The All-Star break begins on Feb. 13, and it cannot come fast enough for Oklahoma City. The injury report is consistently riddled with key players, such as Isaiah Hartenstein and Jalen Williams. Hopefully the small break allows the Thunder’s players to finally get healthy. 

Sam Presti may be forced to acquire a veteran at the Feb 5. trade deadline in response to the extensive injuries. The team has plenty of future draft capital, including up to four first-round picks in the 2026 NBA Draft. Here is an update on where the Thunder’s 2026 picks currently fall. 

First, Oklahoma City receives the two best first-round picks via the Clippers, Rockets (top-4 protected) and its own selection. 

The Clippers’ unprotected pick was tantalizing a month ago, as it owned a 6-21 record on Dec. 19 and ranked 25th across the NBA in net rating. However, Los Angeles has gone 15-3 since hitting rock bottom largely due to Kawhi Leonard averaging 31.8 points per game on 50/43/91 shooting splits during this span. James Harden also contributed 25.1 points and eight assists per game, too. 

The team should now make the play-in tournament barring catastrophic injuries and owns a 25.4% chance to reach the playoffs according to Basketball Reference. The first overall pick in the 2024 and 2025 drafts went to play-in teams, so there is still plenty of optimism that Los Angeles can deliver a premium pick to Oklahoma City. But it’s a bummer that the Clippers rebounded from its horrific start to the season. 

Meanwhile, the Rockets and Thunder are both projected to land in the mid to late 20s, so neither selection has lottery upside. It’s highly likely that Presti trades whichever of these picks he receives in order to either trade up on draft night or acquire a future first-round pick. 

Oklahoma City also owns a top-4 protected first via Philadelphia. Basketball Reference has the 76ers at an 80.2% chance to make the playoffs with a 41% chance to secure a top-6 seed. The pick would have had far more upside if the 76ers resided in the West because being in the East is a breeze for decent teams. 

Finally, Utah owes a top-8 protected pick, but it’s probably not conveying. Only five teams currently have a worse record than the Jazz, and it has repeatedly shown over the past few years that tanking the second half of the season is a viable option. Look for Utah to manipulate the injury report and stop Lauri Markkanen from winning too many games for the Jazz. 

As of this moment, Oklahoma City would have the 17th and 26th overall picks along with a Clippers lottery selection that has a 90.2% chance to be 11th or 12th overall and a 9.4% chance of landing in the top four. Plus, the Thunder would also receive the 39th overall pick via Dallas.