Shai Gilgeous-Alexander signs largest per year average salary contract in NBA history

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Jun 22, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) holds up his NBA Finals Bill Russell MVP trophy at the end of game seven of the 2025 NBA Finals after defeating the Indiana Pacers at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

No player in NBA history has signed a contract worth as much per-year money as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander just did.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed to a four-year, $285 million super maximum contract extension that will keep the league’s 2024-25 MVP locked in with the franchise through the 2030-31 season. Once the extension kicks in starting with the 2027-28 season, SGA’s annual average salary of $71.25 million will be the most the NBA has ever seen.

Gilgeous-Alexander, 26, is coming off a historic season with OKC. The former Wildcat led the league in scoring, averaging 32.7 points, 6.4 assists, five rebounds, 1.7 steals, and one block in 34.2 minutes per outing. He shot 51.9 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from deep, and 89.8 percent from the free throw line while leading the Thunder to 68 regular-season wins and an NBA Finals championship.

BREAKING: NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has agreed to a four-year, $285 million super maximum contract extension with the championship Oklahoma City Thunder through 2030-31, sources tell ESPN. This is now the richest annual salary for a player in league history. pic.twitter.com/eptbVjUo6j
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2025

A three-straight All-NBA First Team member (which includes three straight top-five MVP finishes), Gilgeous-Alexander has come a long way from starting his college career as Quade Green‘s backup at Kentucky. The native of Canada ended up making the SEC All-Freshman Team before being picked 11th overall in the 2018 NBA Draft. Originally taken by the Hornets, SGA was quickly traded to the Clippers for his rookie season.

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Gilgeous-Alexander was famously included in the trade (centered around draft picks) that sent Paul George from the Thunder to the Clippers. Almost immediately, he turned into a budding superstar with OKC. SGA finished fifth in MVP voting in 2023-23, second in 2023-24, and first this past season. He became just the 11th player in league history to win both the regular season MVP and Finals MVP in the same season. Only three others have accomplished the triple crown of scoring champion, MVP, and NBA champion in the same season: Michael Jordan (four times), Shaquille O’Neal, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

This new extension for Gilgeous-Alexander will kick in beginning with the 2027-28 season. In total, he’ll earn $364 million in salary over the next six years. ESPN’s Bobby Marks reports that SGA will make the following in annual salary throughout the course of the extension: