OKC Thunder draft picks over the last 11 years: Where are they now?
By Aidan E
Where have all of the OKC Thunder draft picks gone? Thunderous Intentions takes a look back at their eleven-year history at the selections and where the players are now.
With the OKC Thunder accumulating an unprecedented amount of draft picks over the summer, general manager Sam Presti has an incredible amount of chances to hit on players that can provide valuable contributions that will hopefully lead to Oklahoma City’s first NBA title.
Presti’s first three years in his tenure will likely never be matched again, drafting an MVP in three straight drafts. However, since then Presti has a lot of misses under his belt including players like Cameron Payne and Mitch McGary.
This year Presti dropped down two spots to select Darius Bazley a wing who notoriously avoided playing the required one season in the NCAA. Instead, the youngster elected to pick up a New Balance internship in which he got paid handsomely and used his off time to develop his game.
We’ll never know for certain if Presti would have made a different selection had he known Paul George and Russell Westbrook would be gone mere weeks later. Which is what this article will highlight. For example, where the Thunder were positioned at the time of a draft, likely influenced who the General Manager selected.
Given the constant success of the franchise, the fanbase has seldom witnessed a selection based on requirement. Likewise, how would Presti measure two equally touted prospects? That is something we should see moving forward with this glut of picks.
But, for now, let’s take a deep dive into Thunder history and see which players (excluding draft night trades) that Presti has selected and where they are at now.
*I only included players who OKC selected and who appeared in a game for them*