ESPN Releases Initial 2025 NBA Mock Draft with Intriguing OKC Thunder Selection
Ever since Oklahoma City Thunder General Manager Sam Presti made the historic trade that sent Paul George to Los Angeles for seven first-round picks, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and more, OKC has accumulated a wealth of draft assets.
In addition to two first-round picks in the 2024 draft that will likely end up in the lottery, the Thunder have three first-round picks in 2025 and three more in 2026.
In the 2025 draft, the Thunder own a pick swap from the Houston Rockets as well as Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers' first-round selections.
On Monday, ESPN released an early 2025 mock draft that slotted three intriguing selections to Oklahoma City in the first round of next year's draft. In the piece, analyst Jonathan Givony based the draft order on ESPN projections for next season.
In ESPN's initial 2025 mock draft, the Thunder's first pick landed at No. 11, where Givony had OKC selecting future Indiana wing Liam McNeeley.
Listed at 6-foot-7 and 210 pounds, McNeeley is a senior at the prestigious Montverde Academy in Florida. Rated a 5-star prospect and the No. 14 player in the 2024 recruiting class, McNeeley chose Indiana over Kansas, Alabama, Texas and many others.
Early in his career, McNeeley seems to possess many of the traits that Presti and company covet in a prospect. In addition to having good positional size, the Richardson, TX, native is a solid shooter and passer who seems to play with high effort.
Despite not being an overwhelming athlete, 247Sports Director of Scouting Adam Finkelstein believes that McNeeley should be a difference maker at the next level.
"McNeeley may not have the ideal physical measurables of a prototypical five-star prospect, but he is one of the most consistently productive and reliable basketball players in the class," Finkelstein wrote in McNeeley's evaluation.
Oklahoma City's next pick in Givony's mock draft came at No. 16, where the veteran analyst slotted 5-star wing Will Riley to the Thunder.
Riley, who is also a senior in high school, plays at The Phelps School in Malvern, PA. Listed at 6-foot-9 and 190 pounds, Riley is rated the No. 21 overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting class and has yet to announce where he will play next season.
Originally from Ontario, Riley holds offers from Alabama, Arizona, Illinois, Texas Tech and many others. While many of the top high school prospects have elected to play overseas or in the G League for their postgraduate season, Riley's official website indicates that he plans to play college basketball.
Similar to McNeeley, Riley is a good shooter and passer for his size and seems to have a great feel for the game.
With the Thunder's final selection in ESPN's initial 2025 mock draft, Givony paired German center Johann Grunloh with OKC at No. 25 overall.
Just 18-years-old, Grunloh plays for Rasta Vechta in one of Germany's top professional leagues, averaging 11 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
Listed at 6-foot-11, Grunloh has the size and production that could help solve some of Oklahoma City's rebounding struggles.
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