The Oklahoma City Thunder lost some depth this past offseason, which could impact their quest for a fourth number one seed in the West.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are coming off three years in a row of being the number one seed in the Western Conference, but this year that might be harder than it was previously.
The Thunder will once again, rightfully, be a title favorite as they enter the 2026-27 season, but that doesn’t mean they will have the same regular-season success. The Thunder have succeeded in both the regular and postseason the last few years because of their high-end talent and elite regular-season depth. This offseason, the Thunder lost a trio of guys who consistently impacted regular-season winning over the last handful of years: Lugentz Dort, Isaiah Joe, and Aaron Wiggins.
While these three contributed next to nothing in this past season’s playoffs, Dort and Joe were massive contributors in the regular season, with Dort averaging around eight points per game with just over three rebounds, as well as consistently taking the hardest defensive assignment night in and night out.
Joe, on the other hand, averaged roughly 11 points per game, shooting 42.3% from three. Wiggins, while having a down year, still contributed around nine points per game and was a legitimate rotation-level NBA player. The Thunder moved on from all three of these players largely to stay under the second apron and have the roster space to use their multiple draft picks.
The Thunder still have one of, if not the best, rosters in the entire NBA, but there’s no doubt their regular-season depth has taken a hit. No team makes it through a season healthy. So, when the Thunder inevitably deal with injuries, they will now rely heavily on young players like Thomas Sorber, Aday Mara, Bennett Stirtz, and Nikola Topić to step into those roles.
While those players all have extremely high upside, there’s no doubt that in the short term they will make mistakes and play worse than the veteran players OKC just moved on from.
With these new dynamics at play as well, the Thunder could very likely not reach the first seed for a fourth year in a row, but this Thunder roster should also be better than previous years once the rotation gets shortened in the playoffs. Ajay Mitchell and Cason Wallace will step into the minutes once held by Dort and Joe, which makes this Thunder team the frontrunner to bring home the Larry O’Brien again, but they might have to win on the road to do it.
