When the Oklahoma City Thunder selected Aday Mara at 12th overall in the 2026 NBA Draft, it certainly wasn't the consensus pick.
Of course, it makes sense from a perspective of depth. Although the Thunder recently extended Isaiah Hartenstein, they need a center of the future to contend with the ascending San Antonio Spurs and their own giant, Victor Wembanyama. At 7'3" and possessing a 9'9" standing reach, Mara has a real path to developing into that sort of big man.
But there was also a line of thought that Oklahoma City may have wanted to give Thomas Sorber, whom they selected with the 15th overall pick in last year's Draft, some real run as their third big man after missing his rookie season with an ACL injury. Mara and Sorber will now need to compete for minutes on an already stacked Thunder roster.
As defensive-minded as Sorber is, Mara likely has the greater long-term upside. For now, the selection is merely a calculated gamble on Mara's ability to realize that and fill out their center rotation by the end of his rookie deal. If that's the case, it's hard to picture a path forward for Sorber on the roster long-term.
But Mara also has one central weakness— his conditioning and workload at the college level— and it could open up an opportunity for Sorber to prolong his Thunder lifeline.
Aday Mara will struggle to take on a major workload coming into the NBA, and Thomas Sorber could benefit
Mara is a formidable shot-blocker and has a solid offensive package in the paint. He's even decently mobile for his size when defending in space. But if there's one primary weakness he has coming into the NBA, it's his conditioning.
It's something Sam Vecenie highlighted in his report on Mara for The Athletic's NBA Draft Guide, specifically stating that you could see the moments where Mara ran out of energy on his longer rotations. But even a quick look at his counting stats will reveal an issue.
Mara averaged just 23.4 minutes per game at Michigan last season, after averaging just 9.6 and 13.1 in his two seasons at UCLA. Yaxel Lendeborg, by comparison, averaged 30.2. Morez Johnson Jr. averaged 25.1.
With their massive starting lineup, Michigan had the luxury to time Mara's rotations and avoid keeping him on the court for overly-extended periods. The Thunder have that same luxury, especially considering the workload that Hartenstein is capable of taking on when he's healthy.
If Mara were ready to take on, say, a strong 15-18 minutes per night— likely cutting into Jaylin Williams' role in the process— Sorber may quickly be left on the fringes of the rotation. But it's hard to overstate how much quicker the pace of the NBA is than the college level. It will likely take Mara extensive time with the Thunder's conditioning crew to be able to take on even that workload.
It remains to be seen how Oklahoma City will want to balance its center rotation, or if Sorber will even be on the roster come the start of preseason. But as Sorber returns from his ACL injury, it's possible that Mara's lack of readiness for a backup big role could grant him some additional run.
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