Austin Reaves is now paid like one of the NBA’s premium names.
After agreeing to a four-year, $185 million extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, Reaves is set to make $41,240,250 in the 2026-27 season. That number lands above what Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will make next season, though it still comes in well below Zach LaVine’s salary.
It also puts Reaves in the same financial neighborhood as three players who are all younger and still climbing: Paolo Banchero, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren.
Banchero is first up. The Orlando Magic forward is entering the opening season of his five-year, $239,193,450 rookie max extension.
Through his first four seasons, he has averaged 22.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists, production that fits a No. 1 overall pick. The questions have come elsewhere, mostly around efficiency and turnovers, and whether he can hold up as the top option on a title team.
Even so, he’s already the clear centerpiece in Orlando, and the Magic have brought in a new head coach to try to push the franchise beyond the first round. His contract also includes a $54,437,130 player option for the 2030-31 season.
Williams is on the same extension track. The Oklahoma City Thunder forward’s rookie max deal also begins in 2026-27, and his rise has already been tied to winning.
He was an All-NBA selection in OKC’s 2025 title run, then dealt with an injury-heavy 2025-26 season that hurt the Thunder’s chances of repeating. In the championship season, Williams put up 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.6 steals.
Last season, those numbers dipped to 17.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.2 steals. His absence was felt in the Thunder’s seven-game loss to the Spurs in the WCF.
He’s a versatile defender who has logged minutes at four positions over the last two seasons, and he remains the team’s certified No. 2 scoring option.
Then there’s Holmgren, the other Thunder star on the same dollar-for-dollar extension. Drafted No. 2 in 2022, 11 spots ahead of Williams, he has averaged 16.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.1 blocks for Oklahoma City, including 17.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks last season.
His defensive impact is already obvious; he’s been central to OKC’s elite defense. But he struggled in the 2026 WCF, averaging just 10.7 points against the Spurs and Victor Wembanyama.
Of the three, Holmgren may be the toughest offensive fit, but his defense separates him from the pack.
Reaves, by contrast, is the finished product. The other three are still early in their careers, still chasing the version of themselves their contracts suggest is coming. Reaves is already there, and now the Lakers are paying him like it.
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