Gilgeous-Alexander agrees record $285 mln extension: reports
Gilgeous-Alexander, who guided the Thunder to the NBA championship last month after a campaign that saw him win regular season and finals Most Valuable Player awards, is now tied to the club through 2031.
Advertisement
The 26-year-old Canadian point guard has two years remaining on his existing contract with Oklahoma City worth $79.1 million (67.2 million euros).
The four additional seasons of his contract extension will see him receive $62.5 million, $68.6 million, $73.7 million and then $78.7 million in 2030-2031.
The deal gives Gilgeous-Alexander the highest annual salary in the NBA, eclipsing the average $64.3 million salary of the Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid and the $62.8 million earned by the Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum.
Gilgeous-Alexander was the fulcrum of the Thunder's dazzling 68-win Western Conference season, before inspiring the team to a 4-3 NBA Finals victory over the Indiana Pacers last month.
Advertisement
The Thunder ace averaged a league-high 32.7 points during the regular season and 30.3 points in the NBA Finals on his way to completing his MVP double.
He became only the fourth player in history to win both NBA regular season and finals MVP awards as well as the league's scoring title, putting him into an exclusive club alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal.
rcw/mw
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Messages Are Pouring in After Jayson Tatum's 6-Word Post on Friday
Messages Are Pouring in After Jayson Tatum's 6-Word Post on Friday originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Everything changed for the Boston Celtics when Jayson Tatum ruptured his Achilles against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals this past season. They went from a perennial championship contender to a team in limbo, and they didn't waste time making changes after the season. Advertisement Boston traded Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis before Wednesday's draft, two crucial contributors to its 2024 title-winning team. The moves got the organization under the second apron, which increases its flexibility with free agency and trades. Meanwhile, Tatum is rehabbing his Achilles injury and will likely miss the entirety of next season. The six-time All-Star posted a message about it on Friday night via social media. Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30).© Kyle Terada-Imagn Images "Day 45… this is some [expletive]," he said. Celtics fans supported their star in the replies. "We can't wait till you back champ," one said. "Luv u big bro keep going," another one said. Advertisement "We're all here for you king," another said. "You got this, Celtics fans are behind you, we believe in you and you will get through this," another said. "Love you JT!" "The comeback is gonna be a movie. Keep going JT," another said. "Praying for you GOAT," another said. Tatum never had a serious injury in his NBA career before this one. The 27-year-old averaged 26.8 points on 45.2 percent shooting (34.3 percent 3 PT) with 8.7 rebounds and six assists over 36.4 minutes this past season. He also averaged 28.1 points on 42.3 percent shooting (37.2 percent 3 PT) with 11.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists over 40.3 minutes in the playoffs. Advertisement Related: Celtics' Brad Stevens Makes Jaylen Brown Statement After NBA Draft Related: New Jaylen Brown, Derrick White Trade Report Hours Before NBA Draft This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 28, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Warriors Named Potential Landing Spot For Former Bucks' Star
Warriors Named Potential Landing Spot For Former Bucks' Star originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Golden State Warriors suffered from tough luck down the stretch of the NBA season. While a 23-7 following the trade that landed them Jimmy Butler helped them get back in the mix for the NBA Playoffs, they dropped a few games in the final week of the regular season that forced them into the NBA Play-In Tournament. Advertisement They defeated the Memphis Grizzlies in the opening round of the play-in to set up a matchup with the No. 2-seeded Houston Rockets. It took them the full seven games, but the Warriors emerged victorious to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round. Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30).David Gonzales-Imagn Images Warriors named potential landing spot for former Bucks' star That's where the luck ran out for the Warriors, as Stephen Curry left Game 1 with a hamstring injury and never returned. While the Warriors took Game 1, they went on to lose the next four. The Warriors have been relatively quiet during free agency thus far. They let Kevon Looney go to join the New Orleans Pelicans. However, there's been speculation that the Warriors could be in play for a star guard in free agency. Advertisement According to Marc Spears, the Warriors have been in touch with Damian Lillard after the Milwaukee Bucks shockingly waived him Tuesday morning. "Another thing that I'm hearing, of the many teams that reached out to Damian Lillard, the Warriors are one of those teams," Spears said on NBA Today, via Bleacher Report's Scott Polacek."This is a guy that grew up going to games at Oracle Arena, sneaking into the media room getting sodas. Grew up a Warriors fan. "That's interesting. I know Kuminga's big, but hearing that the Warriors do has interest in Dame, I know that's very interesting to Bay Area people." Advertisement Lillard will likely miss much of the season as he rehabilitates his torn Achilles. Add in the fact that he'll be 35 this season, his level of play upon return remains far from certain. The Warriors rely on a lineup that features many veterans as part of their core, including Butler and Draymond Green. Making their rotation older might not be the best idea, but if Lillard shows that he can return to his old talent level, it could be a move that puts them over the top in the Western Conference. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Indiana Fever's resilience shines in Commissioner's Cup championship
MINNEAPOLIS — Before storming into the locker room for a champagne shower celebration, Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White took off the pair of sneakers she had just finished coaching in. She had been wearing Caitlin Clark's Nike Kobe V Protro Player Edition sneakers, which sold out within minutes of going on the market on Monday. White knew they were precious and didn't want anything to get on them. Only after handing them to a team staff member did she feel comfortable entering Indiana's locker room. The Fever's Commissioner's Cup party commenced. Advertisement Clark didn't play in Indiana's 74-59 victory over the Minnesota Lynx in Tuesday's Commissioner's Cup title game because of a groin injury, but she was one of the leaders in the postgame festivities. Guard Sydney Colson said Clark was biting off bottle caps. Guard Lexie Hull said that she, Clark and wing Sophie Cunningham shot-gunned beers. After Colson finished a postgame media scrum outside of the Indiana locker room, Clark was among several Fever players who re-soaked the veteran guard in Round 2 of her celebratory champagne dousing. Indiana took home a title on Tuesday, but the lessons from the win should linger for longer than just a single night. The Fever trailed by eight points after the first quarter — a daunting deficit against Minnesota, which had been undefeated at home this season. And then, Indiana's defense stiffened. The Fever held the Lynx to a season-low seven points in the second quarter as they went on an 18-0 run. Indy surrendered just 15 third-quarter points as MVP front-runner Napheesa Collier saw shot after shot rattle off the rim. An early Indiana deficit flipped into a lead. A lead became a win, which came with a trophy. 'We have a resilient group,' White said. 'They're tough, mentally, physically, they pull for one another. I'm proud of them that they can see it come to fruition.' Advertisement It was hard not to see the impact Indiana had on defense. The Lynx surely felt the Fever's pressure, too. White noted that Indiana was more disruptive in passing lanes and made Minnesota's movement difficult. Indiana's point of attack, ball-screen defense was stout. Its communication, for the game's final three quarters, was excellent. 'Our intensity was a little bit better, our attention to detail was a little bit better,' White said. 'It's what we're capable of doing.' Indiana has shown flashes of what its ceiling might be throughout the first six weeks of the season. It blew out the Chicago Sky on opening night as Clark recorded a triple-double, helping set championship expectations. The Fever's 14-point victory over the New York Liberty on June 14 has been another exclamation point — that win playing an instrumental role in Indy, not New York, competing for the $500,000 pot that accompanied Tuesday's contest. But too often the Fever have had lulls. Defensive lapses and communication errors have limited Indiana to being just a bottom-half defense in the league thus far. Clark has dealt with two injuries, missing eight total games, and veteran wing DeWanna Bonner went from a starting role to the bench to getting waived — all in less than two months. Advertisement 'We gut-check all the time and we're resilient,' guard Kelsey Mitchell said after recording 12 points in Tuesday's win. 'It felt good to get a win under gut-checking circumstances.' The circumstances that came with Tuesday's win mattered to the Fever. Yes, it was only one win and it won't even count in the league's regular-season standings for either team. But White said pregame that the matchup came with 'a little added juice and adrenaline.' Hull said her teammates were approaching the game with a higher attention to detail, knowing it would be especially important to be disciplined. Cunningham saw Tuesday as an opportunity for Indiana to jell. 'Not everyone has clicked on the same page, but once you do, it's gonna be scary, but you have to get there,' she said hours before tipoff. Indiana's offense shot just 42.9 percent from the field, and no Fever player scored more than 16 points. Those numbers won't frighten opponents. Advertisement But for a night, White said Indiana focused on making the easy play and not the home run play. The Fever won a meaningful game without their most meaningful player. 'You've seen this group grow,' White said. '(Clark's) a player who has a high usage rate, has the ball in her hands a lot, and learning to play without her, learning to make big plays and tough moments on both ends of the floor is important, because that's going to pay dividends down the stretch of the season for us.' Added Colson: 'We were No. 1 today. We just need this mindset to fuel us forward.' The challenge now for Indiana becomes building on Tuesday's success. Clark's return — she has missed three consecutive games — will lift the Fever's eventual ceiling, but the defensive standard has at the very least been made clear. The Lynx's 27 first-half points and point total for the game were season lows. Their 34.9 percent field goal percentage was also a season-low. Advertisement Colson played 21 minutes off the bench, the most since Indiana's win over the Liberty. Aari McDonald not only pushed pace on offense, but White applauded the recently-signed Fever guard for setting the defensive tone, too. Lynx starting guards Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams combined to shoot only 5 of 21. Indiana's holistic success is why even amid a topsy-turvey start to the season, the Commissioner's Cup celebration could be especially meaningful. Colson said it could be a turning point. Fever players donned championship hats and T-shirts on the court after the win. Howard, after scoring 16 points and recording 12 rebounds, held an MVP trophy for her standout performance. When the festivities concluded on the court, Clark was the first player to enter Indiana's locker room. Advertisement A celebration awaited. She didn't have to shoot from the logo, create in the pick-and-roll or generate transition opportunities for Indiana to win. She merely cheered on her teammates, and then soaked them after. 'It's nice to take a trophy home, but this isn't the ultimate goal,' White said. 'It's a goal, and we've got to continue to get better.' This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Indiana Fever, WNBA 2025 The Athletic Media Company
