$29 Million Extension Keeps Oso Ighodaro With the Suns Through 2030-31

Photo: NBA.com. Oso Ighodaro, official league headshot.

Oso Ighodaro agreed to a three-year, $29 million contract extension with the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, his agent, Erika Ruiz of Primera Sports, told ESPN's Shams Charania. Phoenix will also exercise the $2.5 million option on his deal for 2027-28, per Charania, so the new money starts in 2028-29 and keeps the 24-year-old center under contract through 2030-31.

Monday was the last day Phoenix could extend him and keep that cheap fourth-year option on the books. After that, any in-season deal would have meant declining it. The Suns beat the cutoff by a day, three days before they open at Portland, the team that made him the 40th pick in 2024.

The price

By The Dyme's math, three years at $29 million works out to about $9.7 million a season. Bright Side of the Sun put the ceiling for a deal like this at four years and $95 million, starting near $22.5 million in 2028-29. Phoenix landed him for well under half of that annual number and one fewer year.

Added up the same way, the Suns owe Ighodaro roughly $33.8 million across five seasons: $2.3 million this year, $2.5 million next year, then the $29 million extension.

Ighodaro took one three last season and missed it. He is 0-for-3 from deep in his career. He made 53 of 117 free throws, 45.3%. He also shot 65.3% from the field, averaged 6.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 0.9 steals in 22 minutes, and played all 82 games.

What Phoenix is buying

SI's Suns site describes him as a playmaking connector on offense and a switchable big on defense. ESPN's Ben Golliver called him a fluid, versatile fit for Jordan Ott's high-pressure style.

Golliver also named the problem. At 6-foot-11 and 235 pounds, Ighodaro doesn't have the size to handle the league's most physical centers every night.

Mark Williams had surgery on a torn left labrum in September and is expected to miss several months. Per Golliver, the Suns played at a 46-win pace with Williams last season and a 41-win pace without him.

He has started before. Ighodaro made 24 starts last season and all four of Phoenix's playoff games. He started the first two preseason games this month, too, before Ott gave Khaman Maluach a turn against San Antonio.

Where Maluach fits

Paying Ighodaro doesn't end the center battle. Ott said he would pick a starter a couple of days before the opener, and he has kept saying the job will move around. "Who starts, who finishes, it's going to change," Ott said. "Every night is a little bit different."

Maluach is 20, stands 7-foot-1 and played 411 minutes as a rookie. The Suns picked up his third-year option on Oct. 1.

The local kid stays

Ighodaro was born in Mesa, went to Desert Vista High in Phoenix and played four years at Marquette before Portland called his name in the second round. He signed his second contract before his third season.

On Friday, he told reporters the two sides were talking. Asked whether he wanted to stay in Phoenix, he said, "For sure."

Sources

• Shams Charania on X: Oso Ighodaro agrees to a three-year, $29 million extension through 2030-31, per agent Erika Ruiz of Primera Sports. Oct. 18, 2026.
• Shams Charania on X: Suns picking up Ighodaro's $2.5 million option for 2027-28, extension starts in 2028 and runs through 2031. Oct. 18, 2026.
• Hoops Rumors: Suns, Oso Ighodaro discussing contract extension (40th pick, four-year minimum deal, $2.3 million salary, Monday option deadline, 2025-26 averages, Ighodaro quotes via The Arizona Republic's Duane Rankin). Oct. 18, 2026.
• ESPN: Oso Ighodaro career stats (24 starts, 0-for-1 from three, 53-of-117 free throws in 2025-26, 6-foot-11, 235 pounds).
• Basketball-Reference: Oso Ighodaro (born Mesa, Arizona, Desert Vista High, Marquette, drafted 40th by Portland).
• Bright Side of the Sun: Ighodaro's maximum extension framework, four years and $95 million.
• SI (Suns On SI): The Suns' 2026-27 season could ride on center, quoting ESPN's Ben Golliver on the 46-win and 41-win paces, Maluach's 411 rookie minutes and Ighodaro's fit.
• SI (Suns On SI): Ighodaro starts the preseason opener, 24 starts and four playoff starts last season, Ott on deciding before the Oct. 21 opener at Portland.
• The Arizona Republic: Ott on the starting-center timeline, Williams torn labrum, Maluach third-year option exercised Oct. 1.
• Valley of the Suns: Maluach starts against San Antonio.