Oklahoma City's $216.2 million payroll sits well above the $200.4 million tax line, a bill written on the back of last season's 64-18 record and league-best net rating. None of preseason's three losses touch that record, which stays 0-0 until the Spurs on October 20.
The Bill Comes Due
The $216.2 million payroll is the highest mark in team history, parked above the $200.4 million luxury tax line and the first apron. Holmgren's $41.5 million and Williams's $41.5 million are the two largest deals on the books, with Gilgeous-Alexander's $40.8 million just behind and Hartenstein's $23.1 million and Caruso's $19.6 million rounding out the top five. The next ceiling is the $221.7 million second apron, and those same three contracts are the ones pushing toward it. Every dollar of it is tied to players who were on the floor for last season's 64-18 finish.
What the Record Bought
That 64-18 record came with a net rating of 11.1, built on a 117.6 offense, a 106.5 defense and a pace of 100.4, all among the league's best last season. Those numbers are the justification for the spending above the tax line: a roster good enough to win a title doesn't get cheaper to keep. The preseason has been rougher, three straight losses to the Pelicans, Bucks and Hawks, but none of it writes to the record, which opens for real at the Spurs on October 20.
The Capital Still on Hand
The draft sheet stays flexible: Oklahoma City owns its 2029 and 2030 first and second-round picks outright, while 2027 and 2028 are pick swaps in both rounds. That's the trade-off for a championship core kept mostly intact — less draft certainty in the near term, full control once the current deals start to turn over. The roster carries that patience too, 21 players deep with an average age of 24.2, built to stay competitive before those future picks ever matter. Nothing from the fall's one roster move, an Exhibit 10 deal for Anthony Pritchard, changes that math.
Are the Thunder over the luxury tax?
Yes. Their $216.2 million payroll is above the $200.4 million tax line and the first apron.
How many first-round picks do the Thunder control outright?
Two — 2029 and 2030. The 2027 and 2028 first-rounders are pick swaps.
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