NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has agreed to a four-year, $285 million super maximum contract extension with the champion Oklahoma City Thunder through the 2030-31 season, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.
This is now the richest annual salary for a player in league history.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who averaged a league-high 32.7 points during the regular season and 30.3 in the NBA Finals, joined an exclusive list of players to win the MVP and Finals MVP in the same season. The only others to accomplish that feat are Michael Jordan (four times), LeBron James (twice), Larry Bird (twice), Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Magic Johnson, Moses Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Willis Reed.
Gilgeous-Alexander also became the first player to win a scoring title and NBA championship in the same season since O’Neal in 2000. The only others to have done that are Jordan (six times), Abdul-Jabbar, George Mikan (twice) and Joe Fulks.
