Thanks to the 2020 Al Horford trade, the Oklahoma City Thunder hold ownership of the Philadelphia 76ers' top-five protected first-round pick in this June's NBA Draft.
Though the Sixers currently find themselves gearing up for the Play-In Tournament with the hope of clinching a playoff berth, the recent Joel Embiid injury update only seems to increase the chances of them finishing on the outside looking in on a top-eight slot and, in turn, handing OKC a lottery pick in the process.
As first reported by ESPN's senior NBA insider Shams Charania, the superstar big man is not expected to play in any play-in games, as he's still in "the very early stages" of his post-appendicitis surgery recovery.
Unfortunately for Philadelphia, they've had to play the majority of this year's campaign without Embiid in the fold as he's been sidelined on and off due to myriad injuries. With him on the floor, the 76ers have gone 24-14, while falling to a middling 21-23 without him.
Even though their status as the East's seven seed technically allots them two shots at punching their ticket to the 2026 postseason, without the 2023 MVP, the numbers clearly show that this team only gets worse, meaning their odds of handing the Thunder a lottery pick in this year's draft only improve.
Projected lottery pick openly discusses desire to be selected by Thunder
Should the Thunder find themselves on the clock in the lottery with any one of the 76ers, Clippers, or, while a long-shot, Jazz's draft rights, it seems that one prospect is already hoping he'll be strongly considered as an option for Sam Presti.
While signing autographs at a recent event, a young fan told 2026 NCAA Champion Yaxel Lendeborg, "You got to come to the Thunder, man," to which he responded, "I hope so!"
The forward is coming off a tremendous season with Michigan, as he not only helped guide the university to their second title in its history, but, behind elite averages of 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game on 37.2 percent shooting from deep, earned top-billed honors like Consensus first-team All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year and is slated to be a top-14 pick in this year's draft class.
For the past few weeks, arguments have been made that, considering his established championship pedigree, two-way abilities, and positional versatility, Lendeborg could be an ideal draft target for the Thunder to pursue.
Based on his recent remarks, it seems this feeling is shared with the Michigan stud.
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