Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 3,000th point of 2024-25 NBA season in Game 2 of NBA Finals
Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored his 3,000th point of the season in Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, becoming the 12th player in history to reach the total in an NBA season (regular season and playoffs). Gilgeous-Alexander hit the milestone on a nine-foot pull-up jump shot to put the Thunder up 9-7 early in the first quarter. Less than a minute later, he drained a 23-foot 3-point jumper.
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The reigning NBA MVP joins Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, Bob McAdoo, Elgin Baylor, James Harden, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Rick Barry, Shaquille O'Neal and Luka Dončić as the only players to accomplish the feat. This is the 25th time a player has reached 3,000, and Dončić was the most recent player to do it when he scored 3,005 points with the Dallas Mavericks last season.
The Pacers have a 1-0 series lead heading into Game 2 on Sunday. Gilgeous-Alexander had 38 points in Oklahoma City's 111-110 Game 1 loss on Thursday.
This story will be updated.
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The cap figures will continue to go up by approximately 10% each year thanks to the NBA's new media contracts so there will be more space to fit Turner in later. The Pacers do have to be smart about that part because Turner will likely get big offers if he hits the open market. Not many teams are under the cap with the ability to put out big-money contracts, but the Detroit Pistons are and after a thrilling loss to the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs, they appear to be interested in adding big men to their roster. Turner seems set on returning to Indiana, but the Pacers still can't risk giving him a low-ball offer because he's aware there could be better out there. If the Pacers opt to keep Turner for about $30 million per year for 4-5 years, they will have their whole starting five locked up through at least the 2026-27 season and two of their most reliable bench players under contract through at 2027-28. After this season, Haliburton will still be under contract for four more seasons, Siakam and guard Andrew Nembhard are under contract for three more seasons and forward Aaron Nesmith is under contract for two more years. Veteran point guard T.J. McConnell is under contract for four more seasons, though not all of that is guaranteed, and forward Obi Toppin is under contract for four more seasons. Because keeping all of them and signing Turner to a $30 million-per-year deal would not only put the Pacers over the luxury tax but near the first apron, they could look to move one of those players in something of a consolidation deal. Toppin in particularly seems to be something of a luxury item as a bench player who will make $14 million next season, $15 million the year after and $16 million the year after that. McConnell's salary will increase from $10.2 million to $11.8 million over the life of his deal which isn't cheap for a 33-year-old backup point guard either. However, the Pacers do seem intent on keeping as much of this core together as possible and this run has given them reason to try, and if they're willing to spend over the luxury tax they might not have to move anyone from that core of seven players. Re-signing Turner would tighten things up for future decisions, particular with recent lottery picks Bennedict Mathurin and Jarace Walker. Mathurin is extension eligible this summer and Walker will be extension eligible next summer. Deciding what to offer Mathurin isn't easy even in a vacuum as he's averaging 15.9 points per game over his first three seasons and posted the third highest scoring season for a rookie in Pacers history and continues to prove to be one of the team's most dynamic 1-on-1 scorers, but his fit within the Pacers' hyperkinetic style of play has been uneasy and his defensive progress has been real but uneven. He's averaging 10.3 points per game off the bench in the playoffs and his numbers have generally fallen since Nesmith took his place in the starting lineup. The Pacers 2026-27 cap figure is currently about $44.8 million short of the first tax apron and $57.9 million short of the second apron according to but if Turner takes up $30 million that would mean the Pacers would likely have to keep Mathurin's extension under $15 million per year to stay under the first apron and under $18 million per year to stay under the second. It's easy to imagine him getting more than that from another team if he hits free agency in the summer of 2026. The Pacers also have to decide what to do with Walker, who has had a hard time breaking into the starting lineup since being taken No. 8 in the 2023 draft. With a loaded roster last year he played in just 33 games as a rookie. This year he played in 75 in the regular season, but played just 117 playoff minutes in 12 games before an ankle sprain in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, which held him out for Games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals. Walker still has a season to make a case for an extension, but the Pacers are clearly in their championship window now so they might want to move him for a more veteran piece. The Pacers have a few other things to keep in mind as well. They have two picks in the upcoming draft including a first rounder who would have a guaranteed contract at No. 23. Plus they have to decide what to do at center beyond Turner. Isaiah Jackson, who has spent all season rehabbing from an Achilles tendon tear suffered on Nov. 1, will be a restricted free agent. Thomas Bryant is an unrestricted free agent and Tony Bradley has a club option on the two-year deal he signed in March after multiple 10-day deals. The Pacers can't keep all of those players, but they probably need to keep two of them to maintain a functional bench. Still, keeping an anchor at center is critical to keeping the Pacers at a championship level and it's hard to imagine them finding a better one than Turner. It's impossible to imagine them getting one more emotionally invested in the franchise. Keeping a championship caliber roster together isn't cheap, so the Pacers will likely have to figure out how to navigate the collective bargaining agreement landscape as a luxury tax payer.
