*Oklahoma City Thunder’s star guard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, has secured a monumental 4-year, $285 million contract extension, a source confirmed to The Associated Press.
The agreement marks the highest single-season average salary in NBA history. As WOWK-TV reports, Gilgeous-Alexander’s stellar performance last season propelled the Thunder to their first NBA championship and the league’s best record. The supermax deal, which awaits official announcement until the league’s offseason moratorium lifts on Sunday, could have fetched an even larger sum had he waited until next summer.
Projections indicate his salary will start at approximately $63 million in the first year, escalating to nearly $79 million by the 2030-31 season, averaging about $1 million per regular-season game.
Initially selected 11th overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in 2018, Gilgeous-Alexander was traded to Oklahoma City after his rookie year. His steady growth has transformed him into a cornerstone for the Thunder. General Manager Sam Presti praised his consistent improvement, stating, “He’s gotten better every single year.”
Presti highlighted the stability of his progress. “His mindset has allowed him to take these steps and also not — I don’t feel like his progress is, like, volatile. I don’t know if that makes sense, but I don’t feel like it’s built on things that can’t be repeated and built up again.”
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Presti also lauded Gilgeous-Alexander’s unique blend of creativity and pragmatism, calling him a “basketball artist.”
“I just think he’s got left and right brain working,” he said, emphasizing Gilgeous-Alexander’s ability to excel in multiple facets of the game.
“I think when you think about people that are extremely successful in what they do, they can’t operate all on one side or the other,” Presti added.
“People have to have — to me, the great people in life, business, sports, any industry, have to be able to access both sides, a creative side and then also a very objective side,” he continued.
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