Which are the biggest free agent contracts in NBA history? Finding out more

Few teams can acquire big names via NBA free agency. Any team would need at least $30-$40 million in cap space to sign them to a lucrative contract for an MVP-caliber player. Money is not the only criterion. For a top superstar-caliber player, the team's current status as a perennial contender and the market also matters.

Generally, teams this good do not have the flexibility to pull off deals of this magnitude. However, it's been done before.

Biggest free agent signings in NBA history

Most superstars prefer to dictate their own fate in free agency. Trades can get tricky with their extreme valuation and logistics. Free agency allows them to pick their own destination and alarms interested suitors to find a way to make the cap room to sign them.

Over the last few years, players have signed expensive deals in free agency. We look at some of the biggest free-agent signings in league history.

#1, Kevin Durant to Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets swung in the summer of 2019 by going after Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in NBA free agency. The Nets had cap space but not enough to sign the two directly. They orchestrated Durant's signing via sign-and-trade, sending D'Angelo Russell the other way. Durant signed a four-year $165.2 million deal, short of a max, to join the Nets.

He took the pay cut so that the Nets could facilitate the signing of another then big-name free agent in DeAndre Jordan.

#2, LeBron James to LA Lakers

The LA Lakers spent four years in the lottery, patiently waiting for a big name to enter NBA free agency. It paid off after they managed to sign LeBron James in the fall of 2018 for a whopping four-year $153 million contract. That wasn't just the biggest free agent signing back then. It was also LeBron's biggest contract of his career.

LA made a flurry of trades to create cap room to sign him for that sum. James helped the Lakers restore their status as one of the top landing spots and a championship team.

#T-3, Kemba Walker to Boston Celtics

Kemba Walker joined the Boston Celtics for a $140.7 million contract for four years in 2019 free agency. It was a sign-and-trade, sending Terry Rozier to the Charlotte Hornets. The Celtics wasted no time in finding another All-Star caliber guard to replace the departing Kyrie Irving.

#T-3, Jimmy Butler to Miami Heat

Jimmy Butler became the most expensive free agent signing for the Miami Heat in the summer of 2019. Butler was coming off a tumultuous tenure split with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers. The Heat found the ideal personality in Butler to revive the "Heat Culture." Miami offered the NBA All-Star forward a $140.7 million contract.

It was a sign-and-trade deal involving the 76ers, Portland Trail Blazers and the Heat.

#5, Kyrie Irving to Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets wasted no time in the summer of 2019 when they went after Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving together. The latter signed a four-year $141 million deal via cap room to join forces with KD. Irving never signed another contract with the franchise and played through it after opting in in his final year. He got traded in the last year of his deal to Mavs at the deadline.

10 other deals have crossed the $100 million mark in NBA free agency

Offering a $100 million contract in NBA free agency is no joke. However, some teams have aggressively pursued their targets over the years. Regardless of the circumstances, they have created cap room to sign players close to the max deals, offering them over $100 million contracts across four, five, six or seven seasons.

Along with the five contracts mentioned above, 10 others have crossed the $100 million mark. Here's the list:

Player / Year	Contract	Team
Gordon Hayward, 2017	$127.8M / 4 years	Boston Celtics
Gordon Hayward, 2020	$120M / 4 years	Charlotte Hornets
Shaquille O’Neal, 1996	$120M / 7 years	LA Lakers
Rashard Lewis, 2007	$118.2M / 6 years	Orlando Magic
D’Angelo Russell, 2019	$117.3M / 4 years	Golden State Warriors
Al Horford, 2016	$113.3M / 4 years	Boston Celtics
LeBron James, 2010	$109.8M / 6 years	Miami Heat
Chris Bosh, 2010	$109.8M / 6 years	Miami Heat
Al Horford, 2019	$109M / 4 years	Philadelphia 76ers
Jalen Brunson, 2022	$104M / 4 years	New York Knicks