LeBron James took much less for a shot at a ring: Could Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant follow his lead?

LeBron James has always been a trendsetter. Back in 2010, he started the Super Team era, joining forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh as a free agent and ushering in a wave of player empowerment that continues today.

LeBron normalized the idea of moving from location to location and winning championships with various franchises rather than sticking with one team. Now, nearing the end of his career, could his decision to take a massive pay cut be followed by other stars? 

Due to the league's complicated salary cap rules, the only realistic way of LeBron going to his preferred destination of the Sixers was to sacrifice a ton of money. He was the 12th-highest paid player last year, earning $52.6 million. This year, he will earn $3.9 million, which is the minimum allowed for players with at least 10 years of experience and No. 292 on Spotrac's list of highest salaries in the league. 

LeBron was no longer worth that $53 million, but he probably could have gotten a contract in the $30 million range if money was his sole focus. Instead, he cited the desire to have chance of winning another championship. Will other players do the same?

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LeBron James' place in the history of NBA pay cuts

Taking a pay cut in order to ring chase isn't a new phenomenon. David West turned down about $11 million in order to win two rings with the Warriors. Karl Malone and Gary Payton tried unsuccessfully to do it with the Lakers at the end of their careers. Payton did end up getting one on another minimum salary with the 2006 Heat. 

LeBron is different in that he turned down a lot more money than any of those players could have earned. 

Michael Jordan's situation wasn't the same either because he wasn't chasing a ring at the end of his career. But his pay cut from the highest-paid player in the league in 1998 at $33.1 million to a $1 million salary in order to return to the NBA with the Wizards represented a similar level of sacrifice (perhaps even bigger, when adjusting for inflation). 

More recently, a handful of superstars have begun giving their teams discounts in order to help their teams build stronger rosters with those savings. Jalen Brunson turned down over $100 million, allowing the Knicks to build out their 2026 championship team. Victor Wembanyama recently left over $50 million on the table in order to help the Spurs out.

LeBron has his own history of pay cuts, although never this extreme. He took $2.7 million less than his maximum in 2024 to give the Lakers flexibility under the second apron. And he, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh all took a little less than their maximum salaries back in 2010 to form that Heat dynasty. 

Could Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and others follow LeBron's lead?

Those examples all have a shred in common with LeBron's current situation, but they're not one-for-one analogues. That could change. With NBA salaries increasing and players passing the half-billion mark in career earnings, will we start to see other older star players taking massive discounts at the end of their careers? 

Like LeBron, Stephen Curry is still easily a top 25 player in the league. He's set to earn $62.6 million this season, which is the last year of his contract. Curry has never indicated any desire to leave the Warriors, but he realistically has zero shot to win another championship if he closes his career out there. Could he go to the Thunder, Spurs, Knicks, or even join LeBron in Philadelphia next summer on a minimum salary? 

Kevin Durant is in a similar situation, albeit on a better team. Durant allegedly expressed unhappiness with the Rockets' roster through a burner Twitter account last season. It would be difficult to imagen that he goes the ring-chasing route again after the criticism he received for joining the Warriors. But if he opts out of his $46.1 million player option, then he could also be a free agent in the summer of 2027 and have his choice of destinations. 

LeBron's success in Philadelphia will ultimately play a huge factor in if this becomes a new trend or a one-off. The Sixers do have championship potential, but they could also flame out disastrously. Nobody is going to want to sacrifice $25 million to be the sixth seed in the East. 

If LeBron does get his storybook ending, he could completely erase whatever stigma remains of ring-chasing. It's not unrealistic to think that other players could follow his lead. He has a chance to redefine player empowerment once again, teaching a generation of aging superstars how to squeeze out one last championship.