In their yearly tradition, ESPN recently published its future rankings and the Oklahoma City Thunder jumped to the No. 3 spot.
ESPN analysts Kevin Pelton, Bobby Marks, Tim Bontemps and Andre Snellings calculated the future success of every team in the league over the next three seasons, which means through the 2025-26 season in this case.
Factors such as management, ownership, coaching, a team’s spending habits, cap situation, the reputation of the city/franchise and future draft picks are part of the process.
After being ranked No. 23 last year, the Thunder move all the way up to No. 3 — trailing only the Boston Celtics (1) and Denver Nuggets (2).
The Thunder finished with an overall score of 69.8. OKC finished No. 7 in players at a 69 score; No. 2 in management at a 84 score; No. 6 in money at a 72 score; No. 28 in market at a 22 score; and No. 1 in draft picks at a 94 score.
“Jumping up 20 spots in these rankings from this time last season only magnifies the hype and anticipation surrounding this young Thunder squad, which ranked no lower than seventh in four of the five categories: players (seventh), money (sixth), management (second) and draft (first). A first-team All-NBA talent in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is surrounded by emerging young talent like Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Josh Giddey. Add in a bevy of future draft assets and cap space to play with and it should be a fun few years ahead for Sam Presti & Co.“
The entire future rankings can be found here.
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