Kenrich Williams Set the OKC Thunder Standard for Team-Friendly Contracts

Oklahoma City’s veteran forward Kenrich Williams laid the groundwork for the Thunder’s series of team-friendly contracts.

Jun 24, 2025; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kenrich Williams (34) speaks to fans during the Champions Opening Ceremony for the parade inside the Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

With the overwhelming amount of success and talent this Thunder team has on file, it was always going to be difficult to try and pay everyone. With the big three locked down on lucrative, but well-deserved contracts, making the pieces to the puzzle fit is going to be challenging, but not impossible, for this Thunder team.

The roster could experience some year-to-year turnover, as the Thunder's role players will be deserving of big contracts on their own. But we've already seen several of those players, like Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Joe, and most recently, Ajay Mitchell, lock in their spot for the future on a big time bargain. Sometimes, playing a big time role on a championship team can outweigh chasing a big contract, as we've seen in the Thunder's case.

The one who originally set that standard, though, was Kenrich Williams. And he'll likely have another chance to do that again at some point in the future. During the summer of 2022, before Oklahoma City shot straight to the top, Williams locked in his spot on what looks like a massive value deal now. He inked a four-year, $27.2 million contract extension and has been a critical part of the Thunder's growth on and off the floor.

He'll be locked in for the upcoming season, and gave the Thunder a team-option heading into his final year in 2026-27, too. There's certainly a chance he wants to remain in Oklahoma City for the remainder of his career, although that is yet to be seen. For now, he has led by example, taking a longterm bargain deal to stay with an organization like the Thunder. The teams top role players have all followed suit to this point.

There will certainly be other players across the Thunder roster that blossom and simply cannot pass up a huge contract elsewhere. But for the ones on the fence, Williams is a great example of how rewarding it can be. He has been a mentor, a rotational player, and is now an NBA champion. Williams will forever be a fan favorite, too.