paragraph_text: This success garnered him a job with the NBA's Boston Celtics in 2013, when he signed a six - year, $22 - million - dollar contract to become head coach. After undertaking a rebuild early in his career, Stevens has led the Celtics to the NBA Playoffs every year since 2015, won a division champion ship, and appeared in the Eastern Conference Finals in each of his last two seasons. He has gained a reputation as one of the NBA's best coaches, with his motion offense and stingy defense earning plaudits from fans, peers, and players, and drawing comparisons to John Wooden.

paragraph_text: The highest - paid NBA players by season over the past twelve seasons have received contracts with salaries noted in the twenty - million - dollar range. In this twelve - year span, Kevin Garnett received $28,000,000, which was the highest salary payment of any NBA player, during the 2003 -- 04 season. Garnett has been the highest - paid NBA player per year in seven of the past twelve NBA seasons. Michael Jordan was the first NBA player to sign a contract worth over thirty million dollars in a season. During the 1997 -- 98 season, Jordan earned $33,000,000. Kobe Bryant become just the second player to reach this milestone when the 2013 -- 14 season began. LeBron James became the third in the 2016 -- 17 season. Stephen Curry became the first player to eclipse $40 - Million per year when he signed a record 5 year contract worth $201 - Million in 2017.

paragraph_text: Stephen Curry Curry in 2016 No. 30 -- Golden State Warriors Position Point guard League NBA (1988 - 03 - 14) March 14, 1988 (age 29) Akron, Ohio Nationality American Listed height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Listed weight 190 lb (86 kg) Career information High school Charlotte Christian (Charlotte, North Carolina) College Davidson (2006 -- 2009) NBA draft 2009 / Round: 1 / Pick: 7th overall Selected by the Golden State Warriors Playing career 2009 -- present Career history 2009 -- present Golden State Warriors Career highlights and awards 2 × NBA champion (2015, 2017) 2 × NBA Most Valuable Player (2015, 2016) 4 × NBA All - Star (2014 -- 2017) 2 × All - NBA First Team (2015, 2016) 2 × All - NBA Second Team (2014, 2017) NBA scoring champion (2016) NBA steals leader (2016) 50 -- 40 -- 90 club (2016) NBA Three - Point Contest champion (2015) NBA Sportsmanship Award (2011) NBA All - Rookie First Team (2010) AP Athlete of the Year (2015) Consensus first - team All - American (2009) Consensus second - team All - American (2008) NCAA Division I scoring leader (2009) 2 × SoCon Player of the Year (2008, 2009) Stats at NBA.com Stats at Basketball-Reference.com Medals (hide) Men's basketball Representing United States FIBA World Cup 2010 Turkey Team 2014 Spain Team

paragraph_text: Matthews earned a Super Bowl ring with the Giants in Super Bowl XLII. He was also a member of the New England Patriots, Detroit Lions, Buffalo Bills, Indianapolis Colts, and Virginia Destroyers.

paragraph_text: The Oklahoma City Thunder has been regarded by sports analysts as one of the elite franchises of the NBA's Western Conference and that of a media darling as the future of the league. Oklahoma City has earned Northwest Division titles every year since 2009 and has consistently improved its win record to 59-wins in 2014. The Thunder is led by first year head coach Billy Donovan and is anchored by several NBA superstars, including perennial All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook, 2014 MVP and four-time NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant, and Defensive Player of the Year nominee and shot-blocker Serge Ibaka.

paragraph_text: Ricochet Lost Worlds was developed by Reflexive Entertainment and is the sequel to "Ricochet Xtreme". It features several new bricks, power-ups and background art. It also has the new "ring" feature, where you try to collect all the rings on each level. If you collect all five rings on every level, you become "Ring Master" and get the trophy at the end of the game. It is possible to beat the game without getting every ring, but it is less challenging.

paragraph_text: The 2011 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 2010 -- 11 season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks defeated the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat 4 games to 2 to win their first NBA championship. Dallas became the last NBA team from Texas to win its first title, after the Houston Rockets won back - to - back titles in 1994 and 1995, and the San Antonio Spurs won four NBA championships in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007, and a fifth one subsequently in 2014; all three Texas NBA teams have now won at least one NBA championship. It was also the first time in four years that the Los Angeles Lakers did not make the Finals, having been swept in the Western Conference semifinals by the eventual champion Dallas Mavericks.

paragraph_text: Earl Heyman (born September 5, 1987) is a former American football defensive tackle, earning a Super Bowl ring with the New Orleans Saints against the Indianapolis Colts.

paragraph_text: The Main Event drew 7,221 players, the largest field since 2010. The top 1,084 players finished in the money. Each player at the final table earned $1,000,000, with the winner earning $8,150,000.

paragraph_text: Born Lucky is an American television series in which contestants earned mall money and prizes. It was hosted by Bob Goen and announced by Jonathan Coleman. Four contestants competed in a stunt game show taped at various shopping malls for a chance at $2,000 in mall money. The first week's shows of "Born Lucky" were taped at the Glendale Galleria in California.

paragraph_text: You Deserve It is an American game show created by Dick de Rijk for American Broadcasting Company (ABC). The show is hosted by Chris Harrison and Brooke Burns. In the show, contestants earn money toward a beneficiary.

paragraph_text: Spencer Gray Dinwiddie (born April 6, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Colorado Buffaloes and earned first-team all-conference honors in the Pac-12 as a sophomore in 2013. He missed most of his junior year after injuring his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Dinwiddie recovered and was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the second round of the 2014 NBA draft. After two seasons with the Pistons, he joined the Nets in December 2016.

paragraph_text: The player with the most points after the Tour Championship wins the FedExCup itself and $10 million of a $35 million bonus fund. The runner - up gets $3 million, 3rd place $2 million, 4th place $1.5 million, 5th place $1 million, and so on down to $32,000 for 126th through 150th place. Beginning with the 2013 season, non-exempt players who finish 126th - 150th in the FedExCup are given conditional PGA Tour status, but can attempt to improve their priority rankings through the Web.com Tour Finals. Previously, conditional status was earned through the money list.

paragraph_text: If a tree grows all its life in the open and the conditions of soil and site remain unchanged, it will make its most rapid growth in youth, and gradually decline. The annual rings of growth are for many years quite wide, but later they become narrower and narrower. Since each succeeding ring is laid down on the outside of the wood previously formed, it follows that unless a tree materially increases its production of wood from year to year, the rings must necessarily become thinner as the trunk gets wider. As a tree reaches maturity its crown becomes more open and the annual wood production is lessened, thereby reducing still more the width of the growth rings. In the case of forest-grown trees so much depends upon the competition of the trees in their struggle for light and nourishment that periods of rapid and slow growth may alternate. Some trees, such as southern oaks, maintain the same width of ring for hundreds of years. Upon the whole, however, as a tree gets larger in diameter the width of the growth rings decreases.

paragraph_text: A 6'10" center from Southern Illinois University, Meriweather played ten seasons (1975–1985) in the NBA as a member of the Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, New Orleans Jazz, New York Knicks, and Kansas City Kings. He earned NBA All-Rookie honors in his first season, during which he averaged 10.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks. Over the course of his NBA career, Meriweather averaged 8.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks.

paragraph_text: The NBA Championship ring is an annual award given by the National Basketball Association to the team that wins the NBA Finals. Rings are presented to the team's players, coaches, and members of the executive front office. Red Auerbach has the most rings overall with 16. Phil Jackson has the most as coach and Bill Russell has the most as a player (11 each)

paragraph_text: The final playoff round, a best - of - seven series between the victors of both conferences, is known as the NBA Finals, and is held annually in June. The victor in the NBA Finals wins the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy. Each player and major contributor -- including coaches and the general manager -- on the winning team receive a championship ring. In addition, the league awards the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award to the best performing player of the series.

paragraph_text: The son of former NBA player Joe Bryant, Kobe Bryant enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Lower Merion High School in Pennsylvania, where he was recognized as the top high school basketball player in the country. He declared for the NBA draft upon graduation and was selected in the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets, who traded him to the Lakers. As a rookie, Bryant earned himself a reputation as a high - flyer and a fan favorite by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest, and he was named an All - Star by his second season. Despite a feud between them, Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002.

paragraph_text: David Thirdkill (born April 12, 1960) is an American retired basketball player who was selected by the Phoenix Suns in the first round (15th overall) of the 1982 NBA draft. A small forward from the College of Southern Idaho and Bradley University, Thirdkill played in five NBA seasons from 1982 to 1987. Born in St. Louis, Missouri and nicknamed "The Sheriff", he played for the Suns, Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics. He earned a championship ring with the 1985-86 Celtics.

paragraph_text: Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. (/ dweɪn / dwain; born January 17, 1982) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After a successful college career at Marquette, Wade was drafted fifth overall in the 2003 NBA draft by the Miami Heat. He was named to the All - Rookie team and the All - Star team the following twelve seasons. In his third season, Wade led the Heat to their first NBA championship in franchise history and was named the 2006 NBA Finals MVP. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Wade led the United States men's basketball team, commonly known as the ``Redeem Team '', in scoring, and helped them capture gold medal honors in Beijing, China. In the 2008 -- 09 season, Wade led the league in scoring and earned his first NBA scoring title. With LeBron James and Chris Bosh, Wade helped guide Miami to four consecutive NBA Finals from 2011 to 2014, winning back - to - back championships in 2012 and 2013. In 2016, Wade departed the Heat in free agency to play for his hometown Chicago Bulls, then leaving them after one season to join the Cavaliers.

Question: When did the player with the most lucrative contract now earn his first ring?
Answer: 2015