Subscribe
Follow Us
The Oklahoma City Thunder can now call themselves NBA champions after they triumphed in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, 103-91, over an Indiana Pacers team that ended up being shorthanded after Tyrese Haliburton injured his Achilles in the early goings of the ballgame. After two rebuilding processes since relocating to OKC, a Sam Presti-built Thunder team has finally broken through — and the league has to be very afraid, as the Thunder's reign of terror may only be beginning.
For starters, the Thunder became the second-youngest team to win an NBA championship. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is only about to turn 27 years old this July. Meanwhile, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren are 24 and 23 years of age, respectively. This alone means that OKC's core trio is only going to get better from here.
But beyond that, the Thunder's draft-pick cupboard is as well-stocked as any other team's, putting them in position to replenish the team's talent base for years and years to come. In fact, as The Athletic pointed out in a post on X, they have 11 first-round picks over the next seven years to either bring in new young talent or to trade for more established players to try and keep the championship train rolling.
For this year's draft, they have two more first-round picks (15th and 24th overall courtesy of the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers, respectively). Next year, the Philadelphia 76ers and Utah Jazz owe them protected firsts that could very well convey, especially when the former is looking to return to contention and the latter, under a new regime, might be looking to compete already.
In 2027, they have yet another pick swap with the Clippers, and they have a protected first-rounder from the Denver Nuggets from the Peyton Watson trade. And then in 2028, they own a pick swap with the Dallas Mavericks, which could end up being useful. That is in addition to their own first-round picks that remains in their possession.
And to top it all off, Nikola Topic, their lottery pick last year, will be making his debut next season.
Article Continues Below
Thunder have all the tools to flourish even in today's CBA landscape
What proved to be the Thunder's undoing in the mid-2010s from a roster-building standpoint was that they lacked the young talent to surround Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook with the players they needed to win a title. They also whiffed on some draft picks (Mitch McGary was a bust, and Cameron Payne never took off in OKC), making it even more difficult to build sufficient depth. And when they had depth, that's when Durant decided to leave.
But this iteration of the Thunder is likely not going to run into the same issues. Their core is going to get very expensive really soon (with Holmgren and Williams up for huge contract extensions this offseason), but at the very least, they can pivot using all the draft picks that they have.
There will end up being some tax casualties in the future for the Thunder, with perhaps Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso, and even Lu Dort potentially being available. But as long as OKC maximizes its draft picks over the next seven years, they will always have the depth necessary to compete for multiple titles.
