Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball (2) reacts during a game against the Toronto Raptors at the United Center.
Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images
For most people, choosing between $50 million and an NBA championship would be a pretty tough decision. But for Lonzo Ball, the answer came almost immediately.
In a recent conversation with Michael Porter Jr. on the Curious Mike podcast, the Chicago Bulls guard was asked a hypothetical question that forced him to choose between financial security and basketball legitimacy.
Michael Porter Jr.: “$50 million or an NBA championship? You’re the starting PG. Let’s say the Bulls, one of your first couple years, you won a ‘chip.”
Lonzo Ball: “I got to get that ring.”
Michael Porter Jr.: “Really? Over the 50?”
Lonzo Ball: “Over 50. ‘Cause with that ring, if I’m the starting point guard, that ring is going to solidify me forever. So I’ma be able to make more than $50 million, I feel like. Off the muscle. I’m a starting championship point guard. My price is $100 million in today’s NBA. Bare minimum. Right or wrong?”
Michael Porter Jr.: “I agree.”
It is difficult to argue with Lonzo Ball’s reasoning.
History has shown that starting point guards on championship-winning teams often land big contracts afterward or are already on massive deals during their title runs.
Jalen Brunson signed a maximum extension after establishing himself as the face of the New York Knicks and leading them to the 2026 NBA title. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a two-time MVP and is on a supermax contract. Jamal Murray signed a max deal after helping the Denver Nuggets win their first championship.
Stephen Curry has spent years earning massive money as the leader of the Warriors dynasty.
Ball thinks he would have joined that group if he had become a starting point guard on a championship-winning team, given the trajectory of his career before injuries derailed it.
The former No. 2 overall pick has earned significant money over nine NBA seasons despite battling injuries throughout his career. His biggest contract came in 2021, when he signed a four-year, $80 million deal with the Chicago Bulls.
The first season of his stint in Chicago offered a glimpse of what could have been.
Ball averaged 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 42.3% from the field and 42.3% from three-point range. The Bulls looked like one of the best teams in the East with Ball, Alex Caruso, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic.
But injuries derailed those plans. Ball suffered a serious knee injury that ended his season and ultimately forced him to miss the next two campaigns.
Interestingly, money also became a topic elsewhere during the same podcast. Ball revealed that his younger brother LaMelo Ball is actually the most frugal member of their family despite already earning approximately $239 million during his NBA career and owning around 10 cars.
We will never know whether that Bulls team could have won a title. But Ball remains convinced that being the starting point guard on a title-winning team would have been worth giving up $50 million.
And based on the contracts handed to championship-winning guards across the league, he definitely has a point.
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