$285 million over 4 years! Alexander signs a super max extension with the Thunder, setting a record for the highest annual salary in history.

On July 1st Beijing time, according to well-known journalist Shams, regular season MVP Alexander has consented to an early 4-year, $285 million super max contract extension with the Thunder, which will run through the 2030-31 season. This contract currently establishes the highest player annual salary ever in the league’s history.

The specific amounts for the four years are: $63.525 million for the 2027-28 season, $68.607 million for 2028-29, $73.689 million for 2029-30, and $78.771 million for the 2030-31 season.

Since joining the Thunder, Alexander has signed two contract extensions. Since his arrival in Oklahoma City in 2019, the partnership and trust between both sides have strengthened. This season, Alexander not only earned the regular season MVP but also secured the Finals MVP and scoring champion titles—all within the same season.

Alexander averaged 32.7 points per game in the regular season, leading the league, and contributed 30.3 points per game during the Finals, joining the exclusive list of players who have won both the regular season MVP and Finals MVP in a single season. Previous players to achieve this include Michael Jordan (4 times), LeBron James (2 times), Larry Bird (2 times), Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Magic Johnson, Moses Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Willis Reed.

Alexander also became the first player since Shaquille O’Neal in 2000 to simultaneously claim the scoring title and NBA championship in the same season. Others who have done this include Michael Jordan (6 times), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, George Mikan (2 times), and Joe Fulks.

Apart from Alexander, the only players to win the scoring title, regular season MVP, and NBA championship all in one season are Michael Jordan (4 times), Shaquille O’Neal, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

In the summer of 2019, the Thunder acquired Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as a key asset in the trade with the Los Angeles Clippers for Paul George, along with a series of valuable first-round draft picks, one of which was used to select another Thunder core player, Jalen Williams.

Throughout the Thunder’s roster restructuring and rapid rebuilding centered around him, Alexander has remained the stable face of the team. Despite the Thunder enduring tough seasons with only 22 and 24 wins, his commitment and trust in the team never wavered. Over the past three seasons, the Thunder’s win totals have increased by double digits each year, culminating in 68 wins and a championship run this season.

According to ESPN research, Alexander’s regular season scoring average during this championship season is the highest among all players who won the title that year, edging out Michael Jordan’s 1992-93 season by 0.1 points. He scored a total of 3,172 points across the regular season and playoffs, the highest mark since Jordan’s record-setting season.

This season, he scored 20 or more points in 72 consecutive games, ranking fourth on the NBA’s single-season consecutive 20+ points list; additionally, his plus-minus rating reached +918, the highest single-season plus-minus since Stephen Curry’s 2016-17 Warriors campaign.