Only four players have signed a "supermax" contract since it was made available two seasons ago — Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and John Wall.
How does one become eligible for a supermax deal? The criteria is as follows:
- A player that has already or will have completed eight years in the league by the end of his current contract
- Said player has to be with the same team he was on by the end of his rookie deal. (Doesn't have to be the team that drafted him; it can be on a team who traded for him as long as he was on his rookie deal)
- They must have been awarded one of the following: MVP in the last three seasons, Defensive Player of the Year in the last three seasons or named to an All-NBA team in the last three seasons
Prior to Thursday's All-NBA teams announcement, Anthony Davis was the only player eligible to sign a supermax deal with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard is now supermax eligible after being named to second team All-NBA.
It was reported earlier in the week by Yahoo's Chris Haynes that should the Trail Blazers offer Lillard the four-year, $191 million dollar extension, he's likely to sign it.
Kemba Walker, who was named to the All-NBA third team, is also supermax eligible as he heads into his first time being a free agent. The Charlotte Hornets have the ability to offer him a five-year, $221 million dollar contract, which would be $80 million dollars more than any other team can offer him.
Giannis Antetokounmpo qualifies for the big money deal this offseason as well. The Milwaukee Bucks can offer him a five-year deal that would be the largest contract in NBA history. The exact figure of the deal depends on the salary cap in 2020, but ESPN's Bobby Marks is projecting the deal to be worth in the neighbourhood of $247 million.
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson, Detroit Pistons centre Andre Drummond and Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal all missed out on the opportunity for the supermax by failing to make All-NBA.
Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George are the two players who most notably turned down the option at signing a supermax contract to play elsewhere.
