OKC Thunder Make Pair of Intriguing Additions in New Mock Draft

The NBA season is still around a month away from the postseason, but college basketball's end-of-year tournament is just around the corner.

Following Selection Sunday, 68 teams across the country will compete for a national title starting on Tuesday, March 17. A number of NBA Draft prospects will be on display in the tournament, as players look to improve their positioning one last time before closing out their college careers.

With Oklahoma City holding a pair of first-round picks in the 2026 class, one from Philadelphia and another from the LA Clippers, the Thunder will have an eye on a few prospects in the tournament.

Recently, Jeremy Woo of ESPN published a mock draft that saw the Thunder select a pair of collegeiate players, including one who will be competing in March Madness.

First, Woo paired Washington big man Hannes Steinbach with OKC at No. 15 overall.

Steinbach averaged 18.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.1 steals per game as a freshman, shooting 57.7% from the field, 34% from 3-point range and 75.9% from the free throw line.

Listed at 6-foot-11, Steinbach is one of the best rebounders in the 2026 draft class and would give Oklahoma City a significant interior prescence on the glass. At times over the past few seasons, the Thunder have struggled to win the rebounding battle, which has been a catalyst to multiple losses.

Steinbach would help fix some of the team's rebounding issues, and give OKC another big man alongside Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, Jaylin Williams and eventually Thomas Sorber. Additionally, the Thunder will have to make a decision on weather or not to keep Hartenstein past his current contract, and adding another young big man could help make the choice easier.

A former four-star recruit, Steinbach averaged 17.4 points, 13.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game while leading Germany to a runner-up finish at the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup.

At No. 16 overall, Woo slotted another member of Team Germany to Oklahoma City in Texas Tech guard Christian Anderson.

A 6-foot-3 sophomore, Anderson is averaging 18.9 points, 7.6 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.3 steals while shooting 47.9% from the floor and 42.5% from 3-point range on 8 attempts per game. With great feel for the game, Anderson is a good passer and processor in pick-and-roll situations.

Anderson's playmaking and shooting prowess should make him a good fit in OKC's system and add another jolt of offense to the team's bench unit alongside Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain. The Red Raiders will meet Akron in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at 11:40 p.m. on March 20.

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