With Jalen Williams extended, the Oklahoma City Thunder have locked up their championship core at a hefty praise.
It’s been expensive, but the Oklahoma City Thunder has struck a few times this offseason.
The defending NBA champions have locked up the core that brought the first title to The Big Friendly, as ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Jalen Williams signed a rookie contract extension worth up to $287 million on Thursday. Williams joins Chet Holmgren and newly-minted MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as newly-extended Oklahomans who seek to turn the title run into a dynasty.
Williams came to Oklahoma City as the 12th overall pick of the 2022 draft out of Santa Clara. He has established himself as one of the top two-way players in the Association, putting up a career-best 21.6 points along with over five assists and rebounds each.
At the end of the year, Williams earned both All-Defensive and All-NBA team accolades, his first such honors in addition to his first NBA All-Star Game.
Williams’ postseason en route to a Larry O’Brien Trophy hoist will no doubt forever be commemorated in Thunder lore: despite enduring wrist injuries late in the regular season, Williams averaged 21.4 points and 5.5 rebounds, notably breaking loose for 24 tallies in in the vital Game 7, conference semifinal win over the Denver Nuggets.
In the Finals against the Indiana Pacers, Williams made history with a 40-point performance in a tiebreaking Game 5, becoming the third-youngest player in championship series’ history to reach such a statistical plateau behind only Magic Johnson and Russell Westbrook. Williams also had 20 points in the Game 7 clincher. Since then, he has undergone several injections and painkillers to rehab the injured wrist in question.
Based on the way it has operated so far, the Thunder will be on solid financial ground in its first championship defense before the massive extensions kick in for the 2027-28 campaign.
The three extensions of the Thunder’s core, each of whom is under 27 years old, puts the franchise in position to retain its core and be in title contention for at least the rest of the decade. In 2026-27, the team’s projected $246 million payroll will take it over the first and second apron after the 2025-26 payroll projects to be under the luxury tax.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMagss