Key Dates in the 2023 NBA offseason for the OKC Thunder

The NBA offseason is underway for the OKC Thunder after the squad finished the regular season with 40 wins, good enough to qualify for the NBA Play-In tournament. However, that postseason bid fell a game shy of the Oklahoma City Thunder reaching an NBA Playoff series.

There is still a lot of optimism around Bricktown about the direction of this team. A breakout season for a squad that won less than 25 games each of the last two campaigns. They accomplished this leap in wins without the lone top-five pick of their rebuild, Chet Holmgren while battling adversity all year. From Kenrich Williams going down for the season’s home stretch, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander getting COVID-19 at a critical moment of the season, and injuries derailing the once promising campaigns of Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Aleksej Pokusevski.

The NBA Offseason begins for the OKC Thunder. So what are some key dates to look forward to this summer?

The first date on the NBA offseason calendar that every team in the association will pay attention to, even those still in contention for the Larry O’Brien Trophy, is the NBA Lottery—a drawing of ping pong balls to decide the top four of the NBA Draft Order.

Whoever wins the top spot gets the right to one of the best prospects we have ever seen, Victor Wembanyama. The NBA Draft Lottery will take place on Tuesday, May 16th. It will be aired on ESPN at 7 p.m. CT.

That will happen in the midst of the NBA Combine, taking place May 15th through the 19th. At this time, the media will talk to players, the prospects will be measured and run through drills, and some will even take place in scrimmages.

Portions of the combine will be aired on NBATV at various times throughout the week. Throughout the process, NBA Draft Prospects will also privately meet and work out for NBA teams. These will be reported from multiple sources throughout the process.

The 2023 NBA Draft will take place on June 22nd. It will air on ESPN at 7 p.m. CT. The OKC Thunder owns three NBA Draft picks—two in the second round, with one selection in the first round.

After the NBA Draft, the new players will typically meet with their new team’s local media on Saturday, June 24th.

On July 1st, the NBA Free Agency period opens with ratifying the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and marking the turn of the NBA League Year.

As NBA Free Agency is going on, the Oklahoma City Thunder will begin NBA Summer League play. The OKC Thunder will participate in two NBA Summer sessions, starting in Salt Lake City, Utah, on July 3rd and then in Vegas on July 7th.

After NBA Summer League, things typically slow until Media Day and Training Camp, usually marked by mid-to-late-September.

Key Dates: 

• NBA Combine May 15th-19th
• NBA Draft Lottery May 16th
• NBA Draft June 24th
• NBA Free Agency opens up on July 1st
• NBA Summer League July 3rd-17th