Dream Scenario: Victor Wembanyama Lands in Oklahoma City

While highly unlikely, landing the No. 1 pick would dramatically raise the Thunder’s ceiling.

If Oklahoma City miraculously secures the first pick in the lottery, there's no debating which prospect the team would select. The scouting department could take a nice summer vacation in the weeks leading up to the NBA Draft.

Victor Wembanyama is considered one of the most “can’t miss” prospects the NBA has ever seen. Of course, LeBron James will always hold that title, but the amount of predraft buzz and media exposure given to Wembanyama this season and throughout the years has been unmatched. For teams fill out tanking down the stretch, it was the Wemby sweepstakes, and somebody is going to be a gigantic winner on Tuesday night.

The French big man has played 33 games with the Metropolitans in LNB Pro A and is averaging 21.6 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.1 blocks and 2.5 assists. Listed at 7-foot-2 and just 19 years old, he somehow has room to grow and places to improve. Despite shooting just 28.3% from 3-point range, the shot difficulty is high for Wembanyama and some of the long range triples have been very unconventional attempts. He’ll often take running 3-pointers, fadeaway triples or any other unbelievable move he added to his bag.

NBA Draft Prospect Victor Wembanyama shines in the @Metropolitans92 win!

25 PTS | 10 REB | 4 AST 🔥 pic.twitter.com/q93t1c4K1X

— NBA (@NBA) May 7, 2023

Although the Thunder picked a long, lanky big man in Chet Holmgren a season ago, selecting Wembanyama would be a no-brainer. It would be franchise-altering lottery luck. Holmgren appears to be agile enough to line up at the four spot and both big men are extremely comfortable shooting from outside the arc. It would take some getting used to, but a front court of Holmgren and Wembanyama would be the ultimate dice roll that could lead to the arrival Sam Presti has been looking for.

Adding the 19-year old would make for interesting lineup decisions, but that’s a good problem for the Thunder to have. Jalen Williams appeared in the front court most games a season ago because of the team’s serious lack of size, but Williams would certainly excel in a hybrid wing role. Oklahoma City’s options would be endless.

Wemby averaging 3.1 blocks a game is the icing on the cake for Oklahoma City. Not to mention, when his frame fills out, he could very well be one of the most dominant defenders we’ve seen. Pairing an elite defensive anchor with Lu Dort, the team’s perimeter specialist, would make it hard to find holes in the team’s defense.

Victor Wembanyama in a 82-72 win vs. Nanterre : 25 points (6-18 shooting, 1-6 from 3 & 12-15 from the FT line), 17 rebounds, 4 blocks & 3 assists in 34 minutes pic.twitter.com/QWfy1NDa7O

— Lee Harvey (@MusikFan4Life) May 9, 2023

The only out-of-character note about adding Wembanyama? It would speed up Oklahoma City’s timeline. Sam Presti has played the rebuild at his own pace — and for good reason. The patience is paying off. Adding Wemby through the draft would peg the Thunder as a win-now team over the next five years. Sure, there’s still a development curve, but you can’t waste championship competing years with a talent like Wembanyama on the roster. 

There are only a handful of prospects every decade that are deemed generational, and he is certainly one of those players.

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