondered over the fact that he really “deserves” that high a figure.

In fact, Bryant stepped out to defend his $48 million contract by saying, “It’s a big coup for the owners to put players in situations where public perception puts pressure on them to take less money, because if you don’t, then you get criticized for it.”

If we compare his situation with how the Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki took a pay cut on his contract, Bryant’s cause was that he had been playing for almost 2 decades in the NBA. In defense, he said that his contract shouldn’t entirely be about the sport, but rather the business aspect of basketball.

Fast forward to today. Just a decade later, King James is receiving $51.5 million more for the same exact duration as Bryant. While people are shocked, there aren’t too many paying attention or ravaging it piece by piece. Maybe, times have changed and the amount of money doesn’t hold that much of value. It is perplexing, but it’s true!

Before leaving, be sure to check out some insights that Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, shared about the Lakers legend’s infamous feud with the late Kobe Bryant.