Thunder agree to five-year max extension with All-Star forward

The defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder and All-Star forward Jalen Williams have agreed to a maximum-salary rookie scale extension that covers five years, agents Bill Duffy and Justin Haynes tell ESPN's Shams Charania.

Jordan Richard of Swish Cultures was the first to report the news.

Williams’ new five-year extension is fully guaranteed and does not feature a player or team option, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic.

Williams’ extension will kick in during the 2026-27 campaign, and he will earn at least 25% of that season’s salary cap. Based on the NBA’s latest cap projection, that would work out to a five-year, $240M deal.

I used the term “at least” because all three reports state that Williams could earn more than that (up to $287M), which implies his new deal has Rose Rule language that would make him eligible for a starting salary worth up to 30% of next season’s cap if he meets certain performance criteria, such as making an All-NBA team.

The 24-year-old wing is coming off a career-best season in which he averaged 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.6 steals in 32.4 minutes per game across 69 outings, with a .484/.365/.789 shooting line. He earned a spot on the All-Defensive second team, as well as the All-NBA third team.

Despite that All-NBA nod in 2025, Williams has not yet met the Rose Rule performance criteria — he will have to achieve the performance criteria again in 2026 to reach that figure.

Williams averaged 21.4 points per game for the Thunder during their postseason run to a championship despite dealing with a torn scapholunate ligament in his right wrist, which he underwent surgery to address. He recently said he was dealing with a wrist sprain for most of last season and tore the ligament on April 9.

Charania reported on Wednesday that Williams and the Thunder had “momentum” on an extension. Oklahoma City also agreed to a five-year, maximum-salary deal with big man Chet Holmgren on Wednesday, though his rookie scale extension does not appear to contain Rose Rule language.

The Thunder have now locked up MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and Holmgren to long-term mega-deals this offseason, with SGA officially signing his super-max extension on Tuesday.