The Oklahoma City Thunder have made Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Toronto, Ontario the highest paid player in the National Basketball Association. Gilgeous-Alexander signed an extension starting in 2027-28 that is four years, and worth $285 million according to Michael Grange of Rogers Sportsnet on Tuesday.
Before the extension begins for the 2027-28 season, Gilgeous-Alexander will make $38.3 million in 2025-26, and $40.8 million in 2026-27. It is safe to say that Gilgeous-Alexander is the richest Canadian athlete in sports history.
To put the contract into perspective, when the extension for Gilgeous-Alexander kicks in three years from now, he will be making more money than Los Angeles Dodgers multi-positional generational phenom Shohei Ohtani. In Ohtani’s contract, he is making an average of $70 million per year, which is $1 million less than Gilgeous-Alexander will soon be making.
Last month, Gilgeous-Alexander became the first Canadian ever to be NBA Finals MVP. In the seven game series against the Indiana Pacers, he averaged 30.6 points per game, 5.6 assists per game, 4.6 rebounds per game, 1.9 steals per game, and 1.6 blocks per game. Gilgeous-Alexander also had a field goal percentage of .443, free throw percentage of .914, and three point percentage of .242.
Gilgeous-Alexander also became the second Canadian ever to win NBA MVP. In the regular season, he led the NBA in scoring with 32.7 points per game.
