2026-2027 OKC Thunder Player Tiers

The Oklahoma City Thunder tip off the season on Opening Night this Tuesday on national television against the San Antonio Spurs. Considered the best and biggest current rivalry in the NBA, the matchup features the two most talented and deepest teams in the league.

OKC is especially deep. But the lineups will look a bit different this season with longtime rotation players Lu Dort, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins playing in different cities. That's 10,000 minutes of playing time that will need to be divvied up amongst the rest of the roster. Fortunately for Mark Daigneault, the squad has plenty of young talent ready to soak up new roles.

As we head into a new season of Thunder basketball, there seems to be a somewhat clear pecking order of Oklahoma City hoopers. 

Tier 1: The MVP

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. No offense to anyone else on the roster, but the best player in the world deserves a tier of his own.

Tier 2: The All-Stars

Jalen Williams. OKC’s second leading scorer and playmaker is healthy again. Bad news for the rest of the Western Conference. 

Chet Holmgren. Recency bias is such an irrational line of thinking that Game 7 against the San Antonio Spurs is making people forget that this is a top two defender in the world who also shoots 38% from deep.

Tier 3: The Elite Role Players

Ajay Mitchell. Or as I like to call him, the future Sixth Man of the Year. 

Isaiah Hartenstein. Versatile, top tier defender and a playmaking big man.

Alex Caruso. If these tiers were based solely on the playoffs, he may jump up one level.

Cason Wallace. The presumptive Lu Dort replacement in the starting lineup is still just scratching the surface of his talent.

Tier 4: The Fan Favorites

Jared McCain. He can hit a shot from anywhere on the court with a quick trigger and a quicker smile.

Jaylin Williams. From a 2nd Round pick who supposedly couldn’t shoot to one of the best 3 point shooting bench bigs in the league. 

Tier 5: The Vet.

Kenrich Williams. Don’t let the tier ranking fool you, the man dubbed Kenny Hustle is still a positive impact role player in the NBA. 

Tier 6: The Rookies

Aday Mara. There’s a realistic chance that if we updated these tiers at the All Star Break, Mara will have climbed the charts.

Bennett Stirtz. Lost in the preseason Mara Mania is that OKC’s other 1st Round rookie shot nearly 50% from 3 on high volume.

Tier 7: The Young Lottery Talents

Nikola Topic. The Serbian point guard has had an incredibly difficult start to his NBA career, but nobody has ever doubted the talent. Topic will have an opportunity to play this season. Rooting hard for him. 

Thomas Sorber. The most overlooked player on the roster just happens to be a #15 overall pick with loads of upside.