PJ Washington signs long term extension to stay with Dallas Mavericks

PJ Washington is locked in with the Dallas Mavericks through the 2029-30 season.

ESPN‘s Shams Charania reported Wednesday morning that Washington and the Mavericks have agreed to a four-year, $90 million contract extension that will kick in beginning with the 2026-27 season. The 27-year-old was set to be an unrestricted free agent next summer, but will now stick around in Dallas long-term. According to ESPN‘s Bobby Marks, Washington will make $19.8 million in the first year of his deal and $24.6 million in the final year. He is now officially ineligible to be traded during the upcoming 2025-26 campaign.

Washington, who played two seasons at Kentucky (2017-19), is coming off arguably his most productive stretch as a pro yet. The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 14.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per outing while shooting 38.1 percent from deep for the Mavericks last season.

Dallas Mavericks forward PJ Washington has agreed to a four-year, $90 million contract extension with the franchise, agent Kevin Bradbury of LIFT Sports Management told ESPN. Washington secures a new deal that keeps him in Dallas through 2029-30. pic.twitter.com/v28jVbtMs9

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 3, 2025

During his two-year stint at Kentucky under former head coach John Calipari, Washington averaged 10.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game as a true freshman before a breakout run as a sophomore. In 2018-19, the Louisville native averaged 15.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest on his way to being named First Team All-SEC and a Third Team All-American. The Charlotte Hornets ultimately selected him 12th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft.

And as has been the case with most players drafted by Charlotte since the franchise’s inception, Washington was a mostly forgotten player early on in his pro career. His NBA debut featured a 27-point showing on 7-11 shooting from deep, but the headlines mostly stopped there. He posted per-game averages of 13 points and 5.5 rebounds during his 4.5 seasons with Charlotte before being traded to Dallas ahead of the 2024 deadline.

Washington struggled at times to find his groove to close out the 2023-24 regular season with the Mavericks, but ended up being a critical piece to Dallas’ run to the NBA Finals, a 4-1 loss to the Boston Celtics. He carried that on-court production into his first full season with the Mavs in 2024-25 — even in the midst of the league-altering February trade that shipped off Luka Doncic to the Lakers in exchange for another former Wildcat, Anthony Davis.

With all that in mind, locking down Washington long-term was a no-brainer for the Dallas front office. He’ll be paired alongside the likes of Davis, Dereck Lively II, and number one overall pick Cooper Flagg in the frontcourt. Not a bad situation for Washington — just no one tell Brittany Renner about the extension…