Victor Wemnanyama, the NBA’s tallest player, inked the third-largest rookie extension in history.
Hours after he told Spurs fans he was “here to stay”, Victor Wembanyama signed a multiyear contract extension with San Antonio that ESPN reported is for five years and $252m.
The deal, which is worth $50.4m per year, is the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) maximum rookie-scale extension and carries a player option for the fifth season.
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“Spurs family, I’m here to stay,” Wembanyama tweeted Friday. “Whatever it takes.”
The Spurs, who did not confirm financial details, published photos and videos of Wembanyama inking his contract.
Wembanyama has been viewed as one of the elite young players in the sport going back before the Spurs selected him No 1 overall in the 2023 NBA Draft.
The 7ft4in (2.24-metre) centre with an 8-ft (2.44-metre) wingspan has averaged 23.4 points, 11 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.5 blocks per game through three NBA seasons.
The Defensive Player of the Year and a first-time All-NBA first-team selection, Wembanyama finished third in Most Valuable Player (MVP) balloting this season after putting up career highs of 25.0 points and 11.5 rebounds per game.
He is a career 34.2% 3-point shooter who has made 2.2 triples per game, and he’s led the league in blocks in every season since his arrival.
The Spurs fell to the New York Knicks in five games last month in Wembanyama’s first NBA Finals.
The current pieces around him include guards De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell and Dylan Harper, and the Spurs recently signed veteran forward Tobias Harris.
