The 2023 NBA draft is less than two weeks away, and with the Oklahoma City Thunder owning another lottery selection at No. 12, let’s look back on the short draft history of the franchise since they relocated.
Since 2008, the Thunder have seldom been in the lottery because they enjoyed a decade of being a constant title/playoff contender. That has obviously changed. They endured a rebuild in 2020 that looks like it’s nearing its end.
In this exercise, we look at the best five draft picks in Thunder history. This also includes draft picks Thunder general manager Sam Presti made during the last couple of years the franchise was known as the Seattle Supersonics, since those players spent most — if not their entire — tenure with the Thunder.