Victor Wembanyama takes significant pay cut in contract extension

San Antonio Spurs do-it-all big man Victor Wembanyama is fresh off the best of his three NBA seasons.

Wembanyama, 22, became the first-ever unanimous Defensive Player of the Year and earned his first All-NBA selection. In his first playoff run, he led the Spurs to their first NBA Finals appearance since winning it in 2014. The New York Knicks dispatched the Spurs in five games, however, to win their first championship since 1973 and serve up a summer of big questions in San Antonio.

The biggest question has been answered, if it were ever really in question: Wembanyama isn’t going anywhere.

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Friday, July 10, that Wembanyama had signed a five-year, $252 million maximum rookie-scale contract extension.

“Wembanyama decided on the 25% maximum instead of the 30% supermax escalators to $303M, after he and the Spurs went through multiple frameworks,” Charania wrote, adding, “San Antonio worked in close partnership with Wembanyama and his representatives, offering the full super max and different variations of extensions. But Wembanyama ultimately chose a contract sacrifice rooted in giving him and the organization increased ability to build a sustained title contender around him.”

ESPN’s Michael. C Wright additionally reported that Wembanyama’s rookie extension ranks third beyond Cade Cunningham ($269 million) and Evan Mobley ($269 million) in NBA history.

Wembanyama has been crystal clear that winning championships is his primary desire, and this decision proves it, though that shouldn’t be conflated with assuming every player who decides to take the full supermax is selfish and doesn’t care about team success.

Wembanyama just saw this strategy work for Jalen Brunson and the Knicks at his expense. Brunson took a $113 million discount when he signed a four-year, $156.5 million contract extension in July 2024. That helped the Knicks fill out one of the deeper rosters in the league, and now, the rest is history.