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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder agree to record 4-year extension
OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed on a record-setting 4-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 won't 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. Related * Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 29 points to lead Thunder past Pacers for NBA title 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. 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 has been on an upward trajectory ever since, and Thunder general manager Sam Presti believes that will continue. "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 the Game 7 win over the Indiana Pacers. "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."
