- Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
- Home court: Paycom Center
- G.M: Sam Presti
- Coach: Mark Daigneault
- Star: G Josh Giddey
- 2021 Season: 24-58, failed to make playoffs.
- NBA Titles: 1979, as the Seattle SuperSonics
- Greatest Player: G Gary Payton
- Factoid: The Thunder were born in turmoil. Originally a beloved franchise in Seattle, where they played as the SuperSonics for 41 years, the team was sold and moved to Oklahoma City, where they have been embraced.
Hey buddy, can you spare a first-round draft choice?
How about a couple of first-round draft choices? Can you throw in a second rounder or two?
Thunder G.M. Sam Presti can.
The Thunder have a first-round pick and two, second-round picks in the 2023 NBA Draft; four, first rounders and a second rounder in 2024; three first rounders and three, second rounders in 2025; three first rounders and two second rounders in 2026 and two first rounders and three second rounders in 2027.
There have been rebuilds in NBA history; there have been complete excavations, and now we offer Oklahoma City as the most intriguing mission ever. Presti is a proven NBA GM and a sharp basketball mind. He’s not just collecting draft choices to play fantasy basketball.
Watching what Presti does with these picks and how he builds this team could become a primer for GMs in years to come.
The team might have a couple of foundational pieces. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could be a point guard that takes the entire package to a new level. He’s 6-foot-6 lead guard who’s a 35-percent career shooter on 3’s.
The Wolves think they have a talent for the future in Gonzaga star Chet Holmgren, but the athletic 7-foot-1 stretch forward fractured his foot and will miss the upcoming season. Holmgren’s absence muddies the waters on the OKC construction project, but it won’t stop Presti from using all those picks to strike gold in Oklahoma.
That could mean drafting players. That could mean trading for elite free agents. That could be a combination of the two.
Stayed tuned: The building has just begun.