OKC Thunder Have Earned Unique Luxury With Future Picks

The Thunder were questioned for years about holding onto their first-rounders, but those discussions have mostly quieted down.

Sam Presti, Thunder General Manager, has his end-of-season media access, Monday, June 8, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Oklahoma City has been one of the league’s best teams over the past few years, and it’s taken a certain type of pressure off its front office.

Over the past few years, Oklahoma City has risen from being a fun up-and-coming team to a young squad that looks ready to contend for the better part of the next decade. With a title to show for their excellence in 2025, the Thunder have established themselves as a winner in this era.

Considering all of the Thunder’s recent success, it makes sense that other teams around the league have continued to marvel and envy the team’s stash of draft capital. Albeit not quite as significant as it was a few years ago, Oklahoma City’s collection of future picks has made it an even more dangerous team in many aspects.

As Oklahoma City was beginning to come out of the rebuild and enter a competitive phase again, it was getting pressure from fans and media to cash in on its collection of picks and add a star via trade to pair with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Of course, with the breakouts of Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and others, the Thunder had the star power they needed to secure a championship and quickly become a team to watch for years to come.

While the Thunder were right about not going all in on an established star using some of their picks, that doesn’t change how the situation was viewed in the moment. Whether it be Pascal Siakam, Giannis Antetokounmpo or others, the Thunder were expected to be ready to make a move when the time was right.

Just a few years later, Oklahoma City still has plenty of draft capital at its disposal, along with talented young players, if it wanted to pursue a big name on the trade market. However, that external pressure is no longer there, at least not anywhere near the extent it was.

Although it’s fine to question some of the decisions Sam Presti has made drafting in the first round over the past couple of years, there’s no belief that he’d be better off sending those picks out in exchange for a disgruntled star. With the CBA now incentivizing teams to add young, cheap talent through the draft, Presti appears to have been one step ahead for not sending out some of these firsts a few years ago.

There’s always a chance that the Thunder look back at some of their first-round picks as mistakes in a few years, but the outside noise to send those picks out for other stars has at least subsided.