Shai Gilgeous-Alexander enjoyed one of the best seasons for a guard in NBA history, and is now being rewarded.
Coming off an MVP season and an NBA title, Gilgeous-Alexander agreed to a four-year, $285million contract extension with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.
The deal, which was reported by Shams Charania of ESPN, keeps Gilgeous-Alexander in Oklahoma City through the 2030-31 season.
With an average annual value of $71.25million, Gilgeous-Alexander now has the richest annual salary in NBA history.
Gilgeous-Alexander agreed to the deal just over a week after leading the Thunder to the franchise's first NBA championship and capturing the Finals MVP.
This came after he won the regular-season scoring title and was named the 2024-25 league MVP. The 26-year-old became the fourth player in NBA history to win MVP, Finals MVP, a scoring title and play for a champion in the same season, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal.
During the 2024-25 regular season, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged career bests of 32.7 points and 6.4 assists with 5.0 rebounds to earn a third straight All-Star selection. He also led the NBA in 50-point games (four), 40-point games (13), 30-point games (49) and 20-point games (75).
Not only is Gilgeous-Alexander the most dangerous scorer in the league, he is also considered one of the NBA's premier defenders, as he ranked fifth in steals at 1.72 per game to go with 1.01 blocks per game. He was the only player in the league to average more than one block and at least 1.5 steals per game in 2024-25.
