Canada recently made history by booking their 1st FIBA World Cup semifinal berth after defeating Luka Doncic’s Slovenia. The architect behind the win, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, finished with 31 points and has been one of the most impressive players in the tournament thus far. The biggest star on a star-studded Canadian team, Shai also has a humungous contract with the OKC Thunder which sees him earn a whopping $33,386,850 in the coming season. This is exactly $29,386,850 more than the lowest-paid player on the team, Dwight Powell, according to Sportrac.
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With a total of 7 NBA stars on the Canada roster, Shai comfortably outearns his 6 contemporaries. Timberwolves’ Dillon Brookes and Knicks’ RJ Barrett are the other two stars who will earn more than $20 million next season.
Canada’s star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the highest-paid player on the roster
Shai has more than lived up to the hype surrounding himself and Team Canada at this World Cup. The OKC Thunder superstar had averaged 26.3 points, 4.7 assists, and 4 rebounds in the first three games of the World Cup.
He followed this up with a double-double of 31 points and 10 rebounds along with 4 assists against Slovenia. While the Canadians were lucky in the sense that Luka Doncic was ejected towards the end, they pushed until the end to secure a comfortable 100-89 victory.
Regardless, as far as the NBA players on the roster are concerned, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is by far the highest-paid player on the team. His $33 million+ salary is exactly $29,386,850 more than what Dwight Powell will get.
Powell is on a 3-year deal with the Mavericks that sees him earn a comparatively paltry $4 million in the upcoming season. The rest of the Canadian players fall somewhere in between, according to Sportrac.
- Shai Gilgeous: $33,386,850
- RJ Barrett: $23,883,929
- Dillon Brooks: $22,627,671
- Kelly Olynyk: $12,195,122
- Dwight Powell: $4,000,000
- Nickeil Alexander Walker: $4,687,500
- Luguentz Dort: $15,277,778
As can be seen above, Shai is the only player on the roster who will take home more than $30 million. Nickeil Alexander-Walker only narrowly beat out Powell and will earn $4,687,500 next season.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has already made history for his country
In the build-up to the tournament, the Canadian team was expected to be the biggest rival for the young USA team. While Anthony Edwards has cemented his status with his performances, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has done the same.
After starring in the qualifying, he has brought forth the same form to the actual tournament. The leading scorer for his team, Shai has maintained that he wants to go back home with the gold medal and that his team isn’t satisfied despite already having made history, according to Bleacher Report.
Against Slovenia, it was Doncic’s constant back and forth with the referee that saw him miss the final minutes. The Canadians will now be looking at the Finals already. They come up against Serbia in the semifinals and will be expecting to see the USA in the Final.
