OKLAHOMA CITY -- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed on a record-setting four-year, $285 million extension that would give him the highest single-season average salary in NBA history, a person with knowledge of the agreement said Tuesday.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been publicly announced and likely will not be until the league's moratorium on most offseason signings is lifted on Sunday.
ESPN first reported on the agreement.
News of the deal comes on Canada Day, a fitting coincidence for the 26-year-old from Ontario who is coming off a season like few others in NBA history.
Not only did Gilgeous-Alexander lead the Thunder to their first NBA championship since their rebrand and move to Oklahoma City as well as the league's best record, he swept most major individual awards -- winning regular-season and NBA Finals MVP honors and the scoring title.
The supermax extension was not unexpected. It was a question of timing; he could have taken a deal with an even higher total value next summer.
Based on the NBA's most recent salary cap projections -- the exact numbers will not be finalized until June 2027 -- Gilgeous-Alexander would make somewhere around $63 million in the first season and nearly $79 million during the 2030-31 season. That would put him at an average payout of nearly $1 million per regular season game, and would be the highest single-season salary in NBA history.
Gilgeous-Alexander didn't enter the league with superstar expectations. He was the 11th overall pick in the 2018 draft, and he was traded from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Thunder after his rookie year. He was part of the package of players and draft picks the Clippers sent in exchange for Paul George at the request of incoming free agent signing Kawhi Leonard.
The Thunder turned one of those draft picks into Jalen Williams, a third-year forward out of Santa Clara who scored 21.6 points per game and made his first All-Star team in helping them to the title.
Gilgeous-Alexander has been on an upward trajectory ever since, and Thunder General Manager Sam Presti believes that will continue. He scored 19 points per game in his first season in Oklahoma City in 2019-20 before playing just 91 games the next two seasons as the team finished second-to-last in the Western Conference in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
Since then, Gilgeous-Alexander has scored at least 30 points per game, been named first-team All-NBA and finished no lower than fifth in league MVP voting in each of the past three seasons.
"He's gotten better every single year," Presti said. "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."
Presti referred to Gilgeous-Alexander as a "basketball artist" because he has the emotional intelligence to know when to call upon his various gifts.
"I just think he's got left and right brain working, and 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 said. "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."
The Thunder are set to be contenders for years. Their best player is in place long-term, all their major players are under contract through at least next season and Presti has a slew of draft picks stashed from previous trades.
"We definitely still have room to grow," Gilgeous-Alexander said after beating the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. "That's the fun part of this. So many of us can still get better. There's not very many of us on the team that are 'in our prime' or even close to it."
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander celebrates after they won the NBA basketball championship with a Game 7 victory against the Indiana Pacers Sunday, June 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander celebrates after they won the NBA basketball championship with a Game 7 victory against the Indiana Pacers Sunday, June 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, center, gestures after addressing the crowd during a celebration of the Thunder's NBA basketball championship Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, center, gestures after addressing the crowd during a celebration of the Thunder's NBA basketball championship Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots against Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) during the first half of Game 7 of the NBA Finals basketball series Sunday, June 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots against Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) during the first half of Game 7 of the NBA Finals basketball series Sunday, June 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, center, holds up the MVP trophy as he celebrates with his team after they won the NBA basketball championship with a Game 7 victory against the Indiana Pacers Sunday, June 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, center, holds up the MVP trophy as he celebrates with his team after they won the NBA basketball championship with a Game 7 victory against the Indiana Pacers Sunday, June 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)