The OKC Thunder may be the reigning NBA Champions, but it's the San Antonio Spurs who reign supreme in the Victor Wembanyama vs. Chet Holmgren rivalry.
From the counting stats and advanced metrics to the accolades collection on each of their individual resumes, Wemby clearly has a leg up on the Gonzaga product as far as their overall professional careers are concerned.
Of course, though Holmgren now has a leg up in the earnings department, as ESPN NBA Insider Shams Charania recently revealed that the big man has signed a lofty new five-year extension that could reach up to $250 million, by the time the summer of 2026 rolls around, it seems all but guaranteed that the Spurs cornerstone will once again come out on top.
Spurs star Victor Wembanyama set to eclipse Chet Holmgren extension
As of right now, based on the current state of the CBA, once Wembanyama becomes eligible to sign his rookie max extension next offseason, he'll be able to earn roughly 30.0 percent of the total salary cap during year one of the deal.
This means that, based on current trends, he'd earn somewhere in the realm of ~$50 million in the first season and could net a total north of $300 million over a five-year span when taking into account qualifiers such as earning MVP, DPOY, or All-NBA distinctions.
Although subject to change over time, these projections, as they currently stand, would make Wemby's rookie max the richest extension in NBA history, and second only to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's $71.25 million per year earnings in regard to the highest annual salary.
Even with his diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis that shut him down mid-way through last season, assuming reports are accurate and his recovery is going well, inking Wembanyama to such a lucrative payday would be more than worth it for the Spurs organization.
In just two seasons leading the charge as the franchise's centerpiece, the 7-foot-3 wunderkind has proven himself to be a truly historic talent in the association.
He became the first player to average at least 20.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks in under 30 minutes per game during his debut season, and met this Rookie of the Year-winning campaign up with an even more dominant follow-up where he dropped 24.3 points, 11.0 points, and 3.8 blocks per game on 47.6 percent shooting from the floor and 35.2 percent shooting from deep in 2024-25.
When on the floor, Victor Wembanyama is truly a one-of-a-kind commodity and, in just 117 games played in the league, seems well on his way toward living up to the hype of being considered the greatest prospect the NBA has ever seen.
His signing of a $300 million extension next year seems to be the logical trajectory for his already illustrious career.