Though there will always be naysayers and contrarians voicing their opinions, for the most part, the Chet Holmgren extension is widely regarded as a home-run signing for the OKC Thunder.
Still only 23 years old and a key part of the club's 2025 NBA Championship run, locking Holmgren down to a long-term deal without any Designated Player language and earnings limited to just the standard 25 percent of the cap should be seen as nothing short of a steal.
Now, following the recent release of BetMGM's Defensive Player of the Year odds for the 2025-26 season, it already appears that the big man's deal is only bound to age like fine wine.
Thunder big Chet Holmgren has second-best odds for DPOY
Per the publication's analysis, Holmgren currently has the second-best odds to win next year's DPOY at +650, edging out reigning recipient Evan Mobley (+1100) and trailing only Victor Wembanyama (-180).
Not only is this an exciting update on its own, but when taking into account the Thunder big's new contract details, it only adds to the notion that his signing was truly one of the best made this offseason.
To put things into perspective, the previously mentioned Designated Player language refers to specific qualifiers put into a player's deal that, if met, would provide them with a pay bump of some sort.
Both of his star running mates, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, inked new deals with such distinctions included, meaning both would earn more money if they were to wind up winning MVP, DPOY, or being selected to any All-NBA team.
More geared toward this particular awards race, Mobley added roughly $45 million to the five-year, $224.9 million contract extension he signed just last offseason, which will now see him making as high as $61.2 million in his final year of the pact during the 2029-30 campaign.
Holmgren does not have these same kind of qualifiers.
This means that, even if he were to ultimately wind up taking home the Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy in 2025-26 -- which, based on the odds, is a rather realistic possibility -- his projected average per-year salary would still remain somewhere in the ballpark of $49.9 million throughout his extension.
This is also the case whether he's named an All-Star or to an All-NBA team, both of which are equally as realistic, if not more so, when considering his pre-injury production last season and his workout regimen this summer.
Having someone of Holmgren's caliber locked into this type of cost-efficient deal is truly a game-changer, especially when considering how much the Thunder payroll is about to increase once both SGA and J-Dub's extensions also kick in.