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The Best of the Day: March 21st, 2021
See the best of the day in sports from March 21, 2021 including KC giving Perez the largest deal in team history, Bam's massive yam, and more!
Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
The ‘Best of the Day’ is a daily PSO original series showcasing the most significant stories, highlights, and facts going on in the land of the NFL, NBA, & MLB every day. Get a recap on EVERYTHING that happened on 3/21 here.
Kansas City extended Royals legend C Salvador Perez with the largest contract in franchise history as the 6x All-Star is coming off the best season of his nine-year career. Also, LeBron and AD’s injuries will likely force the Lakers to have to run through the gauntlet in the Western Conference playoffs, Luka had an outstanding performance in a dominant win over Portland, and Chris Paul joined the exclusive 10,000-assist club.
Here is the best of the day from March 21, 2021:
Salvador Perez Signs the Largest Contract in Royals Franchise History
The Kansas City Royals and long-time C Salvador Perez agreed to a 4y/$82M extension on Sunday. The deal is the largest ever given to a Royals player and will take effect in 2022, where Perez will earn an average annual salary of $20.5M. The deal runs through 2026, where the team can either exercise a fifth year $13.5M club option or a $2M buyout.
Updated Kansas City Royals projected payroll:
— Jason R.R. Martinez (FanGraphs/RosterResource) (@JasonRRMartinez) March 21, 2021
•C Salvador Perez agreed to 4-year, $82M contract extension (2022-25; $13.5M club option in '26)https://t.co/d36zZlaCWB
The 6-time All-Star and 5-time Gold Glove winner is now under contract through his age-35 season. pic.twitter.com/PqDk8XXR0c
The breakdown of Salvador Perez's franchise-record 4-year, $82 million contract with #Royals, per @alec_lewis and @lynnworthy
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 21, 2021
2022: $18 million
2023: $20 million
2024: $20 million
2025: $22 million
2026: $13.5 million club option or $2 million buyout
The 30-year-old Venezuelan native has spent his entire career in Kansas City since making his debut in 2011. In nine seasons in the Majors, Perez owns a career .269 BA with 152 HRs and 535 RBIs and is a 6x All-Star, 5x Gold Glover, and a 3x Silver Slugger.
Perez’s crowning achievement came in 2015 when he earned World Series MVP honors after helping lead Kansas City to the franchise’s second ever world championship. In their 4-1 series win over the New York Mets, he hit .364 with two doubles and two RBIs. Perez is a legend in Kansas City for his heroics in the Fall Classic and is arguably the best catcher in Royals history. With his intent to spend his entire career in KC, he could go down as the greatest player in franchise history (besides maybe George Brett).
Related: Stories of the Day
LEBRON & AD’S INJURIES WILL FORCE THE CHAMPS TO GO THROUGH THE GAUNTLET
The Lakers got their first taste of life without their star players on Sunday night in a matchup against the Suns. LeBron James missed the game due to a recent ankle injury, and Anthony Davis, who has been out for weeks already, missed another game due to a calf strain. The Suns, currently second place in the Western Conference, handled business against the depleted Lakers, as they went on to win by 17.
These injuries have the potential to drop the Lakers down the Western Conference standings (currently in third). The Lakers are only 1 game ahead of the Clippers in fourth, and 2.5 games ahead of the fifth place Nuggets and sixth place Trail Blazers, and after tonight’s performance, it is not hard to see them falling down the standings in the near future.
This will limit the Lakers chances of postseason success this year even if both of their star players are healthy by the time May comes around, as falling out of the top four would pin them against one of the Western Conference powerhouses this season in just the first round of the playoffs. They could potentially match up with impressive teams like the Jazz, Blazers, Clippers, or Nuggets, which would make for an extremely competitive first round series, given Lebron and AD are healthy.
A first-round series like this would really put LeBron’s greatness to the test and force the team to go through the gauntlet in the West in all three rounds. LA was able to land the No.1 seed last year and benefitted from facing an injured Blazers team in Round 1 and a Rockets team in Round 2 that lacked continuity. This year will be much tougher with the Suns being the only top-5 team in the West that has no recent track record of playoff success.
COLORS KEY | FULL LAKERS OUTLOOK
LeBron James, Steph Curry, Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid, and Kevin Durant are all out with injuries now 😔 pic.twitter.com/k5m0UKbPLW
— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports) March 21, 2021
Related: NBA Takeaways of the Day
Bam catching bodies in Miami
BAM DROPPED THE HAMMER 😤 pic.twitter.com/Gl0dQagn8T
— NBA TV (@NBATV) March 21, 2021
AIR BAM ✈️ pic.twitter.com/CzFPQtLcVJ
— NBA TV (@NBATV) March 21, 2021
Related: NBA Highlights
G Luka Doncic, DAL (W v.POR): 37 PTS (13-19 FG | 8-9 3P), 4 AST, 7 REB, 0 BLK, 0 STL, 5 TO
#PlayerOfTheDay (3/21/21) - G Luka Doncic, DAL
— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports) March 22, 2021
TOP FACTS:
- 1st Mavs player with 3 consecutive GP of 35+ PTS
- Top scorer of the night (37) in only 3 Qtrs; won by 40
- 30.5 PPG, 8.9 APG, 50% FG, 43% 3P over last 20 GP
KEY STATS
37 PTS, 7 REB, 13-19 FG (68%), 8-9 3P (89%) https://t.co/3gnlvlc7Qs
Related: Players of the Day
Philadelphia 76ers (101) [GW-FT in OT] vs. New York Knicks (100)
[Highlights] 76ERS (-115; $10.99) d. @KNICKS (+115; $15.43) 101-100 (GW-FT in OT) [PUSH -1 | u213.5]
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No one is better than Phillip Lindsay at holding on to the football
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