Canada's Gilgeous-Alexander agrees to record 4-year, $285M US extension with Thunder: reports

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed on a record-setting 4-year, $285 million US 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 won't be until the league's moratorium on most offseason signings is lifted on Sunday.

ESPN first reported on the agreement.

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. <a href="https://t.co/eptbVjUo6j">pic.twitter.com/eptbVjUo6j</a>

News of the deal comes on Canada Day, a fitting coincidence for the 26-year-old from Hamilton 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 and 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 about $1 million per regular season game, and would be the highest single-season salary in NBA history.

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