The 2024-25 NBA MVP isn’t just cashing in on his seven-figure contract—he’s also profiting from his wardrobe. Back in 2022, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander already owned 1,000 shirts—and there’s no doubt that number is just the tip of the iceberg. With brand deals at Levi’s and Canada Goose, and coverage from Vogue, SGA is becoming a style icon. He’s even been spotted at Paris Fashion Week and the Met Gala, and walked runways for Thom Browne. And, for someone treating fashion as a side gig, that’s a stellar resume and a serious showcase of business savvy.

Talking to Nardwuar, SGA shared his low-key side hustle: “Uh, a lot of my clothing. Um, I do like a garage sale at the beginning of every season for the past couple. Yep. Literally, literally SGA’s garage sale and they come and buy clothes. I don’t charge them too much, so keep the prices low, but yeah.”

Even while keeping it casual, he’s still hustling, selling clothes to fellow players who can trust his style—especially since this past August, he won the Michelob ULTRA Style of the Year award, a fan-voted honor for the player with the best outfits.

If you’ve been paying attention to NBA tunnels lately, you know they’re basically fashion shows. And no one’s owning that runway more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. GQ didn’t just notice—they crowned him the Most Stylish Man of 2022, and yes, he even edged out A$AP Rocky.

That’s huge. What makes it even cooler? Shai doesn’t rely on a stylist. As GQ’s Yang-Yi Goh puts it, “He has a very locked-in sense of style… I think a lot of this is coming from his own tastes and his own vision.”

Every game feels like a new chance for him to experiment—cropped tops one night, baggy denim the next, silhouettes that younger fans immediately screenshot for inspiration. It’s not just about clothes, though.

The way Shai uses the NBA spotlight to flex his creativity feels a lot like what Gen Z and Gen Alpha are doing on TikTok and Reels: testing, remixing, and showing off their personality through fits. That’s why people can’t stop watching him. His style, combined with his on-court stardom, amplifies his appeal.

This creative mindset isn’t surprising considering SGA is the designer behind his Converse line. This year, he debuted his first signature hoop shoe, the Converse SHAI 001. Asked why he wears his own shoes off the court before Game 4 of the NBA Finals, he said, “It’s just hard for me to put another shoe on when I have my own shoe.”

The cherry on top? Converse amplified the championship glow with a masterful, Batman-inspired marketing coup for the SHAI 001 signature shoe.

Building on a cheeky March regular-season stunt where they projected SGA’s hand-sketched logo (two symmetrical 2s evoking a bat-like silhouette) onto Boston landmarks like TD Garden and the Prudential Tower after a Thunder win.

The brand escalated post-title by blanketing the city in a “victory signal” glow across the same sites, plus custom gold “TROPHY GOLD” colorway drops.

For SGA, basketball and fashion aren’t separate worlds—they feed into each other, and fans get to watch him excel at both.

SGA’s record-breaking extension contract

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t just dominating games but he’s also stacking checks like we’ve never seen before. Back in July, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put pen to paper on a monster deal—four years, $285 million to stay in OKC through 2031.

That’s not just big, that’s record-breaking. At $71.25 million a year, he’s the first player in NBA history to crack the $70 million mark. The deal officially kicks in come 2027–28, starting at $63.5 million and climbing all the way to $78.8 million by the final year. And here’s the savvy part—he ditched his agent earlier this year, which means he’s pocketing up to $11.4 million in saved commission.

Shai now holds the richest annual salary in NBA history, leapfrogging past Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Anthony Davis. Remember, this is the same player drafted 11th overall in 2018, shipped out by the Clippers after his rookie year, and now he’s the face of a championship squad.

His 2024-25 season—32.7 points a night, plus MVP, Finals MVP and a scoring title—put him in a club with only Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. That’s the “Triple Crown” of NBA dominance, and it’s the reason the Thunder didn’t hesitate to hand him the keys to their future with a contract that resets the market.

And speaking of Shaq—yes, even The Diesel is watching these numbers with wide eyes. Back in 1996, his seven-year, $120 million deal with the Lakers was the biggest contract in sports history. By the early 2000s, he was pulling in over $20 million a year and fans thought that was massive. Fast-forward to today, and Shai’s deal makes those numbers look tiny.

Shaq himself admitted it while chatting on Ausmerican Aces: “I’m the type that jealousy motivates me, and I’m very jealous of the contracts that they are making. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: well deserved. He’s making 70, but if you pay him 70, I’m going have my agent Danny start off my negotiations at 95. Per year tax-free.”