The Thunder have built themselves into a payroll heavyweight, and the bill is only getting steeper from here.
With Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren’s max deals now in the mix, Oklahoma City has climbed near the top of the league’s payroll ladder. The Thunder’s trio of stars - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and Holmgren - are all making more than $40 million, which pushes the team into the top 10 in total payroll. Around them, the roster still includes a handful of cheaper, controlled contracts, with Ajay Mitchell, Jared McCain, Bennett Stirtz and others giving OKC some financial breathing room on the margins.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 2026-27 salary is listed at $40,806,150, and that number is only part of the bigger picture. Next season, his new deal will add another $20 million to an already massive contract, which is why the Thunder’s long-term flexibility is described as murky at best.
For now, though, Oklahoma City has managed to stay just under the second apron after moving on from Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Joe and Luguentz Dort. That move brought back seven second-round picks, but no immediate win-now help as the team heads into another contending season. Staying below the second apron matters, because it keeps OKC free of the team-building restrictions that come with crossing that line.
The Thunder are currently $6.9 million below the second apron and have an open roster spot, though the expectation is they’ll enter next season with that spot still unused. They’re also projected to pay about $19 million in tax this season.
Even with the cap crunch coming, Sam Presti has positioned the roster to keep as much of the core together as possible. That includes players who have not yet reached their bigger paydays, such as Cason Wallace and Ajay Mitchell. Whether Oklahoma City actually holds onto everybody will come down to the ownership group, but the framework is there for the Thunder to try.
In Other News...
Chet Holmgren Just Put Oklahoma Citys Future Core In Focus
Victor Wembanyamas Western Conference Finals performance put a sharper spotlight on one of Oklahoma Citys biggest questions heading into the summer. Across the seven-game series, the Spurs star piled up 22.4 points, 11.8 rebounds and 3.4 blocks a night, and the matchup exposed just how much the Thunder still have to solve when Chet Holmgren is asked to handle elite size and skill in the paint.
Holmgrens rough finish, capped by a 4-point Game 7 on 1-of-7 shooting, only added to the unease around a roster that has to balance high-end talent with a tightening financial picture. Oklahoma City has built its rise around a promising young core, but as salary cap rules get more restrictive, the pressure on how that core is paid and preserved is only going to grow. [Read more 🡒]
Russell Westbrook Just Forced Thunder Fans To Revisit His Legacy
Russell Westbrooks place in Thunder history was never really in doubt, but his decision to step away from the game brings the conversation back into sharper focus. For Oklahoma City fans, he remains one of the franchises defining figures, the explosive point guard who won the 2017 MVP and spent years turning nightly box scores into must-see theater.
Westbrook finished as the NBAs all-time leader in triple-doubles with 209, a reminder of just how singular his run was and why his legacy in Oklahoma City still sparks debate and appreciation in equal measure. There had even been outside interest in bringing him back in a mentoring role before he chose to end his playing career, another sign that his influence has stretched well beyond the highlights that made him a Thunder icon. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Williams Now Carries One Huge Thunder Question
Jalen Williams new deal came with the kind of weight that follows a rising star in Oklahoma City, where every contract decision now has to fit both the roster and the books. After extensions for Williams and Chet Holmgren, the Thunder already started making moves to manage luxury tax costs, a reminder that this young core is no longer just about talent evaluation but about long-term financial planning too.
For Williams, the next step is as much about stability as production. The Thunder need him to keep building on what he has shown while staying on the floor and delivering the kind of consistency that makes a max-level investment feel secure, even as Holmgrens offensive growth remains part of the same larger equation. In a market like this, the front office is not only asking whether the ceiling is high enough, but whether the pieces around it can be preserved long enough to matter. [Read more 🡒]