Spurs ink Wemby to reported 5-year, $252M extension

The San Antonio Spurs signed All-Star center Victor Wembanyama to a five-year, $252-million extension, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania.

Wembanyama agreed to a 25% maximum contract instead of the 30% supermax he was eligible for in order to give the team more financial flexibility, reports Charania.

Wembanyama finished third in MVP voting last season behind back-to-back honoree Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and three-time winner Nikola Jokic. He was also named the first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year since the award's inception in 1983 and an All-Star for the second time.

The 22-year-old averaged a career-high 25 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and a league-high 3.1 blocks in 64 regular-season appearances. He also led the league in total blocks (197), defensive win shares (5), and defensive rating (101).

Wembanyama played an instrumental role in guiding the Spurs to their first NBA Finals since 2013-14. The Frenchman was named Western Conference finals MVP after averaging 27.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.4 steals, and 2.7 blocks on 48% shooting and a 40% clip from deep in a seven-game series with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the youngest player in NBA history to record at least 40 points and 20 rebounds in a playoff outing by putting together a 41-point, 24-rebound performance in Game 1 of the WCF.