Tilly's Deal Gets A Number As Five Names Chase An Oct. 1…

By the Thunder Nightly Desk · Saturday, September 19

Oklahoma City put a figure on Christoph Tilly's exhibit 10 deal this week, $1,357,763, closing the book on a signing first reported September 14. The Thunder still have five players on the trainer's list heading toward an Oct. 1 target date, with the preseason opener against New Orleans on Oct. 6 now the next checkpoint.

Thunder Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

The Tilly Number

Tilly's exhibit 10 contract is worth $1,357,763, the kind of deal built for camp depth and a G League assignment rather than a guaranteed roster spot. He arrives as an unproven big at a position the beat has already flagged as thin: Thunderous Intentions argued this week that his signing does little to fix the frontcourt behind Isaiah Hartenstein. Hartenstein himself is one of five players currently sidelined, which puts extra weight on camp bodies like Tilly and Thomas Sorber before the roster locks.

Five On The Trainer's List

Hartenstein (ankle), Ajay Mitchell (calf), Sorber (knee), Jalen Williams (hamstring) and Otega Oweh (lower leg) are all day-to-day, and all five carry the same target return date of Oct. 1. That is early enough to clear before the regular season, but it means camp reps for the injured group are already limited less than three weeks out.

The Schedule Ahead

Preseason opens Oct. 6 against New Orleans and Oct. 7 against Milwaukee at home, then a trip to Atlanta on Oct. 12 and a home date with Indiana on Oct. 13. The regular season opens Oct. 20 at San Antonio on NBC/Peacock. Payroll sits at $216.2 million, already past the first apron, a number that only gets harder to manage once Tilly and any other camp addition count against it.

How much is Christoph Tilly's contract with the Thunder worth?

It is an exhibit 10 deal worth $1,357,763, the kind of contract typically used to stash a player in training camp and the G League rather than lock in a roster spot.

When do the Thunder start their 2026-27 season?

Preseason opens Oct. 6 at home against New Orleans, and the regular-season opener is Oct. 20 at San Antonio on NBC/Peacock.

By the Thunder Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.