Thunder eyes future playoff success and 2026 draft. Unprotected Clippers pick, Philly's uncertain future, and Dallas's second-rounder shape OKC's talent pipeline.
The reigning champs are guaranteed to claim the one seed if they win five of their final six regular season games, and the margin for error increases with every Spurs loss.
Oklahoma City’s primary focus is obviously on this upcoming playoff run, but the 2026 NBA Draft will be crucial for a Thunder squad that needs to add cheap, impactful depth. Here is an April 1 update on where the team’s picks would currently land.
OKC Thunder's Updated 2026 NBA Draft Picks
Oklahoma City’s selection with the highest upside is an unprotected first-round pick via the Clippers.
Los Angeles is locked into a play-in tournament spot. If Kawhi Leonard and company lose during this event and fall to the NBA lottery, then the Thunder would have roughly a 4% chance of receiving a top-four pick in the draft. A first rounder in the mid teens is still a nice consolation prize if Oklahoma City does not get lucky.
Next, Philadelphia owes a top-four protected first rounder from the Al Horford trade in 2020. Although the 76ers currently occupies the seventh seed, the team is 1.5-games behind the fifth seed and 1.5-games ahead of the tenth seed. There could be a ton of movement in this range over the final few games, so it’s a mystery box. The protections on the pick unfortunately remove any chance of getting lucky in the lottery. Overall, look for this debt to probably land in the mid teens.
Oklahoma City also possesses a second-round pick via Dallas, which projects to be in the mid 30s. It’s a quality asset because Sam Presti thrives at finding diamonds in the rough. Ajay Mitchell (38th), Jaylin Williams (34th) and Aaron Wiggins (55th) are recent examples.
Finally, the Thunder has a top-eight protected first from the Jazz, but this ship has sailed. Utah decided to tank and now currently owns a 99.4% chance of keeping its pick. If the 0.6% chance conveyed, then cue the conspiracy theories about Adam Silver rigging the lottery in order to punish Utah for aggressively and blatantly tanking.
In summary, expect Oklahoma City to finish with a pair of picks in the mid teens along with a second-round pick in the mid 30s. The Thunder’s roster does not have enough space for three rookies, so Presti will probably consolidate picks to move up in the draft or exchange them for tantalizing future draft picks.