Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is on the verge of making history this offseason.
The Oklahoma City Thunder superstar has been so impressive that he doesn’t even need to win league MVP or an NBA title this season to do it.
The announcement of the All-NBA teams last season made Gilgeous-Alexander (along with Luka Doncic) the first player eligible for a supermax extension.
Thanks to the NBA’s new record-breaking 11-year TV rights deal worth $76 billion, Doncic can sign a five-year, $346 million supermax this offseason, earning a maximum of $78 million in 2030-31.
For Thunder star Gilgeous-Alexander, since his supermax extension would kick in a year later than Doncic, he’ll get a contract that pays $81.5 million five years down the road. Signing the extension would make him the first athlete in U.S. sports history to secure a big payout from a team.
Under the NBA’s revised CBA, players only become eligible for a supermax contract if they meet a two-step eligibility process.
Step One:
- Player must be named to an All-NBA team in the most recent season, or two in the last three years.
- Win DPOY in the most recent season, or two in the last three years
- Win MVP in any of the three previous seasons
