Enjoying the best two weeks in franchise history, the Oklahoma City Thunder capped off their NBA championship high by locking down one of the NBA’s best players. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wasted little time signing a four-year, $285 million contract extension.
The Thunder will have Gilgeous-Alexander under contract through the 2030-31 season. The supermax deal is the most the MVP winner could’ve signed for this offseason.
The Thunder’s historic 68-14 regular season and NBA championship starts and stops with Gilgeous-Alexander. He’s one of the league’s best players and is on the path to becoming an all-time great, considering his accomplishments at 26 years old.
Let’s examine Gilgeous-Alexander’s extension and break down what it means for the Thunder:
Gilgeous-Alexander’s background
Everybody knows Gilgeous-Alexander’s story at this point. He was the 2018 NBA draft No. 11 pick. He spent his rookie year on the LA Clippers before being packaged to OKC in the 2019 blockbuster Paul George trade. He wasn’t even the headliner of the deal. It was all of the draft picks sent.
And then Gilgeous-Alexander slowly ascended. He was a key piece of the 2020 squad led by Chris Paul. He took the baton from the future Hall-of-Famer and became the franchise’s face. After dealing with injuries for a couple of seasons, he exploded into one of the NBA’s best players.
Gilgeous-Alexander has had three straight 30-plus point campaigns. He’s had three straight All-Star and All-NBA First Team nods. He went from fifth to runner-up to finally the MVP in those three years. The 26-year-old had his best campaign yet.
Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 32.7 points on 51.9% shooting, 6.4 assists and five rebounds this past season. He won about every award imaginable. A championship ring was highlighted with the triple crown of MVP, Western Conference Finals MVP and NBA Finals MVP. Oh, and he also won the scoring title.
No denying it now, Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the three best players in the league at worst. He has a trajectory of a top 15 all-time player with his on-court production and accolades. Now he stays on the Thunder with a chance to build up a dynasty.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s fit
This is easy. Gilgeous-Alexander is the fit. Everything in OKC revolves around him. When you’re an MVP winner, you get your say on how the franchise and roster are built. The Thunder will remain a title contender as long as he stays healthy. Simple as that.
Now, the Thunder must prepare for the 2026-27 season and beyond. That’ll be the first year where most of their payroll is tied to Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren. To remain competitive, the rest of the roster must be fielded by players on their rookie-scale deals or team-friendly contracts.
The dreaded second apron has been a roster-building Grim Reaper. But if anybody is best set up to avoid the deadly consequences of it, it’s the Thunder with the amount of draft capital they have at their disposal. It’ll also help that they have one of the best trios to give them a comfy margin of error.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s future
The Thunder should throw an afterparty for this. They locked down Gilgeous-Alexander to a third contract. That’s always the toughest one to convince somebody to sign. Ask about their attempts with Kevin Durant. But fresh off an NBA championship and a historic season, it was a no-brainer for both sides.
Gilgeous-Alexander will remain in OKC as long as he wants to. He signed the richest contract in NBA history. A 2030-31 opt-out will give him a chance to sign an even more expensive fourth deal when the new CBA rolls around and the cap number is likely larger.
It’s good to see Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder take care of business early on. They’re now locked and loaded to defend their championship and hope for a rare repeat.
Final thoughts
This is great news for both sides. The Thunder will keep their franchise player for the foreseeable future. Gilgeous-Alexander will get the Brink’s trucks backed up. There was little negotiation involved. Which likely explains why the MVP winner ditched his agency Wasserman months before he could sign a new contract.
The Thunder should take a victory lap. Out of all the NBA franchises, they should understand not to take for granted re-signing their franchise stars. Gilgeous-Alexander nonchalantly took care of business as early as he could. While he could’ve made significantly more next offseason, the 26-year-old is betting on still being one of the league’s top players in 2030 to get one final massive payday.
The Thunder entered the offseason with a chance to lock down their star trio. One domino is down. Williams and Holmgren are likely next. Granted, it’s a little surprising to see Gilgeous-Alexander be the first to sign. But Williams and Holmgren will surely get their deals done.
Final Grade: A-plus