The Oklahoma City Thunder Are Giving Chet Holmgren A Contract That Could Reach A Quarter-Billion Dollars

Running an NBA team is often a fickle thing. Back in 2012, the Oklahoma City Thunder had just come off a terrific season, reaching the NBA Finals for the first time since the team had moved from Seattle to Oklahoma City. Yet the Thunder were unwilling to go deep into the luxury tax to pay their core, and they traded James Harden to the Houston Rockets. Today, Oklahoma City is facing a similar situation, and the team appears to be moving in the opposite direction.

Funny how winning a championship can change your perspective.

Since the NBA's free agency period began on June 30, the Thunder signed MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to a four-year contract extension worth $285 million. They also re-signed Chet Holmgren to a rookie max extension. Holmgren's deal is worth at least $239 million over five seasons, and could reach up to $250 million.

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Holmgren will get the bonus money if he makes an All-NBA team or wins Defensive Player of the Year, or the league's MVP. He missed three months this season with a hip injury, though he was a key piece to the team's success once he returned, particularly on the defensive end. Winning DPOY isn't out of the question, assuming he can stay on the court for more games.

The Thunder are the second-youngest team ever to win a title, and they want to secure their star players for the long run. It's going to be costly. The new contracts for Holmgren and Alexander are worth a collective $535 million, though those both don't kick in until the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons, respectively. In the meantime, the two players will make nearly $93 million until those extensions begin. That means the Thunder have a combined $628 million dedicated to two guys over the next six seasons.

And that's before the team offers Jalen Williams a long-term extension, which will presumably be close to the max, as well. The Thunder could very well be handing out about $900 million to their three-star players, likely encountering tax and apron issues across multiple seasons.

Perhaps the organization learned from 2012, when it led Harden to walk instead of trying to run it back with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. While keeping this lineup together will be costly, the team did bring the franchise its first-ever championship and is poised for another strong run this upcoming season. That kind of longevity is worth a pretty penny.