Ochai Agbaji Could Have Helped Thunder Right Away

The Oklahoma City Thunder filled their 15th and final roster spot on Friday morning when the team signed guard Ochai Agbaji. But that all changed on Saturday, when it was later reported that the Thunder were choosing a different direction and would not be bringing him in. 

What would Agbaji have looked like in the OKC system?

Due to OKC's unprecedented run of devastating long term injuries, Agbaji figured to jump into the Thunder rotation quickly. In addition to Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace having surgical procedures that will cause them to be re-evaluated prior to the end of the regular season, Oklahoma City announced that Chet Holmgren would be sidelined 8-10 weeks after a biological treatment to address a small patellar tendon tear. To add salt to the now gaping wound, Alex Caruso is still currently out with an ankle injury.

Needless to say, OKC is in need of experienced NBA players with healthy bodies. 

While he may not have been a needle mover, the former Kansas Jayhawk is a solid defender and a decent (but inconsistent) shooter. Most importantly, Agbaji is a player that Mark Daigneault could have trusted to help on the defensive end as the Thunder are without all four of their All-Defense members.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Ajay Mitchell, Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso is still a solid top four players that should make OKC competitive most nights as long as they have some contributions from the rest of the rotation. Jared McCain, Jaylin Williams and Kenrich Williams will be counted on as proven depth. First round rookies Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz will get plenty of burn but there will always be ups and downs with rookies.

Agbaji would have helped soak up rotation minutes so that OKC did not have to lean on their two-way players as much as they did in the blow out loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night. Though filling their last roster spot does also unlock the Thunder's abilities to play their two-way guys the full 50 allotted NBA games.

Agbaji was a collegiate superstar. He led the Jayhawks to a victory in the 2022 NCAA National Championship. He won the Big 12 Player of the Year. He was a consensus First Team All American. And he was named NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player. 

Agbaji was the #14 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. OKC fans know that draft class well. After all, the Thunder selected Chet Holmgren, Ousmane Dieng, Jalen Williams and Jaylin Williams that year. One could argue that draft deserves about half the credit for Oklahoma City winning the 2025 NBA Championship. Agbaji would have joined Holmgren, Williams and Dieng as the fourth 2022 lottery pick to play for the Thunder.

But again, that’s all now a scenario that was set to unfold but never did.