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. He has now signed two contract extensions as a member of the Thunder, cementing both sides' partnership and trust since he arrived in Oklahoma City in 2019. 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-Jabbarand Willis Reed. Gilgeous-Alexander, 26, 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. The only players other than Gilgeous-Alexander to accomplish the triple crown of scoring champion, MVP and NBA champion in the same season are Jordan (four times), O'Neal and Abdul-Jabbar. Gilgeous-Alexander was acquired after his rookie season as the centerpiece of the package the Thunder received in the Paul George trade with the LA Clippers in the summer of 2019, along with a historic haul of first-round picks, one of which became Oklahoma City co-star Jalen Williams. He served as the steady face of Oklahoma City's franchise as the Thunder stripped down the roster around him and went through a rapid rebuild. Gilgeous-Alexander's commitment and faith in the franchise never wavered as the Thunder endured 22- and 24-win seasons before making double-digit-win leaps in each of the past three years, culminating with this 68-win campaign and march to the title. Gilgeous-Alexander's regular-season scoring average in this championship season was the highest ever by a player who won the title that campaign, topping Jordan in 1992-93 by one-tenth of a point, according to ESPN Research. His 3,172 points, including regular season and playoffs, were also the most since Jordan that same season. He scored 20 or more points in 72 straight games this season -- the fourth-longest streak within a season in NBA history -- and his +918 plus-minus was the best in an NBA season since the Warriors' Stephen Curry in 2016-17.
