Chet Holmgren has agreed to a five-year contract extension worth nearly $240 million to remain with the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, a person with knowledge of the deal said Wednesday.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the signing has not been announced. ESPN, which first reported the deal, citing agent Bill Duffy, said it eventually could be worth $250 million because of various contract escalators.
It’s the second major extension for the Thunder since winning the title last month. The other went to NBA MVP, NBA Finals MVP and scoring champion Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who got a four-year, $285 million extension.
And the Thunder soon could extend Jalen Williams — another huge part of the title team — and lock up the entirety of their young core for years.
Holmgren will make $13.7 million next season, the final year of his rookie deal, before his salary jumps to about $41 million for 2026-27 when the extension starts.
He was the No. 2 pick behind the Orlando Magic’s Paolo Banchero in the 2022 draft, then missed all of what would have been his first pro season with a foot injury. He played all 82 games in 2023-24 and helped the Thunder make the second round of the playoffs, then was limited to 32 games this past season after suffering a hip injury.
Holmgren was available for the entire Thunder playoff run, averaging 15.2 points and 8.7 rebounds in 23 games — capped by holding off the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals in a seven-game thriller.
The way Holmgren came back from the injury is one of the stories that seemed to stick with Thunder general manager Sam Presti the most during the title run.
“They went through a fair amount of adversity during the season,” Presti said last month in his end-of-season meeting with reporters. “In reality, a lot of that adversity forged us into the team that we were, playing different lineups and being without certain players and then getting those players back.
“And the selflessness and humility that the players coming back had to have in order to fit into a team that was really cooking without them. Chet is one example of that, but we had many others.”