NBA Mock Draft: Thunder Take Two Swings in Lottery

The Oklahoma City Thunder will have three first round picks in the 2022 NBA Draft next month. Two of these will fall in the lottery, where they'll select No. 2 and No. 12 overall.

Their own pick will be second, which came following great luck on lottery night. The other lottery selection is the first pick that's come to fruition from the Paul George trade to the LA Clippers.

In this range, Oklahoma City will have a real chance to expedite its rebuild. In almost every draft, the top players in the class are taken in the lottery.

Who makes sense for the Thunder in that range?

Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report recently released a mock draft for the 2022 class, which gives insight into where some of the top upcoming rookies could land. His projection has the Thunder selecting two prospects that come with quite a bit of risk.

1. Orlando Magic: Jabari Smith Jr. (Forward | Auburn)

2. Oklahoma City Thunder: Chet Holmgren (Center | Gonzaga)

3. Houston Rockets: Paolo Banchero (Forward | Duke)

4. Sacramento Kings: AJ Griffin (Forward | Duke)

5. Detroit Pistons: Jaden Ivey (Guard | Purdue)

6. Indiana Pacers: Keegan Murray (Forward | Iowa)

7. Portland Trail Blazers: Dyson Daniels (Guard | G League Ignite)

8. New Orleans Pelicans: Shaedon Sharpe (Guard | Kentucky)

9. San Antonio Spurs: Bennedict Mathurin (Guard | Arizona)

10. Washington Wizards: Johnny Davis (Guard | Wisconsin)

11. New York Knicks: Malaki Branham (Guard | Ohio State)

12. Oklahoma City Thunder: Ousmane Dieng (Forward | International)

13. Charlotte Hornets: Jalen Duren (Center | Memphis)

14. Cleveland Cavaliers: Ochai Agbaji (Guard | Kansas)

Both Holmgren and Dieng have the chance to be franchise-altering talents in Oklahoma City. However, there's also a world in which neither end up having the physical frame to be star players.

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