OKC Thunder 2026 First-Round Picks Must Take Advantage of Preseason Opportunity

Bennett Stirtz and Aday Mara need to capitalize on their reps in training camp.

Jun 23, 2026; New York, NY, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver greets the twelfth pick in the 2026 NBA draft, Michigan center Aday Mara after he was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Oklahoma City is nearing the start of training camp, and a couple of rookies will need to take advantage of their situation.

After an offseason of changes that featured the departures of Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe, the Thunder will need to find ways to replace their production. While most of the rest of last season’s roster is still in town, Oklahoma City’s hopes for new production will likely come from their incoming rookie class. 

Using their two first-round picks in 2026 to add Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz, the Thunder have a couple of intriguing battles in the backcourt and in the paint. While those two would be expected to have their fair shot at playing time anyway, Thunder GM Sam Presti recently detailed the statuses of Nikola Topic and Thomas Sorber, which could shape how the next few weeks look.

“Because they've missed so much time with another injury, when they're coming back from a new thing -- in this case it's [Topic’s] back, Sorber had the scope in July to the same knee, but that's compounding on the fact that they both missed time in their draft year,” Presti said. “It's a much more complicated return-to-play program because it's not just from one injury, it's a big layoff where there hasn't been a lot of live play. So we're trying to figure out how to do that because it's almost like two years in both cases.”

With both Topic and Sorber set to enter camp limited, and the Thunder seemingly ready to take it slow with both of those guys, there could be extra opportunities for the team’s June draft picks. Stirtz will certainly have a tough time breaking into the backcourt rotation with the immense talent ahead of him, but he could squeeze in some minutes and make an impression.

Meanwhile, Mara’s path to playing time should be more straightforward, given that Sorber could take some time before he’s ready to see game action. With Oklahoma City seemingly committed to double-big lineups, there should be plenty of opportunities for Mara to get on the floor for exhibition action in October.

Obviously, the Thunder would love to be at full strength and see what they have in Topic and Sorber, but their recoveries could open the door to a more detailed and focused look at Mara and Stirtz. While there should be more attention on them over the next few weeks, it will still be up to them to make a good impression and take advantage of their situation.