Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs have agreed to a five-year rookie contract extension, the team announced Friday. The deal is worth a projected $252 million, a team source, granted anonymity to discuss confidential matters, confirmed.
The deal will begin in the 2027-28 season, after the final year of Wembanyama’s rookie contract. The value of the new deal will start at 25 percent of the NBA salary cap.
Wembanyama, 22, led the Spurs to the NBA Finals in his first playoff appearance, evolving throughout the season to become one of the NBA’s best players. He averaged 25 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 blocks and 3.1 assists in 64 regular-season games, finishing third in MVP voting and receiving First-Team All-NBA honors.
Victor Wembanyama’s top moments of the 2026 postseason
The season ended in disappointment as the Spurs suffered several fourth-quarter collapses in the finals, which the New York Knicks won in five games.
“I don’t think we could have learned more and gained more experience in one playoff run and in one season, and personally in 18 months,” Wembanyama said after the finals. “It’s been hard and full of lessons.”
After the Spurs entered last season as playoff hopefuls and finished as title contenders, they will begin next season among the favorites. Wembanyama will be expected to perform at an MVP level all season and will soon get paid like it.
Victor Wembanyama’s top moments of the 2026 postseason
This will be the second max extension for the Spurs in the past year, with De’Aaron Fox entering his max deal next season. The Spurs will also eventually have max extensions for Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper at this rate, meaning their cap sheet will get top-heavy the next few years. The team agreed to a three-year, $45 million deal with Julian Champagnie on June 29, locking in most of the long-term rotation around Wembanyama.
What the money means for the Spurs
Wembanyama forgoing a “supermax” extension potentially saves the Spurs about $50 million over the life of his extension, depending on where next season’s cap number lands. That equates to roughly $10 million from their cap each season if Wembanyama were to be named to an All-NBA team or repeat as Defensive Player of the Year in 2026-27.
That $10 million is likely to be especially relevant in the 2029-30 season, when core pieces Castle and Harper will be upgraded from their current rookie deals to max or near-max deals; Devin Vassell, Carter Bryant and Champagnie will all have outrun their current value deals and need new ones; and Fox will still be on the books for $62 million. More generally, it’s a nod to the move Jalen Brunson made in New York to accept less than his maximum so that the Knicks would have the flexibility to make roster-building moves while avoiding the constraints of the second apron.
Keeping Wembanyama at 25 percent of the max would also allow the Spurs to use their nontaxpayer midlevel exception in the 2027 offseason and still remain below the first apron, something that otherwise would have been impossible without trading a rotation piece.
— John Hollinger
