Warriors Lock Up Gui Santos on Three-Year, $15 Million Extension
The Golden State Warriors have secured one of their most promising young players. Forward Gui Santos has signed a three-year, $15 million contract extension with the franchise, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Saturday. The deal includes a player option for the 2028-29 season.
The timing could not be more fitting. Just one day before the announcement, Santos was speaking candidly with reporters about the patience it took to reach this moment.
“I think the keyword for that is patience,” Santos told reporters after Friday’s practice at Chase Center. “Because when I got here, I was a point guard. Playing back in Brazil was like playing as a point guard, you know, having the ball in my hands. I spent the whole year in the G League just learning how to fit the system.”
That patience has now been rewarded in a tangible way.
From the G League to a Guaranteed Deal
Santos, 23, has been with the Warriors organization since Golden State selected him with the 55th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. His rookie season was split between the NBA roster and the Santa Cruz Warriors in the G League, where he spent the year absorbing the Warriors’ system and redefining his role from ball-dominant playmaker to versatile forward.
Over the past two seasons, Santos steadily worked his way into head coach Steve Kerr’s rotation. This season, he appeared in 48 games, starting 13, and averaged 6.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists while shooting 53.1% from the field and 39% from 3-point range.
Those numbers, while solid, tell only part of the story.
Stepping Up When It Mattered Most
Santos had logged 11 DNP-CDs (Did Not Play, Coach’s Decision) this season before circumstances changed dramatically. When star forward Jimmy Butler suffered a season-ending knee injury in late January, Santos was thrust into a much larger role, and he delivered.
Since Butler’s injury, Santos has averaged 13 points on 57.6% shooting from the field and 41.7% from 3-point range, adding 5.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.4 steals in 26.6 minutes per game.
Then came another test. With Steph Curry sidelined the past nine games due to a knee issue, Santos has been asked to take on even more responsibility, serving as a point-forward and handling primary ball-handling duties. He has not flinched. In the nine games without Curry, all of which Santos has started, the Brazilian forward is averaging 15.2 points on 57.87% shooting and 43.6% from distance, with 5.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.7 steals in 30.3 minutes played.
“Man, I’m loving it,” Santos said of his expanded role. “When you’re on the NBA floor and you’ve got a little bit more freedom to find teammates and either go to the basket and do all that, that gives you so much more joy to play.”
The energy has been contagious. In Golden State’s last five games, the Warriors have recorded 37 or more assists three times, including a season-high 42 in a win over the Denver Nuggets.
What the Extension Means for Golden State
The extension removes a significant piece of offseason uncertainty for the Warriors. Santos was set to become a restricted free agent this summer, which would have opened the door to outside interest and potential complications. By getting this deal done now, Golden State retains a player who has become one of the more reliable young contributors in the Western Conference playoff race.
Santos is part of an emerging young core that includes Brandin Podziemski, Will Richard, Moses Moody and Quentin Post, players who have stepped forward with varying degrees of impact as the Warriors have navigated a season ravaged by injuries. Golden State currently sits eighth in the Western Conference, 3.5 games behind the sixth-seeded Los Angeles Lakers with 23 games remaining.
Kerr has taken note of what his reserves have brought through all of it.
“When you’re shorthanded, there’s kind of a mentality of ‘all hands on deck,'” Kerr said Friday. “You can feel the guys pulling for each other and trying to fill in the gaps with energy and grit.”
Santos has embodied that mentality. From a second-round pick learning a new role in the G League to a locked-in piece of Golden State’s future, his journey has required exactly what he described: patience. The Warriors, clearly, believe the best is still ahead.
