Shai

NBA players make more money than their counterparts in other team sports. NFL and MLB might conjure fields of green, but NBA courts are the equivalent of the WALDIS Ultra safe — the preferred place to stash cash.

The reasons involve simple math. NBA rosters are half the size of those in MLB and a fraction of the size of those in the NFL. Fewer players share the spoils of television deals, merchandise sales, sponsorships and game attendance. That translates into more money per player.

That also means the contract signed Tuesday by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander giving him the richest annual salary ever is not a surprise. It’s business as usual.

Fresh off leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to the NBA championship, Gilgeous-Alexander — known as SGA — signed a four-year, $285-million super maximum contract extension that will kick in during the 2027-2028 season.

That’s $71.25 million a year. Cue the confetti emoji.

In general, NBA contracts are the most lucrative, MLB contracts the longest, and NFL contracts the trickiest to decipher because not all the money is guaranteed.

The Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani makes $70 million a year from the 10-year, $700-million contract he signed before the 2024 season. However, he is paid only $2 million a year because he agreed to defer the rest. The remaining $68 million per year will be paid from 2034 to 2043.

Juan Soto signed a 15-year, $765-million contract with the New York Mets before the 2025 season that does not include deferments. The outfielder received a $75 million signing bonus and will be paid an annual salary of about $46 million through 2038.

Soto’s deal includes the option to opt out after the 2029 season, at which time the Mets can override his opt out by adding an additional $4 million per season to the final 10 years of his contract. That would increase his salary to $50 million per year and raise his total earnings to $805 million.

So, while Ohtani’s and Soto’s contracts are the most lucrative because of their length, the average annual value doesn’t match that of top NBA deals. Eighteen NBA players are under contract to make $50 million or more per season, according to Spotrac.

Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics became the first player to land a deal that will pay him $70 million in a season. The five-year, $314-million extension he agreed to a year ago will max out at $71.45 million for the 2029-30 season, the last on the contract.

Tatum’s teammate Jaylen Brown signed a similar deal a year earlier, agreeing to play five years for $285.4 million, an average of $57.1 million a season.

The most lucrative NFL contracts go exclusively to quarterbacks, six of whom are under contracts that guarantee $200 million or more. Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills tops the list with a $250-million guarantee from a six-year deal he signed in May.

Fellow passers guaranteed $200 million or more: Dak Prescott ($231 million) of Dallas, Deshaun Watson ($230 million) of Cleveland, Joe Burrow ($219 million) of Cincinnati, Justin Herbert of the Chargers ($218.7 million) and Trevor Lawrence ($200 million) of Jacksonville.

Next season, seven NFL players — all quarterbacks — will be paid more than $50 million: Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes ($56.8 million), Detroit’s Jared Goff ($55 million), Allen ($55 million), Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa ($55 million), Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson ($52 million), Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts ($51.5 million) and Green Bay’s Jordan Love ($51 million).

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is tied for 13th on the list at $40 million after his contract was restructured to give him a large raise from the $23 million he made in 2024.

The highest paid non-quarterback next season will be Philadelphia Eagles tackle Lane Johnson at $41.7 million.

Circling back to MLB, Angels outfielder Mike Trout continues to hold the largest contract value besides Ohtani and Soto. He signed a 12-year, $426.5-million contract in 2019, at the time the most lucrative contract in American sports.

Trout won his third American League Most Valuable Player award — he’s also finished second in the voting four times — in the first year of the deal, but in the six years since has played more than 100 games only once because of injuries.

Other MLB contracts of note, in order of total value, include the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts (12 years, $365 million), the Yankees’ Aaron Judge (nine years, $360 million), the Mets’ Francisco Lindor (10 years, $341 million) and San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. (14 years, $340 million).

Next season, the highest paid players behind Soto will be Phillies pitcher Zach Wheeler ($42 million), Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero ($40.2 million), Judge ($40 million) and Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon ($38.6 million).

At least for the Angels, it will be the last year they must pay Rendon. The seven-year, $245-million contract he signed before the 2020 season is one of the worst in sports history. He’s hit a grand total of 22 home runs in six seasons and hasn’t played more than 58 games in any single season. This year he isn’t expected to play because of a hip injury.

Guaranteeing a player an enormous sum of money and watching him disappoint is a risk teams take regardless of the sport. Witness Watson in the NFL and Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal (five years, $250 million) in the NBA.

Gilgeous-Alexander is considered a low-risk signing because of his youth, his makeup and the fact that NBA players maintain their peak performance longer than those in the NFL and MLB, where catastrophic injuries are more frequent.

The NBA scoring leader is only 26. Until his extension begins in the 2027-2028 season, he’ll have to make do with $38 million next season and $40 million the following year.

His total over the next six seasons will be $363 million and he still could be playing at a high enough level to merit another mega-deal. Although history has proven that by then, another player will have eclipsed what for now is a staggering salary.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander puzzled people when he debuted his signature Converse shoe during All-Star weekend.

Converse? Where Chuck Taylor retros reside? Sure, Gilgeous-Alexander — known simply as SGA — was a rapidly improving player on a rapidly improving Oklahoma City Thunder team. But him as the face of a fading performance sneaker outfit didn’t compute.

Fast forward to the NBA Finals. Moments after the Thunder’s 103-91 Game 7 victory over the Indiana Pacers, SGA ascended the stage to accept his most valuable player trophy with a golden colorway of his signature shoe hanging from his neck.

Then on Tuesday, SGA doubled down, enjoying the championship parade with “Trophy Gold” Converse SHAI 001s on his feet.

Who would have thought Oklahoma City would become a flash point of foot fashion. And during Paris Fashion Week no less, when big brands from Nike and New Balance to Adidas and Asics introduce new product lines.

Nothing enhances marketing like winning, and SGA is the undisputed NBA victor of the season. He’s the anointed MVP of the regular season as well as the Finals, leading the league in scoring and doing it all with an impish grin and requisite humility.

As creative director of Converse, the shoe fits.

“I’m able to essentially do whatever I want to do with the shoe. How it’s going to play out, the ball is really in my court,” SGA told Boardroom TV in December. “It’s something that I could imagine every athlete would want to ask for, to try and tell their story and show themselves to the world how they want to do it. To have complete control, it’s a blessing.”

But can SGA elevate Converse from the bargain rack? His SHAI 001s aren’t grandpa’s Chuck Taylor All-Stars, those classic shoes of timeless design consisting of a white toe cap over cotton canvas adorned with a distinctive All-Star logo.

They made a comeback last year when presidential candidate Kamala Harris wore them but Converse recorded year-over-year sales declines of 15% or more in each of the last three fiscal quarters.

Chuck Taylor was a semi-pro basketball player and traveling salesman for the Converse Rubber Shoe Company in the early 1920s when he designed the shoe. By the 1950s nearly everyone on a basketball court wore them, but they declined in popularity by the end of the 1970s before enjoying a comeback as nostalgic casual footwear.

A few years after going through bankruptcy, Converse was swallowed up by Nike in 2003 for $305 million. So, technically, SGA is just another massively paid shill for Nike, standing in line behind Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Tiger Woods, Selena Williams, Cristiano Ronaldo and Rory McIlroy.

But by aligning himself with an all-but-forgotten underdog of a brand, SGA has an opportunity to author a chapter in the signature shoe wars that could rival his already substantial accomplishments on the court.

There is one problem. The Shai 001 won’t be available for sale until the fall. Converse can’t capitalize on OKC and SGA fans wanting to rock the golden “butter” footwear of their new hero, and wanting them NOW.

A limited release, at least, did take place in downtown Oklahoma City for two hours Tuesday before the parade.

Aligning with a current player always involves an element of risk for a shoe company. Converse learned this firsthand in 1997 when it dropped Latrell Sprewell as an endorser and spokesman after the NBA star choked coach P.J. Carlesimo during a Golden State Warriors practice.

And the risk isn’t always about misbehavior. Puma unveiled the Hali 1, its first shoe in collaboration with the Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton on the day this year’s NBA Finals began. Haliburton tore an Achilles tendon in Game 7 and will miss most, if not all, of next season.

So Converse must continue to be quick on its feet to capitalize on its so far fortunate choice of SGA to represent the brand. He’s only 26 and displays leadership and other qualities of a role model in addition to otherworldly hoop skills.

Can Converse become relevant again in the performance space? Can SGA become as linked to the brand as Chuck Taylor? First the shoes must hit the market. One step at a time.

“I wanted to create something new,” SGA told Boardroom TV. “I wanted to bring Converse into my world and have Converse through my lens.”

The Pacers lost key player Tyrese Haliburton to a leg injury just seven minutes into the contest when he slipped and fell while driving towards the basket, but still held a narrow 48-47 lead at half-time.

However, the Thunder, who with an average age of 25.6 are the youngest side to win an NBA Finals title since the Portland Trail Blazers in 1977, out-scored them 34-20 in the third quarter and pushed the lead out to as many as 22 points (90-68) in the fourth.

“It doesn’t feel real, so many hours, so many moments, so many emotions, so many nights of disbelief,” said Gilgeous-Alexander.

“It’s crazy to know that we’re all here. But this group worked for it, this group put in the hours and we deserved this.”

“Our togetherness on and off the court, like how much fun we have, it made it so much easier. It made it feel like we were just kids playing basketball. It was so fun.

“We have a lot to grow, individually and as a group. I’m excited for the future of this team. This is a great start. I’m really excited for this team.”

INDIANAPOLIS — Game on the line, season quite possibly on the line, the Oklahoma City Thunder had only one place to turn.

They went to the MVP.

And Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivered, scoring 15 of his 35 points in the final 4:38, capping Oklahoma City’s rally from a 10-point, second-half deficit and sealing a 111-104 win over the Indiana Pacers 111-104 on Friday night to tie the NBA Finals at two games apiece.

“He definitely showed who he is tonight,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.

It was all SGA for OKC down the stretch. The Thunder closed the game on a 16-7 run; he had all but one of those points.

“We played with desperation to end the game,” Gilgeous-Alexander said, “and that’s why we won.”

Jalen Williams added 27, Alex Caruso had 20 and Chet Holmgren finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Thunder. They did it the hard way — with a season-low three three-pointers, and no assists from Gilgeous-Alexander for the first time all season.

Pascal Siakam scored 20 for Indiana, which got 18 from Tyrese Haliburton and 17 from Obi Toppin.

Game 5 of the series — now essentially a best-of-three — is at Oklahoma City on Monday night.

“This kind of a challenge is going to have extreme highs and extreme lows,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “This is a low right now and we’re going to have to bounce back from it.”

The Thunder basically saved their realistic chance at winning the title. Teams with a 3-1 series lead in the NBA Finals have gone on to win the championship 37 times in 38 past chances. The Pacers looked well on their way to being the 39th team with such an edge, before Gilgeous-Alexander saved the day.

“We knew it when we woke up this morning; 3-1 is a lot different than 2-2 going back home,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.

The Pacers came out flying, scoring 20 points in the first 4:59 — only the second time all season the Thunder gave up so many so quickly. They led by as many as nine early, but were unable to pull away.

And things got chippy for the first time in the series: Toppin was called for a Flagrant 1 on Caruso midway through the second quarter, then Toppin was the recipient of a Flagrant 1 from Lu Dort just before the half. The Pacers closed on a 15-6 run, taking a 60-57 lead into the break.

Toppin’s baseline dunk late in the third put Indiana up 86-76, its first double-digit lead of the series coming late in the 15th quarter of the series. Back came OKC: A 13-3 run tied the game early in the fourth at 89, the first of a handful of those down the stretch.

Tied at 91. Tied at 95. Tied at 97. And, finally, the lead: Gilgeous-Alexander’s step-back with 2:23 left put the Thunder up 104-103, their first lead of the second half.

They kept it the rest of the way.

“We wanted to win,” Siakam said. “I thought we played well enough for some stretches … but unfortunately, it didn’t happen.”

Reynolds writes for the Associated Press.

It screamed watershed moment, the forever luckless Clippers outfoxing the eternally exalted Lakers for the services of not one, but two superstars.

The news stunned the NBA: In a matter of hours, the Clippers had traded for Paul George and signed Kawhi Leonard.

Six years later, the deal for George is considered tragically lopsided, the Clippers fleeced and forced to watch assets they surrendered lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to within three wins of an NBA championship.

The trade wouldn’t be looked upon harshly had the Clippers won a championship in the five seasons that George and Leonard played together. But the deepest the team advanced was the Western Conference finals in 2021.

George left as a free agent last offseason, signing with the Philadelphia 76ers. Leonard has played in only 266 of 472 games with the Clippers because of injuries. The Clippers paid George $195.9 million and have paid Leonard $194.6 million — with Leonard under contract for another two years and $100.3 million.

Meanwhile, one of the two players shipped to the Thunder along with five first-round draft picks, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, has blossomed into the NBA‘s most valuable player. And the 2022 draft pick acquired from the Clippers was used to select Jalen Williams, a rising star who averaged 21.6 points a game this season.

Both are bargains. Gilgeous-Alexander — known as SGA — was paid just $13.5 million his first three seasons with the Thunder before signing a five-year, $173-million contract that will take him through the 2026-27 season. Williams has made $13.7 million in three seasons and will be paid $6.6 million next season, the last of his rookie contract.

And it’s a deal that just keeps giving — to the Thunder, who as a result of the trade get the Nos. 15 and 24 picks in this year’s draft and the Clippers’ first-round pick in 2026.

Asked to evaluate the deal moments after the Clippers defeated the Thunder in January 2024, George grudgingly acknowledged that the pendulum had swung toward Oklahoma City.

“I just think both sides won,” he said. “I did think it was quite a lot that the Clippers were willing to give up. … When that trade first happened, we knew Shai was going to be really, really good, but he’s special.”

George sighed and continued: “I guess in a way, Oklahoma won that trade with the picks and future MVP, but both sides won.”

The fact is, the Clippers couldn’t say no to the deal. Why? Because Leonard was a free agent coming off an NBA title with Toronto in which he was Finals MVP, and he was weighing offers from the Lakers and Raptors as well as the Clippers.

Signing Leonard was paramount, and he had given the Clippers something of an ultimatum: Trade for a star and I’m yours. Otherwise, it’s hello Lakers.

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer needed to be convinced that giving up the slew of draft picks was a smart move. Leonard signing with the Lakers was an unthinkable outcome to Clippers coach Doc Rivers, and he jokingly told Ballmer the Clippers would need to relocate to Seattle if that happened.

“Steve Ballmer was nervous about the picks,” Rivers told The Times in 2019. “I said, ‘Steve, you keep saying six picks for Paul George is insane, but you’re saying it wrong. It’s not six for Paul; it’s six for Paul and Kawhi. So three for each. I would do that.’ You have to look at it in those terms.”

Knowing the Clippers desperately needed to consummate the deal, Thunder general manager Sam Presti demanded SGA — who was coming off an impressive rookie campaign — respected forward Danilo Gallinari and the draft picks.

Unforeseen was that SGA would rapidly rise from promising youngster to foundational piece to perhaps the best player in the NBA. He led the league in scoring this season with 32.7 points a game. He put up 34 points, eight assists and five rebounds in the Thunder’s win over the Indiana Pacers in Game 2 of the Finals on Sunday.

In Game 1, a stunning Pacers comeback was helped by two late missed shots by SGA. Still, he scored 38 points, and his 72 in his first two NBA Finals games is a league record.

“I’m being myself,” Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters. “I don’t think I tried to reinvent the wheel or step up to the plate with a different mindset. Just try to attack the game the right way. I think I’ve done a pretty good job of that so far.”

Through 18 playoff games, SGA is averaging 30.4 points, 6.8 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals. Only Michael Jordan and LeBron James have recorded those numbers during a playoff run of 16 or more games.

None of this is a complete surprise. SGA provided the Clippers with opportunities to feel seller’s remorse soon after the trade. On Dec. 22, 2019, he scored 32 points with five assists and two steals in a 118–112 Thunder victory. Two years later almost to the day, he made a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Thunder a 104–103 win.

Next is closing out the Finals and delivering a title to Oklahoma City — something that has proven elusive for the Clippers, the oldest franchise in North American professional sports to have never played in a championship game.

“This is where we are, you can’t go back in the past,” SGA said. “You can only make the future better. That’s what I’m focused on.”

The Clippers can only do the same.

OKLAHOMA CITY — This has been Oklahoma City’s formula all season: Lose one game, respond in the next.

That’s exactly what the Thunder did in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points, Alex Caruso added 20 off the bench and the Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers 123-107 on Sunday night to tie these finals at one game apiece.

Jalen Williams scored 19, Aaron Wiggins had 18 and Chet Holmgren finished with 15 for the Thunder. It was the franchise’s first finals game win since the opener of the 2012 series against Miami.

“We did some things good tonight. We did some things bad,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We’ve got to be able to get better and be ready for Game 3.”

Tyrese Haliburton scored 17 for Indiana, which erased a 15-point, fourth-quarter deficit in Game 1 but never made a push on Sunday. Myles Turner scored 16 and Pascal Siakam added 15 for the Pacers, the first team since Miami in 2013 to not have a 20-point scorer in the first two games of the finals.

Game 3 is Wednesday at Indianapolis, in what will be the first finals game in that city in 25 years.

“A bad first half, obviously, was a big problem,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “And we just played poorly. A little better in the second half. But you can’t be a team that’s reactive and expect to be successful or have consistency.”

Gilgeous-Alexander’s first basket of the night was a history-maker: It gave him 3,000 points on the season, including the regular season and playoffs. And later in Game 2, he passed New York’s Jalen Brunson (514) as the leading overall scorer in these playoffs.

But the real milestone for the MVP came a couple hours later, when he and most everybody else on the Thunder got a finals win for the first time.

A 19-2 run in the second quarter turned what was a six-point game into a 23-point Thunder lead. It might have seemed wobbly a couple of times — an immediate 10-0 rebuttal by the Pacers made it 52-39, and Indiana was within 13 again after Andrew Nembhard’s layup with 7:09 left in the third — but the Thunder lead was never in serious doubt.

“They did a good job being disruptive,” Siakam said. “They got out in transition. … They were super aggressive, which is what they do.”

With the noise level in the building often topping 100 decibels — a chain saw is 110 dB, for comparison purposes — the Thunder did what they’ve done pretty much all season. They came off a loss, this time a 111-110 defeat in Game 1, and blew somebody out as their response.

Including the NBA Cup title game, which doesn’t count in any standings, the Thunder are now 18-2 this season when coming off a loss. Of those 18 wins, 12 have been by double digits.

“That’s a long 48 hours when you lose Game 1 like that, coming into Game 2,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “The guys did a great job of just focusing on what we needed to do to stack to a win tonight. That’s how we got it.”

The Oklahoma City Thunder “have a lot more work to do” after reaching their first NBA Finals since 2012 with a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves, says Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The NBA’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) scored 34 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in the 124-94 victory as the Thunder won the best-of-seven Western Conference finals series 4-1.

The Thunder remain on course for a first NBA title, having been beaten by the Miami Heat in 2012.

“This is a step in the right direction but we have a lot more work to do to get to our ultimate goal, so let’s buckle up and get ready,” said Gilgeous-Alexander.

“That’s all that I’m focused on. This isn’t the end of our road.”

The Thunder will host game one of the Finals next Thursday, when they face the winners of the Eastern Conference finals between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks for the NBA title. Indiana lead the series 3-1 with game five on Thursday.

Gilgeous-Alexander joins Steph Curry, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant as the only players in the past 20 years to reach the Finals in the same year as winning the MVP.

The 26-year-old Canadian, also named Western Conference MVP on Wednesday, is on course to become the first scoring champion since Shaquille O’Neal in 2000 to win an NBA title in the same season.

Chet Holmgren added 22 points while Jalen Williams also scored 19 for the Thunder, who are the youngest team in the NBA Finals since the Portland Trail Blazers in 1977, with an average age of 25.6 years.

Gilgeous-Alexander added: “These guys really make me feel like I’m a kid playing AAU basketball, like I’m 15 years old again.

“It’s just fun. That’s what makes us really good. We have so much fun being out there together.”

Meanwhile, the Timberwolves saw their season end in the conference finals for the second year running, having lost to the Dallas Mavericks last year.

“They dominated the game from the tip,” said Anthony Edwards, who scored 19 points for the Timberwolves, who were led by Julius Randle with 24 points.

“I tip my hat to those guys. They came ready.”

The performance of Mark Daigneault’s side was an impressive response to the 143-101 thrashing they suffered in game three.

“We did a good job of staying in the moment tonight,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.

“We obviously had a bad taste in our mouth from the last game, and we just wanted to control the things that we could control tonight. I think staying in the moment was the best way to do so.

“We could have been better tonight for sure. Tonight wasn’t perfect, but we gave ourselves a chance… and we got a W.”

The Timberwolves pushed Oklahoma City all the way, with Nickeil Alexander-Walker scoring 23 points off the bench, Jaden McDaniels contributing 22 points, and Donte DiVincenzo finishing with 21.

“Everything is out there,” Alexander-Walker said.

“There’s no secrets. They know how to beat us. We know how to beat them. It’s just about going out there and doing it and who wants it more [and who is] trying to execute it more.

“We showed that at times throughout this game, but consistency, that’s all it has to be.”

Victory in game five in Oklahoma on Wednesday (01:30 BST on Thursday) will secure the Thunder a place in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012, where they would face either the Indiana Pacers or the New York Knicks.