Is OKC Thunder Rookie Impacted by Shocking NCAA Court Ruling?

The Oklahoma City Thunder selected Kentucky guard Otega Oweh with the No. 41 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft after trading down to get their guy. In years past, this would have been a non-story. An interesting four-year college player enters the NBA looking to carve out a role for himself in the association. Over the weekend, this selection got more interesting.

An injunction issued on Friday in the case of Wisne v. NCAA allows members of the 2022 high school class, which includes Mitchell, a fifth season of college eligibility. This suit has become a class-action, so it now includes all affected student-athletes from the 2022 high school class, which Oweh was part of as he initially committed to the University of Oklahoma before transferring to Kentucky two seasons later.

Now, there is no indication that Oweh wishes to return to school, nor does anyone expect there to be. However, what makes this so interesting is the possibility that he might be able to. A saga that the Boston Celtics are dealing with right now with their second-round pick, Dillon Mitchell.

"The District Court of Colorado's decision (Wisne v. NCAA) is egregiously wrong. The court's decision to certify a nationwide class and grant sweeping injunctive relief with virtually no evidence, and without witness testimony or even so much as a hearing, invites further chaos in college sports and irreparably harms thousands of student-athletes already on campus," NCAA Chief Legal Officer Scott Bearby wrote.

College athletics are in a bad way with court rulings, NIL, the transfer portal, no one knowing who is eligible to play and who isn't, all while this ruling makes things more complicated.

“All other NCAA eligibility rules, including rules regarding professional participation, remain in effect; as the Court made clear, it was not ruling on any Bylaws not presented to the Court. We now intend to pursue the appellate process and seek a stay of the Court’s order as soon as possible," Bearby also wrote.

The million-dollar question remains: What counts as professional participation? The NCAA Men's basketball season was just hijacked by Former G League players and draftees returning to the sport due to separate court rulings.

How does Summer League and inking a two-way pact fall into professional participation? That is the route Oweh's summer has taken. After being selected by Oklahoma City and explaining his excitement to be in the organization, he signed a two-way contract and participated in the Salt Lake City Summer League before suffering an ankle injury. Does this court ruling not apply to him due to the contract? The Summer League participation? Both?

That is for the NCAA to figure out, and something that will not be a talking point in Oklahoma City, as, unlike Mitchell, Oweh has given no indication to want to explore this option. In fact, not only did he accomplish enough in college to get drafted, but he also instantly signed a two-way deal, with many believing he has an inside track to the Thunder's final roster spot on the standard 15-man group eventually.

However, whatever the fallout is in Boston will be worth monitoring for the future with the NCAA's new 5-for-5 ruling, where players have five years after graduating high school or turning 19 (whichever comes first) to compete in college athletics. Is this something that teams have to worry about when selecting a player prior to them completing five seasons in college, if, after Summer League, Mitchell can return to school and scorn the Celtics?

Luckily for Oklahoma City, this is of no concern as everyone is eager to see what Oweh can provide the Bricktown Ballers during his rookie season in the 2026-27 campaign.

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